U.S. scientists
are studying the recently mapped genetic makeup of a deadly fungus to learn
more about the world of pathogens.
Purdue University
researchers are studying the fungus Fusarium graminearum that spawns the
worst cereal grains disease known and also can produce toxins potentially
fatal to people and livestock.
The fungus,
especially destructive to wheat and barley, has resulted in an estimated
$10 billion in damage to U.S. crops in the past decade. The scientists
who sequenced the fungus' genes expect the genome to aid in discovering
what makes that particular pathogen so harmful, what triggers the process
that spreads the fungus and why various fungi attack specific plants.
The investigations
also might lead to producing plants that are resistant to the fungus --
something that, so far, hasn't been possible, said Purdue molecular biologist
Jin-Rong Xu.
Xu is focusing
on identifying which genes enable the fungus to cause the disease Fusarium
head blight, or scab. He and an international team found certain chromosomal
regions in Fusarium graminearum appear to allow the fungus to contaminate
crops and cause disease.
That research
was reported in the journal Science.
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