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Author ORCID Identifier
N/A
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Plant Biology
Year Degree Awarded
2018
Month Degree Awarded
September
First Advisor
Li-Jun Ma
Second Advisor
Robert Wick
Third Advisor
Elizabeth Vierling
Fourth Advisor
Jesse Mager
Subject Categories
Bioinformatics | Computational Biology | Genomics | Plant Pathology
Abstract
This dissertation is composed of two projects that focus on pathogen and plant signaling within the framework of plant pathology. The first project targets protein kinases within the species complex Fusarium oxysporum based on genomic information and tracks their presence/absence and copy number variation across evolutionary time. We have predicted the kinomes of 19 Ascomycete fungi using the kinase annotating software Kinannote. Among Fusaria, kinases related to the perception of the environment, such as Histidine kinases, are proliferated. Similarly, I observed the expansion of Target of Rapamycin (TOR) kinase that regulates cell growth and development in responding to environmental cues. The second project compares metatranscriptomics of a resistant (MRI) versus a susceptible (SB22) Ocimum basilicum) cultivars, both infected with the pathogen Peronospora belbahrii. Using de novo approach, I predicted MRI unique genes, including R-genes and malectin-domain containing receptor-like kinases and genes involved in the biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites. Based on the observation of the unique upregulation of isochorismate synthase in MRI, I hypothesize that salicylic acid is involved in the resistance response of MRI.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/12532112
Recommended Citation
Deiulio, Gregory, "A Plant Pathology View of Signaling: a computational study of Fusarium oxysporum Kinomes and Downy Mildew Resistance in Sweet Basil" (2018). Doctoral Dissertations. 1431.
https://doi.org/10.7275/12532112
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/1431
Included in
Bioinformatics Commons, Computational Biology Commons, Genomics Commons, Plant Pathology Commons