Using genomics to understand the disease cycle of the fusarium head blight fungus, Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum)

Abstract

Genome sequences of more than 30 filamentous fungi are now available. For the first time, scientists studying plant-fungi interactions have access to a nearly complete picture of the metabolic and developmental capacity of these organisms. Researchers compare whole genomes, gene clusters, and individual-gene sequences to understand evolutionary relationships. In addition, large-scale analyses of gene expression are used to identify genes important to pathogenicity. With the fusarium head blight (FHB) pathogen (Gibberella zeae) as an example, we examine how genomic-sequence information can contribute to increase our understanding of plant disease and to the development of novel control strategies. In the process, we review the present techniques for genetic manipulation of G. zeae. We provide several examples of how sequence conservation served to identify specific genes of interest and how the identification of these genes can be useful to understand their role in the pathogen life cycle. Finally, we present some examples of how this information may allow us to implement effective and practical control measures.

Keywords:

• mycotoxin
• homothallic
• dikaryotic
• fungal genome
• annotation