Project Number: 1275-21220-225-03
Project Type: Specific C/A

Start Date: Aug 01, 2007
End Date: Jul 31, 2010

Objective:
To focus on the genetic analysis of fungal pathogens of Theobroma cacao that affects its production in the Western Hemisphere. This includes the comparison of phytopathogenic genomic characteristics, gene discovery, functional and bioinformatics analyses. These data will be used by the collaborators to develop disease models, identify candidate genes and study gene function and expression. The Laboratory of Genomics and Expression (LGE) at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP ¿ UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE CAMPINAS) and Instituto Uniemp (UNIEMP) will be responsible for the bioinformatics and comparative analysis of genomic and expression libraries of Moniliophthora roreri and M. perniciosa. This will include the alignment of raw sequence data, blast comparisons, and contig construction. M. roreri sequences will be compared to M. perniciosa sequences. All data provided and generated by this cooperative effort will be placed into a web-based site and all collaborators will have access to the data and analysis tools. No data from this collaboration will be shared with other researchers, agencies or the public without prior agreement by both parties. All publications will be coauthored by all contributing researchers.

Approach:
In cooperation with USDA/ARS and University scientists, sequencing data will be provided to UNICAMP for analysis. The data will be analyzed and compared to the information available in public databases and to nonpublic databases held at UNICAMP. The analyses will be utilized to develop a comprehensive view of gene structure, order and possibly function from related fungal species. Gene sequences identified in these studies could be used to generate DNA tags/markers that could be used for SSR or SNP analyses that would be useful for genotyping and population analyses.