Fungal sex for disease control and strain improvement
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: School of Life Sciences
Abstract
Background
Fungi are both detrimental and beneficial to mankind. The control of plant disease is critical for the agricultural industry, with at least £440 million spent annually on fungicides in the UK alone. Control measures using chemical/genetic means often become less effective due to the evolution of resistance by pathogens. The identification of new ways to control disease is therefore essential. By contrast, fungi are used to generate a number of foodstuffs, valuable antibiotics, other pharmaceutical compounds, and metabolites used in biotechnology. Therefore there is great value in being able to produce new improved fungal strains for food and industrial applications. This project seeks to use and exploit fungal sexual reproduction in two ways.
First, there is accumulating evidence to indicate that diffusible 'sex hormones' act as key switching signals to alter fungal growth during reproduction. These fungal sex hormones, or synthetic derivatives, might be used to inhibit asexual growth thereby preventing spread of disease and be of great value as a source of novel agrochemicals to ensure sustained disease control. Similarly, fungal sex hormones could be used to manipulate the growth of fungi in the food and biotechnology sectors. Preliminary molecular-genetic work as part of an international genome consortium has identified genes that might be linked to hormone production.
Second, fungal sexual reproduction can be used to generate sexual offspring with a range of characteristics that might be beneficial for use as improved strains in food production and other industrial uses. The sexual cycle can also be used with novel bioinformatic tools to identify genes of interest.
Aims
Specific PhD main aims are:
(1) To identify and purify fungal sex hormones from model fungi.
(2) To determine the effects of sex hormones on asexual and sexual development in fungal species, including those causing disease.
(3) To perform bioinformatic analysis to identify genes involved with production of hormonal factors and use expression analysis to investigate expression during sexual development and hormone treatment.
(4) To use the sexual cycle of industrially important species to produce improved strains for the food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, as well as investigating the genetic basis of traits of interest.
Research training
The PhD will offer training in classical microbiology procedures, biochemical and physiological experimentation, bioinformatic/genomic and molecular-genetic experimental work, and associated data analysis and computing skills. A range of biochemical extraction procedures will be used to identify possible hormonal fractions. These will be assayed for activity and then further purification undertaken to identify the active component prior to structural elucidation. In tandem, bioinformatic/genomic analyses will be undertaken to identify genes involved with possible production of hormonal factors. Molecular-genetic expression work will be undertaken to investigate expression associated with sexual development and hormone treatment. A variety of chromatographic techniques (e.g. GC-MS, HPLC) will be used to screen for improved industrial strains.
References
Böhm J, Dyer PS et al. (2013). Proc Natl Acad Sci 110: 1476-1481.
O'Gorman CM, Dyer PS et al. (2009). Nature 457: 471-474.
Fungi are both detrimental and beneficial to mankind. The control of plant disease is critical for the agricultural industry, with at least £440 million spent annually on fungicides in the UK alone. Control measures using chemical/genetic means often become less effective due to the evolution of resistance by pathogens. The identification of new ways to control disease is therefore essential. By contrast, fungi are used to generate a number of foodstuffs, valuable antibiotics, other pharmaceutical compounds, and metabolites used in biotechnology. Therefore there is great value in being able to produce new improved fungal strains for food and industrial applications. This project seeks to use and exploit fungal sexual reproduction in two ways.
First, there is accumulating evidence to indicate that diffusible 'sex hormones' act as key switching signals to alter fungal growth during reproduction. These fungal sex hormones, or synthetic derivatives, might be used to inhibit asexual growth thereby preventing spread of disease and be of great value as a source of novel agrochemicals to ensure sustained disease control. Similarly, fungal sex hormones could be used to manipulate the growth of fungi in the food and biotechnology sectors. Preliminary molecular-genetic work as part of an international genome consortium has identified genes that might be linked to hormone production.
Second, fungal sexual reproduction can be used to generate sexual offspring with a range of characteristics that might be beneficial for use as improved strains in food production and other industrial uses. The sexual cycle can also be used with novel bioinformatic tools to identify genes of interest.
Aims
Specific PhD main aims are:
(1) To identify and purify fungal sex hormones from model fungi.
(2) To determine the effects of sex hormones on asexual and sexual development in fungal species, including those causing disease.
(3) To perform bioinformatic analysis to identify genes involved with production of hormonal factors and use expression analysis to investigate expression during sexual development and hormone treatment.
(4) To use the sexual cycle of industrially important species to produce improved strains for the food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, as well as investigating the genetic basis of traits of interest.
Research training
The PhD will offer training in classical microbiology procedures, biochemical and physiological experimentation, bioinformatic/genomic and molecular-genetic experimental work, and associated data analysis and computing skills. A range of biochemical extraction procedures will be used to identify possible hormonal fractions. These will be assayed for activity and then further purification undertaken to identify the active component prior to structural elucidation. In tandem, bioinformatic/genomic analyses will be undertaken to identify genes involved with possible production of hormonal factors. Molecular-genetic expression work will be undertaken to investigate expression associated with sexual development and hormone treatment. A variety of chromatographic techniques (e.g. GC-MS, HPLC) will be used to screen for improved industrial strains.
References
Böhm J, Dyer PS et al. (2013). Proc Natl Acad Sci 110: 1476-1481.
O'Gorman CM, Dyer PS et al. (2009). Nature 457: 471-474.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Paul Dyer (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Jeremy Roberts (Primary Supervisor) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M008770/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/10/2024 | |||
| 1803686 | Studentship | BB/M008770/1 | 01/10/2016 | 06/01/2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with David Withall (Biointeractions and Crop Protection- Rothamsted Research) |
| Organisation | Rothamsted Research |
| Department | Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Introducing David Withall to fungal hormones and potential use for disease control. Joint PhD proposal stemming from this work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This collaboration utilises the group's biochemical expertise and equipment (HPLC/LCMS) for purification and characterisation of hormonal compounds from Pyrenopeziza brassicae. |
| Impact | Crude extracts were fractionated using HPLC and the resulting fractions re-assayed for activity. This has allowed us to narrow down activity to a few compounds (down from 100s). Current work is using mass spectrometry and NMR to identify these compounds. |
| Start Year | 2019 |