title: Large-scale molecular genetic analysis in plant-pathogenic fungi: a decade of genome-wide functional analysis.
abstract: Plant-pathogenic fungi cause diseases to all major crop plants world-wide and threaten global food security. Underpinning fungal diseases are virulence genes facilitating plant host colonization that often marks pathogenesis and crop failures, as well as an increase in staple food prices. Fungal molecular genetics is therefore the cornerstone to the sustainable prevention of disease outbreaks. Pathogenicity studies using mutant collections provide immense function-based information regarding virulence genes of economically relevant fungi. These collections are rich in potential targets for existing and new biological control agents. They contribute to host resistance breeding against fungal pathogens and are instrumental in searching for novel resistance genes through the identification of fungal effectors. Therefore, functional analyses of mutant collections propel gene discovery and characterization, and may be incorporated into disease management strategies. In the light of these attributes, mutant collections enhance the development of practical solutions to confront modern agricultural constraints. Here, a critical review of mutant collections constructed by various laboratories during the past decade is provided. We used Magnaporthe oryzae and Fusarium graminearum studies to show how mutant screens contribute to bridge existing knowledge gaps in pathogenicity and fungal-host interactions.
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Research Council - Small Grain Institute, Private Bag X29, Bethlehem, 9700, South Africa.
authors.forename: Thabiso E
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8813-7671
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Motaung
authors.affiliation: Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, 22-174-4 Narita, Kitakami, Iwate, 024-0003, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromasa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Research Council - Small Grain Institute, Private Bag X29, Bethlehem, 9700, South Africa.|Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, Pretoria, 0003, South Africa.
authors.forename: Toi J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Tsilo
mesh_terms: D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005658:Fungi / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016681:Genome, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D020082:Magnaporthe / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins
keywords: Fusarium graminearum; Magnaporthe oryzae; genome-wide functional analysis; mutant screening