Pathogen Projects

Biology of mini-chromosomes in the fungus causing blast diseases

We recently reported a high-quality genome assembly of an aggressive, recently-isolated wheat blast strain plus the first assembled mini-chromosome sequence for the blast pathogen. We hypothesize the crosstalk between mini-chromosomes and core-chromosomes resulting in effector gene sequence variability and reshuffling with impacts on pathogen aggressiveness and host selectivity. The hypothesis will be tested through genetic, genomic, and cytological approaches.