Characterization of mating type loci of Sporisorium scitamineum, the causal agent of sugarcane smut

Author(s)

Maria Carolina Pezzo Kmit

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2014-01-30

Examining board members

Claudia Barros Monteiro Vitorello; João Paulo Fumio Whitaker Kitajima

• Advisor: Claudia Barros Monteiro Vitorello

Abstract

Sporisorium scitamineum is a basidiomycete fungus causing the smut disease in sugarcane, with a negative impact on the cultivation of sugarcane, and occurring in all producing countries. The manifestation of the disease in sugarcane crop depends on the formation of a dikaryotic hyphae originated of the anastomosis of two haploid mating type compatible cells. The control of the sexual crossing (mating) is performed by expression of a set of genes present in two loci, a and b. The locus a encodes a lipopeptide with the function of pheromone and pheromone membrane receptor responsible for cell recognition and compatible hyphal fusion, whereas the locus b encodes transcription factors that control the expression of genes responsible for the maintenance of the dikaryotic hyphal growth in plant. Although they play an essential role in the maintenance of infection and disease in sugarcane process, knowledge about the genomic organization and function of other genes in these two loci of S. scitamineum and other smut fungi is still incipient. Thus, the overall goal of this work was to isolate genomic regions related to the mating type in S. scitamineum and to perform a comparative analyze with similar regions described and deposited in public databases. For the isolation of these regions, we constructed a genomic BAC library of a haploid strain of S. scitamineum, the Ssc39 (+), isolated from a variety of sugarcane with symptoms of high susceptibility. Eleven clones were selected by PCR. The inserts were sequenced and used to confirm the assembly of both loci in the genome sequencing of the fungus. Although S. scitamineum belongs to the class of bipolar system of sexual response as well as the fungus U. hordei , the comparative analysis of both loci indicated that S. scitamineum shows greater similarity to the S. reilianum mainly with A1 allele, which has a tetrapolar system sexual response. The annotation of the genes and characterization mating type genes enabled the comparison and better understanding of the importance of these genes in the life cycle of the fungus. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/16503-6 - Characterization of mating type loci of Sporisorium scitamineum, the causal agent of sugarcane smut
• Grantee: Maria Carolina Pezzo Kmit
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master