PI: Michael D. Plamann (University of Missouri - Kansas City) CoPI: Kevin McClusky (University of Missouri - Kansas City)
This award provides for the continued long-term support for the Fungal Genetics Stock Center (FGSC), located at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. Funds awarded support the continued maintenance, collection, improvement, and distribution of genetic stocks of Neurospora, Aspergillus, Magnaporthe, Cryptococcus, and to a lesser extent 72 additional species of filamentous fungi. The total collection consists of over 60,000 strains. The availability of this large collection of reliable genetics stocks has markedly stimulated the use of these organisms for research in genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology and systematics and other related fields. Many of the strains in the collection are also used for educational purposes. The FGSC also maintains and distributes molecular tools for fungal research such as cloned genes and libraries of genomic clones or cDNAs from filamentous fungi. The Fungal Genetics Newsletter (53 issues to date) and a biennial catalog of available cultures and services are also prepared at the FGSC. The FGSC maintains a frequently updated web site (www.fgsc.net) that includes a list of all strains in the collection in the form of a printed catalog as well as other information of interest to fungal geneticists such as details of useful methods, issues of the Fungal Genetics Newsletter, abstracts from national and international fungal genetics meetings from 1995 to the present, and bibliographies of papers related to fungal genetics.
