Studies on the interaction Sporisorium panici-leucophaei and Digitaria insularis

• Grant number: 18/24028-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Claudia Barros Monteiro Vitorello
• Grantee: Gustavo Schiavone Crestana
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fungi of the Ustilaginaceae family are the main causal agents of smut diseases in plants of the Poaceae family, resulting in significant agronomic and economic losses. The smut species present a biotrophic lifestyle, dependent on an intimate interaction with the host to complete its life cycle and produce spores (2n). The fungus Sporisorium panici-leucophaei (Spl) infects and colonizes seedlings of Digitaria insularis, causing the disease called sourgrass smut. Although it has a life cycle similar to other smuts, limit information is available about this pathosystem in the scientific literature. The main symptom of the disease caused by S. panici-leucophaei is more similar to sugarcane smut than that of other grass species. The development of a whip-like structure from apex of sourgrass seedlings reveals potential to compare both pathosystems. Thus, the definition of the pathogenicity mechanisms as well as the modulation of the host physiology by the pathogen are fundamental for the understanding of this pathosystem. The main objectives of the project will be the complete sequencing of the genome of S. panici-leucophaei and comparative genomic analyzes with the genome of the sugarcane smut (Sporisorium scitamineum), in order to obtain the first insights about the shared and species specific gene content. The in planta colonization patterns, the occurrence of symptoms, the expression of candidate effector genes, and cross-infection of S. panici-leucophaei in sugarcane will also be evaluated. The comparative study between S. panici-leucophaei and S. scitamineum will allow new inferences regarding the main mechanisms that contribute to its infection and colonization in sourgrass. This project is aligned with the objectives of the project FAPESP 2017/13268-2 coordinated by Prof. Claudia B. Monteiro-Vitorello entitled "Genomic and functional studies of the interaction Sporisorium scitamineum-sugarcane and other fungi that cause smut: advances and challenges". (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CRESTANA, GUSTAVO SCHIAVONE; TANIGUTI, LUCAS MITSUO; DOS SANTOS, CLESIVAN PEREIRA; BENEVENUTO, JULIANA; CERESINI, PAULO CEZAR; CARVALHO, GISELLE; KITAJIMA, JOAO PAULO; MONTEIRO-VITORELLO, CLAUDIA BARROS. Complete Chromosome-Scale Genome Sequence Resource for Sporisorium panici-leucophaei, the Causal Agent of Sourgrass Smut Disease. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS, v. 34, n. 4, p. 448-452, APR 2021. (18/24028-5, 17/13268-2, 16/17545-8)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

CRESTANA, Gustavo Schiavone. The complete genome sequence and comparative effectorome of Sporisorium panici-leucophaei: the causal smut disease agent in sourgrass (Digitaria insularis). 2020. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC) Piracicaba.