Plant & Animal Genome VI Conference

C5

RICEBLASTDB: A DATABASE FOR THE RICE BLAST FUNGUS, Magnaporthe grisea

1. Department of Plant Breeding, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
2. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
3. University of Wisconsin, Dept. of Plant Pathology, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA

The ascomycetous fungus Magnaporthe grisea (anamorph Pyricularia grisea) causes blast, a serious disease in rice. Current research areas include genomics, pathogenesis and host-specificity, and population genetics. To integrate the diverse types of information being generated about the pathogen, we are developing RiceBlastDB, using ACeDB as the underlying database engine. The database currently includes an extensive bibliography about the fungus, a genetic map based on a cross between isolates Guy11 and 2539, and data on the European rice blast population, including DNA fingerprint variation, lineage structure, and pathotype information. Work is currently underway to incorporate information on additional blast populations worldwide. We are working closely with the RiceGenes curators to integrate data between host and pathogen. Rice blast is emerging as a model system for examining host-pathogen interactions. When more fully developed, we hope that this database will facilitate understanding of pathogenesis and host-plant resistance, not only in the rice blast pathosystem, but in other pathosystems as well, through cross-species comparisons (on the host side) and comparative genomic analysis (on the fungal side). On a more immediate practical level, the population and pathotype data may serve to guide breeders in deciding which resistance genes to use in a breeding program, and in which growing region those genes would be useful. The database will be made available on the Internet through the Agricultural Genome Information System on the World Wide Web.