Most pathogenic fungi have two stages in their lifecycle. One stage is produced by fertilization and has chromosomes from both parents, whereas the other stage is produced by mechanisms similar to gamete formation, and therefore has only half the number of chromosomes (the haploid stage). Often, the two stages differ in the degree to which they cause disease. This study uses molecular biology and other experimental studies to explore the link between disease ecology and genetic structure of a plant pathogenic fungus where the haploid stage is avoided by a special kind of mating (intra-tetrad selfing). This study will use the anther-smut fungus, Microbotryum violaceum, as a well-studied model system.
Intra-tetrad selfing also occurs in a wide range of organism, including commercially and scientifically valuable fungi, plants, and insects (e.g. yeasts and fruit flies), but its consequences have never been explored empirically. The proposed research will therefore have relevance for understanding genetic variation in species with this breeding system and possible novel mechanisms for changes in pathogenic virulence.
