A5025756471- Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
- Plant Pathogens and Resistance
- Yeasts and Rust Fungi Studies
- Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics
- Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
- Mycotoxins in Agriculture and Food
- Fungal and yeast genetics research
- Power Systems and Technologies
- Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
- Plant and Fungal Interactions Research
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Sugarcane Cultivation and Processing
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Horticultural and Viticultural Research
- Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
- Nematode management and characterization studies
- Plant Virus Research Studies
- Plant Genetic and Mutation Studies
- Entomopathogenic Microorganisms in Pest Control
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research
- Fungal Biology and Applications
Norwich Research Park
2016-2025
John Innes Centre
2016-2025
Sainsbury Laboratory
2012-2020
University of East Anglia
2019-2020
Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
2019
US Forest Service
2019
Tree Fruit Research Laboratory
2019
Agricultural Research Service
2019
Colorado State University
2019
Earlham Institute
2014-2017
In February 2016, a new fungal disease was spotted in wheat fields across eight districts Bangladesh. The epidemic spread to an estimated 15,000 hectares, about 16 % of the cultivated area Bangladesh, with yield losses reaching up 100 %. Within weeks onset epidemic, we performed transcriptome sequencing symptomatic leaf samples collected directly from Bangladeshi fields. Reinoculation seedlings strains isolated infected grains showed blast symptoms on leaves but not rice. Our phylogenomic...
Nuclei of arbuscular endomycorrhizal fungi have been described as highly diverse due to their asexual nature and absence a single cell stage with only one nucleus. This has raised fundamental questions concerning speciation, selection transmission the genetic make-up next generations. Although this concept become textbook knowledge, it is based on studying few loci, including 45S rDNA. To provide more comprehensive insight into makeup fungi, we applied de novo genome sequencing individual...
Abstract Background Emerging and re-emerging pathogens imperil public health global food security. Responding to these threats requires improved surveillance diagnostic systems. Despite their potential, genomic tools have not been readily applied emerging or plant such as the wheat yellow (stripe) rust pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (PST). This is due largely obligate parasitic nature of PST, culturing PST isolates for DNA extraction remains slow tedious. Results To counteract...
Rust fungi are obligate biotrophic pathogens that cause considerable damage on crop plants. Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, the causal agent of wheat stem rust, and Melampsora larici-populina, poplar leaf rust pathogen, have strong deleterious impacts wood production, respectively. Filamentous such as secrete molecules called disease effectors act modulators host cell physiology can suppress or trigger immunity. Current knowledge from other filamentous plant be exploited for...
Abstract Background Wheat yellow (stripe) rust caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (PST) is one of the most devastating diseases wheat worldwide. To design effective breeding strategies that maximize potential for durable disease resistance it important to understand molecular basis PST pathogenicity. In particular, characterisation structure, function and evolutionary dynamics secreted effector proteins are detected host immune receptors can help guide prioritize efforts. However,...
Magnaporthe oryzae (anamorph Pyricularia oryzae) is the causal agent of blast disease Poaceae crops and their wild relatives. To understand genetic mechanisms that drive host specialization M. oryzae, we carried out whole genome resequencing four isolates from rice (Oryza sativa), one foxtail millet (Setaria italica), three S. viridis, isolate each finger (Eleusine coracana), wheat (Triticum aestivum) oat (Avena in addition to an a sister species grisea, infects grass Digitaria sanguinalis....
Global preparedness minimizes the risk to food supplies
Wheat, one of the most important food crops, is threatened by a blast disease pandemic. Here, we show that clonal lineage wheat fungus recently spread to Asia and Africa following two independent introductions from South America. Through combination genome analyses laboratory experiments, decade-old pandemic can be controlled Rmg8 resistance gene sensitive strobilurin fungicides. However, also highlight potential clone evolve fungicide-insensitive variants sexually recombine with African...
Rust fungi are devastating crop pathogens that deliver effector proteins into infected tissues to modulate plant functions and promote parasitic growth. The genome of the poplar leaf rust fungus Melampsora larici-populina revealed a large catalog secreted proteins, some which have been considered candidate effectors. Unraveling how these function in host cells is key understanding pathogenicity mechanisms developing resistant plants. In this study, we used an effectoromics pipeline select,...
Abstract To gain entry to plants, many pathogenic fungi develop specialized infection structures called appressoria. Here, we demonstrate that appressorium morphogenesis in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is tightly regulated by cell cycle. Shortly after a spore lands on (Oryza sativa) leaf surface, single round of mitosis always occurs germ tube. We found initiation structure development DNA replication-dependent checkpoint. Genetic intervention synthesis, conditional mutation...
Plant pathogens secrete effector proteins to modulate plant immunity and promote host colonization. nucleotide binding leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) immunoreceptors recognize specific pathogen effectors directly or indirectly. Little is known about how NB-LRR of filamentous pathogens, such as Phytophthora infestans. AVR2 belongs a family 13 sequence-divergent P. infestans RXLR that are differentially recognized by members the R2 in Solanum demissum. We report putative phosphatase BSU-LIKE...
Rust fungi cause serious yield reductions on crops, including wheat, barley, soybean, coffee, and represent real threats to global food security. Of these fungi, the flax rust pathogen Melampsora lini has been developed extensively over past 80 years as a model understand molecular mechanisms that underpin pathogenesis. During infection, M. secretes virulence effectors promote disease. The number of effectors, their function degree conservation across fungal species is unknown. To assess...
Wheat stem rust, a devastating disease of wheat and barley caused by the fungal pathogen Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, was largely eradicated in Western Europe during mid-to-late twentieth century. However, isolated outbreaks have occurred recent years. Here we investigate whether lack resistance modern European varieties, increased presence its alternate host barberry changes climatic conditions could be facilitating resurgence. We report first rust occurrence United Kingdom nearly 60...
Understanding how plants and pathogens modulate gene expression during the host-pathogen interaction is key to uncovering molecular mechanisms that regulate disease progression. Recent advances in sequencing technologies have provided new opportunities decode complexity of such interactions. In this study, we used an RNA-based approach (RNA-seq) assess global profiles wheat yellow rust pathogen Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (PST) its host infection. We performed a detailed RNA-seq...
Accelerating international trade and climate change make pathogen spread an increasing concern. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, the causal agent of ash dieback, is a fungal that has been moving across continents hosts from Asian to European ash. Most common trees (Fraxinus excelsior) are highly susceptible H. although minority (~5%) have partial resistance dieback. Here, we assemble annotate fraxineus draft genome, which approaches chromosome scale. Pathogen genetic diversity Europe in Japan,...
Effective disease management depends on timely and accurate diagnosis to guide control measures. The capacity distinguish between individuals in a pathogen population with specific properties such as fungicide resistance, toxin production virulence profiles is often essential inform approaches. genomics revolution has led technologies that can rapidly produce high-resolution genotypic information define individual variants of species. However, their application complex fungal pathogens...
Parasite effector proteins target various host cell compartments to alter processes and promote infection. How effectors cross membrane-rich interfaces reach these is a major question in biology. Growing evidence suggests that use molecular mimicry subvert machinery for protein sorting. We recently identified chloroplast-targeted 1 (CTP1), candidate from the poplar leaf rust fungus Melampsora larici-populina carries predicted transit peptide accumulates chloroplasts mitochondria. Here, we...
Abstract In our recent Communications Biology article, we reported the first occurrence of wheat stem rust in UK nearly six decades. An increased incidence Western Europe, caused by fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici , could signify return this formidable foe. As pathologists fight back against devastating disease outline continuing research and strategies being employed to bridle its onslaught.
Abstract Since emerging in Brazil 1985, wheat blast has spread throughout South America and recently appeared Bangladesh Zambia. Here we show that two resistance genes, Rwt3 Rwt4 , acting as host-specificity barriers against non- Triticum pathotypes encode a nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat immune receptor tandem kinase, respectively. Molecular isolation of these genes will enable study the molecular interaction between pathogen effector host genes.
Abstract To infect plants, many pathogenic fungi develop specialized infection structures called appressoria. Here, we report that appressorium development in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae involves an unusual cell division, which nuclear division is spatially uncoupled from site of cytokinesis and septum formation. The position defined prior to mitosis by formation a heteromeric septin ring complex, was visualized spatial localization Septin4:green fluorescent protein (GFP)...
Rust fungal pathogens of wheat (Triticum spp.) affect crop yields worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying the virulence these remain elusive, due to limited availability suitable genetic research tools. Notably, inability perform high-throughput analyses candidate proteins (also known as effectors) impairs progress. We previously established a pipeline for fast-forward screens rust effectors in model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. This involves selecting silico and performing cell...