Secretome characterization and correlation analysis reveal putative pathogenicity mechanisms in the wheat stripe rust fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici

Wheat stripe (yellow) rust, caused by obligate biotrophic Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is a significant threat on both regional and global wheat producing regions. the pathogenicity and molecular mechanisms that Pst uses to infect and interact with wheat need to be elucidated. In this project, we re-sequenced 7 Pst isolates and included 7 previously available isolates to represent a balanced virulence/avirulence profiles. We planned to characterize Pst secretome and identify effector candidates using mate-analysis of genome and transcriptome data with advanced Next Generation Sequencing technologies and the latest pathogen-host interaction database, e.g. PHI-base 4.0 to annotate Pst effector candidates. We planned also to go further to identify Avr effectors in Pst fungi by correlating polymorphic variations with Pst isolates phenotypes. Our objectives were to 1) characterize the Pst secretome to identify effector candidates by applying diverse screening criteria; 2) identify Avr and Avr effector candidates by using phenotype and genetic variants correlation analysis; and 3) try to understand the evolution of the Pst fungus.