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Using mating-compatibility gene markers to detect new incursions of Austropuccinia psidii
Presenter: Thaís Boufleur, University of São Paulo
Date: 17 April 2024, 11am NZST
Brazil is the center of origin for Austropuccinia psidii, the causal agent of myrtle rust. Austropuccinia psidii is an obligate biotroph that has its asexual dikaryotic stage associated with epidemic outbreaks on a wide global host range. While A. psidii is structured by host in its native range, in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, a single lineage of A. psidii, called the pandemic biotype, is reported and incursions of other lineages represent an additional risk to biodiversity and industries. Join us to hear Thaís Boufleur, Assistant Professor at University of São Paulo, present on the relationships and evolutionary dynamics of A. psidii. She is part of a team who has sequenced the genomes of three Brazilian isolates with evidence of host adaptations to Eucalyptus spp., Syzygium jambos and Psidium guajava. The genomes were HiC-phased and annotated, in order to compare haplotypes with the genome of the pandemic biotype. They identified specific and shared candidate effectors among the different strains of A. psidii. The four sequenced genomes were used to design a novel diagnostic approach targeting the fungal mating-type HD (homeodomain) transcription factor locus, enabling the differentiation of the pandemic biotype of A. psidii from other lineages. Validation of this lineage-specific assay on A. psidii isolates from different sources underscores its efficacy as a robust diagnostic tool, holding promise for detecting new pathogen incursions.
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