Plant, Animal & Microbe Genomes X Conference

January 12-16, 2002
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Poster: Microbial Sequencing and Genome Programs
            

GENE DISCOVERY IN THE RICE BLAST FUNGUS, MAGNAPORTHE GRISEA: ANALYSIS OF ESTS

¹ Program for the Biology of Filamentous Fungi, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 USA

² Fungal Genomics Laboratory, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606 USA

EST and Genomic sequencing is providing an unprecented view of the genome of Magnaporthe grisea. The genes being discovered in this process provide the tools needed to understand the signaling between rice and the rice blast fungus. In EST sequencing to date we have identified over 3000 unique genes of the estimated 5000 genes we will capture via EST sequencing. Sequences have been determined from several cDNA libraries from different cell types or growth conditions including appressoria, conidia, and mycelium from minimal medium, complete medium and nitrogen starved cultures. We reason that genes involved in secondary metabolism and genes encoding secreted proteins are responsible for production of the most important signals in the interaction between pathogen and host. So far, roughly 200 genes identified through EST sequencing are predicted to encode secreted proteins. A significant number of novel genes have been discovered. Only 60% of the genes identified have homologues in the closely related fungus, Neurospora crassa. A significantly lower fraction of M. grisea genes have homologs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, or Candida albicans. The raw and processed EST data is available via the web at http://plpalinux.tamu.edu or http://www.fungalgenomics.ncsu.edu.