RNA seq

The economically important Ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea is an interesting biotrophic model system because of its strict organ specificity (grass ovaries) and the lack of any detectable plant defense reactions. Though several virulence factors were identified, the exact infection mechanisms are unknown, e.g. how the fungus masks its attack and if the host detects the infection at all. We present a dual transcriptome analysis using an RNAseq approach. We studied both, fungal and plant gene expression in young ovaries mock infected, infected by the wildtype and two virulence-attenuated mutants.