Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a prominent plant pathogen that causes damage to more than 400 host species including economically important crops such as bean, lettuce, tomato, celery and kiwifruit.

Surprisingly little genetic research has been done globally because it is difficult to transform. This project aims to understand the crucial steps involved in the Sclerotinia infection cycle, including:

• formation of survival structures
• the molecular mechanisms involved in host-pathogen interactions.

We aim to determine the genes involved in these processes and are using gene expression, targeted gene disruption and gene silencing to investigate specific gene function.

Funded by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), the long-term aim of this project is to develop strategies for sustainable plant disease control.

The team, split between two Trans-Tasman laboratories, is involved in an international collaboration to annotate genes encoding secreted proteins and those involved in differentiation of S. sclerotiorum, as previously identified in Sclerotinia genome sequencing.

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