PROPOSAL TITLE/TITRE DE LA PROPOSITION : Test candidate genes from Fusarium gramninearum, a major pathogen of wheat, for contribution to pathogenecity or pathogen fitness
A – Identification
Type of Candidate (check one or more)/Type de candidats (choisir un ou plusieurs) :
Graduate students / étudiants des cycles supérieurs:
- Master’s or equivalent /
Maîtrise ou équivalent
- Ph.D. X
Visiting Scientist from a university or a research organisation/Chercheur visiteur provenant d’une université ou d’un organisme de recherche.
Visitor expected length of stay at AAFC, specify number of months (minimum and/or maximum)/
Durée prévue du séjour du visiteur à AAC, spécifier le nombre de mois (minimum et/ou maximum) :
12-24 months
Start date must be before March 31, 2013/
Date impérative de début du séjour avant le 31 mars 2013, specify/spécifier :
November 2012
Research location in Canada / Lieu de la recherche au Canada :
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, AAFC
Website : http://www.agr.gc.ca/science
City/Ville, Province :
Ottawa, Ontario
Contact:
Thérèse Ouellet
Email/Courriel : therese.ouellet@agr.gc.ca
Phone/Téléphone : 613-759-1658
B – The Research Team/ L’équipe de recherche
AAFC Supervisor/Superviseur à AAC : Dr. Thérèse Ouellet
Other AAFC scientists/Autres chercheurs d’AAC : Dr. Barbara Blackwell
University partners/Partenaires universitaires :
Industry partners/Partenaires industriels : Dr. Sue Abrams, PBI, NRC
C – Proposal Description/ Description de la proposition
Objective/Objectif :
Fusarium head blight (FHB) in small grain cereals is a devastating disease resulting in low yielding, low quality, mycotoxin-contaminated grain, adversely affecting food safety and competitiveness in Canada. The fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum (Fg) is the major causal agent of FHB in Canada and many temperate areas of the world. Although some genes and factors have been identified as important to Fgfor pathogenicity, much is still unknown about what makes this pathogen so successful. Fg, for which a full genome sequence is available, can be manipulated genetically via targeted gene disruption to test the contribution of candidate genes in pathogenicity or pathogen fitness. Recent studies have shown that Fg can produce secondary metabolites that, when expressed by plants are known to modulate the plant defense response. We want to identify the biosynthetic genes responsible for the production of those metabolites and determine their importance in Fg pathogenicity. The candidate genes will be cloned and used to construct transformation vectors for targeted disruption, then the modified strains of Fg will be tested for production of the metabolites, and in fitness and pathogenicity assays. Combined to the information that the team has already collected by disruption of other groups of genes, these experiments will contribute to define the network of mechanisms that allow Fusarium graminearum to be an effective broad-host pathogen.
Value of the Opportunity (issue, results, outcomes)/Valeur ajoutée de l’opportunité (problème, résultats, retombées):
Mycotoxins are the most significant food safety issue in the international grain marketplace and new stringent regulations on
toxin levels in grain will significantly affect the competitiveness of Canadian grain internationally. The new knowledge generated by the proposed work will increase our understanding of the mechanisms used by Fusarium to cause disease on wheat. Knowledge of the host/pathogen interaction will greatly improve our ability to design novel strategies in crop germplasm, or interfere with pathogenesis using sustainable crop management protocols (e.g. biological control).
D – Describe the qualifications needed (academic, study, knowledge, skills, experiences, etc.), and the benefits to the candidate /Décrire les qualifications requises (études, connaissances, compétences, expériences, etc) et les avantages pour les candidats
Candidate students are expected to have some experience of basic molecular biology techniques (eg. extraction of DNA and RNA, RT-PCR, cloning), and of manipulation in sterile conditions. He/she will receive training in fungal genomics approaches (bioinformatics analyses, grow and maintenance of Fusarium, targeted gene disruption in the fungus; testing of transformed strains for desired modification, in growth and fitness tests and in a wheat pathogenicity assay for FHB; quantitative PCR, etc).
PROPOSAL / LA PROPOSITION ID:
2012_Ottawa_07b
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PROPOSAL TITLE/TITRE DE LA PROPOSITION : Identification of expressed sequences associated with resistance to Fusarium head blight in a wheat-Thinopyrum elongatum addition line
A – Identification
Type of Candidate (check one or more)/Type de candidats (choisir un ou plusieurs) :
Graduate students / étudiants des cycles supérieurs:
- Master’s or equivalent /
Maîtrise ou équivalent
- Ph.D. X
Visiting Scientist from a university or a research organisation/Chercheur visiteur provenant d’une université ou d’un organisme de recherche.
Visitor expected length of stay at AAFC, specify number of months (minimum and/or maximum)/
Durée prévue du séjour du visiteur à AAC, spécifier le nombre de mois (minimum et/ou maximum) :
24 months
Start date must be before March 31, 2013/
Date impérative de début du séjour avant le 31 mars 2013, specify/spécifier :
November 2012
Research location in Canada / Lieu de la recherche au Canada :
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, AAFC
Website : http://www.agr.gc.ca/science
City/Ville, Province :
Ottawa, Ontario
Contact:
Thérèse Ouellet
Email/Courriel : therese.ouellet@agr.gc.ca
Phone/Téléphone : 613-759-1658
B – The Research Team/ L’équipe de recherche
AAFC Supervisor/Superviseur à AAC : Dr. Thérèse Ouellet
Other AAFC scientists/Autres chercheurs d’AAC : Drs. Shea Miller, George Fedak
University partners/Partenaires universitaires : Dr. Thor Arnason, University of Ottawa
Industry partners/Partenaires industriels : Dr. Andrew Sharpe, PBI, NRC
C – Proposal Description/ Description de la proposition
Objective/Objectif :
Iinitial progress has been made in the development of wheat varieties with some tolerance/resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), a major problem in wheat, using the resistant cultivars Sumai 3 and Frontana as sources of resistance. However more diversity in source and higher resistance levels will be required to produce wheat with durable resistance under epidemic levels of Fusarium. Screening has identified the wild grass Thinopyrum elongatum as a source of strong FHB resistance which has been introgressed into common wheat. Using addition lines carrying single Th. elongatum chromosomes, resistance to FHB has been mapped to the long arm of a single Th. elongatum chromosome. Targeted genomic sequencing coupled with comparative global expression profiling of susceptible parent and resistant lines is in progress. The objectives of this project will be 1) to use bioinformatics tools to compile the sequence datasets and to identify unique sequences (candidate genes) from Th. elongatum that are xpressed in the resistant line but absent in the susceptible one; 2) develop PCR markers for the candidate genes and use them to validate the bioinformatics analyses and to screen a collection of wheat lines containing smaller, introgressed fragments of the Th. elongatum chromosome, to narrow down the list of candidate genes. Candidate genes strongly supported by molecular and other data will be tested in a transient RNA silencing assay to determine if they have a direct role in the novel FHB resistance.
Value of the Opportunity (issue, results, outcomes)/Valeur ajoutée de l’opportunité (problème, résultats, retombées):
Mycotoxins are the most significant food safety issue in the international grain marketplace and new stringent regulations on
toxin levels in grain will significantly affect the competitiveness of Canadian grain internationally. The new knowledge generated by the proposed work will significantly increase our understanding of how some plants defend themselves against Fusarium. This knowledge will improve our ability to develop efficient strategies combining natural sources of resistance.
D – Describe the qualifications needed (academic, study, knowledge, skills, experiences, etc.), and the benefits to the candidate /Décrire les qualifications requises (études, connaissances, compétences, expériences, etc) et les avantages pour les candidats
Candidate students are expected to have some experience of basic plant molecular biology techniques (eg. extraction of RNA+DNA, RT-PCR, cloning, bioinformatics tools to analyze sequences) and of plant growth. He/she will receive training in plant genomics approaches (bioinformatics analyses of high throughput sequencing data, quantitative PCR, testing of candidate genes in a wheat transient assay might also be performed).
PROPOSAL / LA PROPOSITION ID:
2012_Ottawa_08
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PROPOSAL TITLE/TITRE DE LA PROPOSITION : Breeding corn for resistance to corn (Maize) leaf diseases
A – Identification
Type of Candidate (check one or more)/Type de candidats (choisir un ou plusieurs) :
Graduate students / étudiants des cycles supérieurs:
- Master’s or equivalent /
Maîtrise ou équivalent
X- Ph.D.
Visiting Scientist from a university or a research organisation/Chercheur visiteur provenant d’une université ou d’un organisme de recherche.
Visitor expected length of stay at AAFC, specify number of months (minimum and/or maximum)/
Durée prévue du séjour du visiteur à AAC, spécifier le nombre de mois (minimum et/ou maximum) :
12-24
Start date must be before March 31, 2012/
Date impérative de début du séjour avant le 31 mars 2012, specify/spécifier :
September 30, 2012
Research location in Canada / Lieu de la recherche au Canada :
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, AAFC
Website : http://www.agr.gc.ca/science
City/Ville, Province :
Ottawa / Ontario
Contact:
Dr. Lana Reid
Email/Courriel : lana.reid@agr.gc.ca
Phone/Téléphone : 1-613-759-1619
B – The Research Team/ L’équipe de recherche
AAFC Supervisor/Superviseur à AAC : Dr. Lana Reid
Other AAFC scientists/Autres chercheurs d’AAC :
University partners/Partenaires universitaires :
Industry partners/Partenaires industriels :
C – Proposal Description/ Description de la proposition
Objective/Objectif :
To allow a student or visiting scientist an opportunity to work in the Canadian public corn breeding industry. Initial co-operative projects will involve the identification of virulence races of northern corn leaf blight and the evaluation of different Ht genes under artificial epidemic conditions in Canada. Some molecular characterization of both pathogen and Ht genes will also be done if the suitable student candidate is accepted.
Value of the Opportunity (issue, results, outcomes)/Valeur ajoutée de l’opportunité (problème, résultats, retombées):
Student/scientist must have a Master’s degree in plant pathology and have knowledge in corn breeding.
D – Describe the qualifications needed (academic, study, knowledge, skills, experiences, etc.), and the benefits to the candidate /Décrire les qualifications requises (études, connaissances, compétences, expériences, etc) et les avantages pour les candidats
Student must have a Master’s degree in plant pathology and have knowledge in corn breeding.
