Healthy rice leaves on the left do not show the lesions that afflict the infected leaves on the right.

Of prime importance in the Fungal Genomics laboratory is the study of the interaction between rice and the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea, through whole genome analysis of pathogen-host recognition and subsequent responses in the rice blast patho-system.

M. grisea is one of the main pathological threats to food supplies worldwide. Annually,enough rice is lost to this disease to feed 60 million people. Continued global warming may increase the problems associated with rice blast disease and could foster the development of crop disease epidemics.

Magnaporthe grisea spores

The study of the rice blast fungus emerged from a grassroots international scientific effort concerned with the threat of rice blast to the world’s food supply. Crop losses have been magnified in recent times by intensified rice production.  Genetic resistant strains of rice have been and continue to be the primary means of disease control for blast. However, as with many diseases, M. grisea is able to evolve rapidly and to overcome rice gene resistance. 

The goal of the this project is to develop genomic resources for understanding fungal-host interactions, and to develop durable, environmentally sound strategies to manage rice blast disease. A complete understanding of these interactions requires knowledge of both the pathogen and the host.

Here are the scientists working on this project:

• Ralph A. Dean, Laboratory of Fungal Genomics, Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University
  
  
• Daniel Ebbole, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University
  
  
• Mark Farman, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky
  
  
• Mark Orbach, University of Arizona
  
  
• Cari Soderlund, University of Arizona
  
  
• Guo-Liang Wang, Department of Plant Pathology, Ohio State University, Columbus Ohio
  
  
• Rod Wing, University of Arizona
  
  
• Jin Rong Xu, Purdue University