| Project/Area Number |
15580033
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Plant pathology
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| Research Institution | National University Corporation Tottori University |
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Principal Investigator |
KODAMA Motoichiro National University Corporation Tottori University, Faculty of Agriculture, Associate Professor, 農学部, 助教授 (00183343)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OTANI Hiroshi National University Corporation Tottori University, Faculty of Agriculture, Professor, 農学部, 教授 (50032305)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2004)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥2,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000)
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| Keywords | plant pathogen / host-specific toxin / evolution / horizontal gene transfer / CD chromosomes / pathogenicity |
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| Research Abstract |
The mechanism for determining specificity in plant-parasite interactions is one of the most intriguing issues in modern plant pathology. Although key factors that determine such specificity are unknown in most plant diseases, certain fungal pathogens are known to produce host-specific toxins(HSTs) as compatibility determinants. Our research is aimed at assessing evolution of pathogenic strategy in A.alternata pathogens that produce HSTs. We have cloned and characterized a gene (AMT) that plays a crucial role in AM-toxin biosynthesis by the apple pathotype of A.alternata and shown that it is required for pathogenicity to susceptible apple. We have also shown a polyketide synthase gene, ALT1, whose product catalyzes the production of AAL-toxin in the tomato pathotype of A.alternata. These HST biosynthetic genes reside on conditionally dispensable(CD) chromosomes found only in the pathogenic and HST-producing strains of A.alternata and homologues of the genes were not detected in nonpathogenic strains of A.alternata. This suggests that these genes may have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer and provides a possible mechanism whereby new pathotypes could arise in nature.
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