Date on Senior Honors Thesis

12-2024

Document Type

Senior Honors Thesis

Degree Name

B.S.

Department

Biology

Author's Keywords

Microbotryum; Generalist; Anther smut; Host shift; Microbotryum lagerheimii

Abstract

The Microbotryum species complex is a group of fungi, commonly known as anther smuts. Anther smuts are plant parasites that must invade a host plant in order to fulfill their life cycle. As the Microbotryum fungus grows, it sterilizes the host plant, such that infected plants produce fungal teliospores instead of pollen on the male reproductive organs and female reproductive structures do not mature. Microbotryum usually exists as a specialist species, however, there is evidence that several species of anther smuts can exist as generalist species. Comparisons of the infection process and the resulting response of both parasite and host can help elucidate the behavior of generalist species of Microbotryum in comparison with their specialist counterparts. This was pursued through seed germination and fungal spore germination studies. The Microbotryum life cycle was also investigated through microscopy and RNA isolation for host plant gene expression analyses, to provide insights into the role of host response to infection to this interaction.

Lay Summary

This study explores how two types of fungi, Microbotryum superbum and Microbotryum lagerheimii, are able to infect the reproductive structures of plants. The Microbotryum life cycle is composed of pathogenic and non-pathogenic phases, but host plant infection is essential for the completion of the life cycle. Most species of Microbotryum fungi can only infect one plant species, but M. superbum and M. lagerheimii exhibit characteristics suggesting that they can infect more than one species of plant, thus displaying generalist behaviors. This study examined the maturation process of M. superbum and M. lagerheimii in different stages of their life cycles through RNA sequencing and microscopy. By comparing generalist and specialist species, this study helps explain how generalist and specialist fungi differ in how they affect their host plants and how successful they are in their life cycles.

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