XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts
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Fungal Genetics Reports Volume 48 Article 17 XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts Fungal Genetics Conference Follow this and additional works at: https://newprairiepress.org/fgr This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Fungal Genetics Conference. (2001) "XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts," Fungal Genetics Reports: Vol. 48, Article 17. https://doi.org/10.4148/1941-4765.1182 This Supplementary Material is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fungal Genetics Reports by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please contact [email protected]. XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts Abstract XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts This supplementary material is available in Fungal Genetics Reports: https://newprairiepress.org/fgr/vol48/iss1/17 : XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts Plenary sessions Cell Biology (1-87) Population and Evolutionary Biology (88-124) Genomics and Proteomics (125-179) Industrial Biology and Biotechnology (180-214) Host-Parasite Interactions (215-295) Gene Regulation (296-385) Developmental Biology (386-457) Biochemistry and Secondary Metabolism(458-492) Unclassified(493-502) Index to Abstracts Abstracts may be cited as "Fungal Genetics Newsletter 48S:abstract number" Plenary Abstracts COMPARATIVE AND FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS FUNGAL-HOST INTERACTIONS CELL BIOLOGY GENOME STRUCTURE AND MAINTENANCE COMPARATIVE AND FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS Genome reconstruction and gene expression for the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea. Ralph A. Dean. Fungal Genomics Laboratory, NC State University, Raleigh NC 27695 Rice blast disease, caused by Magnaporthe grisea, is one of the most devastating threats to food security worldwide. The fungus is amenable to classical and molecular genetic manipulation and is a compelling experimental system for elucidating numerous aspects of pathogenesis, including infection-related morphogenesis, host species and cultivar specificity, and signaling pathways. In 1998, an international consortium (IRBGP) was established to sequence the rice blast genome. For this initiative, we used a 25X large insert (130 kb) HindIII BAC library to construct a physical map of the genome. BAC clones were fingerprinted and assembled into 188 contigs. These were aligned into a physical map by anchoring to mapped RFLP markers. Chromosome 7 (4.2 Mb) has been studied in the greatest detail and a set of 42 BAC clones representing a minimum tiling path covering >95% of the chromosome has been deduced. The sequence of one BAC clone (6J18) has been completed. The entire BAC library was end sequenced providing Published by New Prairie Press, 2017 1 Fungal Genetics Reports, Vol. 48 [2001], Art. 17 sequence tag connectors (STC) every 3-4 kb across the genome. A federated database integrating physical, genetic and expression data from relational and object-oriented databases is being developed. We have initiated a draft sequence (~5X coverage) of chromosome 7 using the "BAC by BAC" approach coupled with information from our STC/fingerprint databases. A comprehensive EST program has been launched. 30,000 ESTs will be derived from 8 cDNA libraries prepared from different stages of growth and development as well as cells subjected to various stress conditions. A set of ~5,000 ESTs representing unique genes will be further sequenced. The current status of the genome project and database development will be presented. Partial reconstruction of the metabolic capacity of Pneumocystis carinii through genomics and identification of potential therapeutic targets. Melanie T. Cushion1, Bradley E. Slaven1, Jonathan Arnold2, John Wunderlich2, Chuck Staben3, Tom Sesterhenn1 and A. George Smulian1. 1University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0560 and the Cincinnati VAMC, Cincinnati, OH 45220, 2Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, 3University of Kentucky, T.H. Morgan School of Biological Sciences, Lexington, KY 40506 Pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis carinii (PcP) remains the leading opportunistic infection associated with AIDS patients, even in the era of Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART). Despite concerted efforts to identify additional therapeutic agents, trimethoprim- sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) continues to be the standard prophylactic and therapeutic modality in use today, as it was over 20 years ago. Recently, treatment failures of TMP-SMX were linked to mutations in the target genes in P. carinii making the search for new targets a priority. Unlike any extant fungus, P. carinii possesses a single copy of the nuclear ribosomal RNA locus and has little to no ergosterol. It is refractory to standard anti-fungals, including amphotericin B and standard azoles such as fluconazole. These data suggest there are distinct differences in some metabolic pathways of other fungi and Pc. Genetic data resulting from the Pneumocystis Genome Project offers promise for development of new drug targets. Analysis of sequences from a partial Expressed Sequence Tag (EST)-, cosmid end sequence-, and cosmid library databases by homology searches revealed the presence of several metabolic pathways with drug targeting potential, including sterol and heme biosynthesis. P. carinii appears to possesses most of the genes in the sterol biosynthetic pathway, including ERG4, the final enzyme that converts ergosta-5, 7, 22, 24, (28)-tetraen-3, B-ol to ergosterol, and squalene synthase (erg9), squalene epoxidase (ERG1), lanosterol cyclase (ERG7) and SAM:SMT (ERG6). Assessment of the efficacy of compounds targeting the enzymatic steps along the sterol biosynthetic pathway using a short term drug screening assay based on measurement of ATP by bioluminescence correlated with the presence or absence of the gene in the sequence databases. These data will be used to formulate combination therapies that will be assessed in pre-clinical trials using rodent models of infection. Phytophthora genomics. Brett M Tyler1, Felipe R. Arredondo1, Howard S. Judelson2, Ralph A. Dean3, Peter Hraber4, Mark E.Waugh4, Bruno W. Sobral5, Callum J. Bell4, Dinah Qutob6 , Mark Gijzen6. 1Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA95616; 2Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside CA 92521; 3Fungal https://newprairiepress.org/fgr/vol48/iss1/17 DOI: 10.4148/1941-4765.1182 2 : XXI Fungal Genetics Conference Abstracts Genomics Laboratory, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7251; 4National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505; 5Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA24061; 6Agriculture Canada, London Research Centre, London, Ontario N5V 4T3, Canada. The more than 40 species of the oomycete Phytophthora cause serious diseases of a huge range of crop and ornamental plants. To facilitate isolation of infection-related genes from the soybean pathogen Phytophthora sojae, we are constructing a BAC contig of the entire genome, using a hybridization fingerprinting strategy with random probes, most of them repetitive, and with ESTs. Computer software has been developed to collect and analyze the data. At present, 19% of the BACs have received the minimum number of hybridization hits needed to establish contigs. Of these BACs, 34% have been placed into contigs. We have confirmed the authenticity of three of the largest contigs by HindIII digestion. With the long term goal of sequencing the entire genome of P. sojae and selected sequences from other Phytophthora species, such as P. infestans we have established the Phytophthora genome initiative (PGI). We have begun preliminary sequencing of a 200 kb BAC contig spanning two avirulence genes from P. sojae. Sequencing of the first 60 kb BAC reveals that the gene density is extremely high. Both the sequencing data and the BAC hybridization data suggest that the P. sojae genome is composed of gene-rich regions separated by regions rich in repetitive sequences. Sequencing of 55,000 new ESTS from P. sojae and P. infestans, and development of a synteny map of the two species, has recently begun, funded by USDA-IFAFS. Chromosomes II and V of Neurospora crassa. Ulrich Schulte, Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf, Germany As part of the German Neurospora Genome Project the chromosomes (LG) II and V with a total of 14 Mbp were sequenced. Cooperating partners in the project are Jöörg Hoheisel (DKFZ, Heidelberg), Gerald Nyakatura (MWG Biotech, Ebersberg) and H. Werner Mewes (MIPS, Martinsried). The web accessible MIPS Neurospora crassa data base (MNCDB) provides the assembled sequences as well as the identified and annotated open reading frames. More than 3000 genes have been identified sofar. At least 13.000 genes are expected for the entire genome. The deduced proteins are classified according to matches in sequence data bases and attributed to functional categories based on the identified relatives. Concurrently the protein sequences are analysed using the PEDANT system employing a wide spectrum of sequence analysis and structure prediction tools such as attribution of proteins to protein-superfamilies, secondary structure, transmembrane regions, coiled-coil regions etc. Sequencing and annotation data are provided in a comprehensive and multidimensional way. Tools to explore and query the