9321896 Covert The fungus Cronartium quercuum fusiforme causes fusiform rust in Southern pines. The fungus must grow in association with two different host trees, pine and oak, in order to complete its life cycle. This starter grant, based on Dr. Covert's NSF Plant Postdoctoral Fellowship, is funding research aimed at the identification of genes involved with the cause of galls on pines and the specificity of different spore forms for different hosts. A collection of genes from the fungus is being made, and techniques are being developed to genetically transform the fungus. %%% Fusiform rust is the most economically significant tree disease in the Southern United States. These experiments will allow the techniques of molecular biology to be applied to studies of how this fungus causes disease and how it propagates itself. ***
