Uncovering the genome secrets of the Blackleg fungus
2011-02-16
(Press-News.org) The genome of the Blackleg fungus, which causes the most damaging disease to canola crops worldwide, has been sequenced for the first time by a team of French and Australian scientists.
Professor Barbara Howlett from the School of Botany at the University of Melbourne, who led the Australian research team, said the discovery was a significant step towards controlling the rampant Blackleg disease.
"The 12,500 genes that constitute the genetic blue print for the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans have been identified and now can be mined to discover how this fungus causes the deadly disease," she said.
Blackleg disease can devastate crops and in 2003 caused 90% yield losses in some regions of Australia. The fungus reproduces so prolifically that it develops into genetically diverse populations that can quickly overcome the efficacy of resistance genes in canola crops.
"We have known for a long time that this fungus can evolve to become virulent and cause disease very quickly. Now we are much better placed to tell farmers which canola varieties they should sow to maximise their yield," she said.
The study published today in the prestigious on-line journal Nature Communications also involved researchers from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), led by Dr Thierry Rouxel and the Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens in Perth, Western Australia, led by Professor Richard Oliver.
Using information from the genome sequence, researchers have developed molecular markers that can predict whether disease outbreaks will occur.
"If an epidemic is predicted then farmers can plant a different canola variety, which will not readily succumb to disease," Professor Howlett said.
The study revealed a unique compartmentalisation of the genome into discrete alternating blocks that are either gene-rich or gene-poor. "Such a feature has not been seen previously in a fungal genome," Professor Howlett said.
"These gene-poor regions have few active genes but those that are present play important roles in the disease."
She said other regions of the genome are gene-rich and contained the 'housekeeping' genes, the pedestrian but essential genes necessary for an organism to survive.
"What our study revealed is that it is the location of the disease-related genes within the junk DNA which allows the genes to be readily mutated, lost or gained. This enables the blackleg fungus to cause disease outbreaks on canola varieties with particular resistant genes."
"The development of markers using information from the genome sequence enable us to better target the disease making genes and provide us with better information for crop protection strategies," she said.
These findings feed into a national project led by Professor Howlett and funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation which is aimed at developing disease management strategies for canola farmers in a 'genome to paddock' approach.
INFORMATION: END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-02-16
VIDEO:
Three snapshots of the 3-D structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis' enzyme PriA are combined in this video to show the changes the enzyme is capable of undergoing.
Click here for more information.
In a paper published today in PNAS, scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg, Germany, reveal new insights into the workings of enzymes from a group of bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. ...
2011-02-16
UPTON, NY - Scientists hoping to unravel the mystery of proton spin at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC, http://www.bnl.gov/rhic/), a 2.4-mile-circumference particle accelerator at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, have a new tool at their disposal - the first to directly explore how quarks of different types, or "flavors," contribute to the overall spin of the proton. The technique, described in papers just published by RHIC's STAR and PHENIX collaborations in Physical Review Letters, relies on the measurement of particles called ...
2011-02-16
Scientists today agree that there are five molecules that are known to affect or cause Alzheimer's disease, which plagues an estimated five million Americans. The potency of these molecules is linked to environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle.
Prof. Daniel Michaelson of Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences has illuminating news about one of these five molecules — APOE, created by the apolipoprotein E. gene found in all of our bodies.
Prof. Michaelson says APOE comes in two forms, a "good" APOE gene ...
2011-02-16
This release is available in French.
Montreal, February 15, 2011 — For many women in violent relationships, leaving is not an option. Yet a woman's arsenal of defenses for resisting violence critically depends on her position within the family and community, according to new research from Concordia University published in the journal Review of Radical Political Economics.
"Women's resistance is often conceptualized only as exit, which is problematic," says study author Stephanie Paterson, a professor in the Concordia University Department of Political Science and ...
2011-02-16
CHG cloths more effective in reducing risk for acquiring HAIs
Study shows 64 percent decreased risk of infection from MRSA or VRE
May be beneficial for both ICU and general medical unit patients
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A new study from Rhode Island Hospital has found a reduced risk of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) when using two percent chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) cloths for daily bathing instead of soap and water. The study found a 64 percent decrease in the risk of acquiring an infection from either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Vancomycin-resistant ...
2011-02-16
The way the heart responds to an early beat is predictive of cardiac death, especially for people with no conventional markers of cardiovascular disease, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The conventional risk factors, such as high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure, account for many but not all deaths from cardiovascular causes. As a result, doctors are always searching for better ways to identify patients at risk of cardiac death.
The new research indicates that an abnormal response to an early ...
2011-02-16
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers say their supercomputer, named Novo-G, is the world's fastest reconfigurable supercomputer and is able to perform some important science applications faster than the Chinese supercomputer touted as the world's most powerful.
In November, the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers, for the first time ever, named the Chinese Tianhe-1A system at the National Computer Center in Tainjin, China as No. 1.
In his state of the union speech, President Barack Obama noted, "Just recently, China became home ...
2011-02-16
Alexandria, VA – The U.S. had two key strategic advantages over the Axis in World War II: oil and water. Although other factors played major roles in the U.S. and its allies winning the war, these two natural resources played a much larger role than recognized.
World War II was the first highly mechanized war. In the March feature "How Oil and Water Helped the U.S. Win World War II," EARTH magazine explores how the abundance of domestic US oil and water in the South and Pacific Northwest drove not only tanks and planes, but also industrial production and technological ...
2011-02-16
OAK BROOK, Ill. – Feb. 15, 2011 – Researchers from Korea report that, compared with conventional sedation, balanced propofol sedation (BPS) using propofol in combination with midazolam and meperidine, provided higher health care provider satisfaction, better patient cooperation, and similar adverse event profiles in patients undergoing therapeutic endoscopic procedures. This is the first prospective study of BPS in direct comparison with conventional sedation. The researchers note that this study provides further evidence to support the adoption of endoscopist-directed ...
2011-02-16
Bethesda, MD - William T. Talman, MD, President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), praised President Barack Obama for his continuing support for science and engineering. "The President recognizes that our future depends on research," Talman stated. In a letter to President Obama, Talman noted that his "support for this critical investment—even during a time of unprecedented budgetary constraints—will help to improve the lives of millions of people."
In his FY 2012 Budget, President Obama proposed a $745 million increase over the ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Uncovering the genome secrets of the Blackleg fungus
