T-Toxin Virulence Genes: Unconnected Dots in a Sea of Repeats.

In 1970, the Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic ravaged U.S. fields to great economic loss.

Copper starvation induces antimicrobial isocyanide integrated into two distinct biosynthetic pathways in fungi.

The genomes of many filamentous fungi, such as Aspergillus spp., include diverse biosynthetic gene clusters of unknown function. We previously showed that low copper levels upregulate a gene cluster that includes crmA, encoding a putative isocyanide synthase.

Victorin, the host-selective cyclic peptide toxin from the oat pathogen , is ribosomally encoded.

The necrotrophic fungal pathogen produces victorin, a host-selective toxin (HST) essential for pathogenicity to certain oat cultivars with resistance against crown rust. Victorin is a mixture of highly modified heterodetic cyclic hexapeptides, previously assumed to be synthesized by a nonribosomal peptide synthetase. Herein, we demonstrate that victorin is a member of the ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptide (RiPP) family of natural products.

A Genome Resource of , Causal Agent of Northern Leaf Blight of Maize.

The heterothallic ascomycete (anamorph ) causes northern corn leaf blight, which results in devastating yield losses and a reduction in feed value. Although genome sequences of two model strains of the pathogen are available (https://mycocosm.jgi.

101 genomes: A test case for predicting lifestyles and emergence of pathogens.

is the largest class of kingdom Fungi and comprises an incredible diversity of lifestyles, many of which have evolved multiple times. Plant pathogens represent a major ecological niche of the class and they are known to infect most major food crops and feedstocks for biomass and biofuel production. Studying the ecology and evolution of has significant implications for our fundamental understanding of fungal evolution, their adaptation to stress and host specificity, and practical implications with regard to the effects of climate change and on the food, feed, and livestock elements of the agro-economy.