Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Plant Research
Arlese Owens - Fort Valley State University
Co-Author(s): Scott Gold, Ph.D , University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Increasing available genomic sequences and transformation techniques have opened research into precise functional examination of specific genes. The current research project involved production of gene deletion mutants in Fusarium verticillioides, a pathogenic fungus that taints corn with the harmful fumonisin mycotoxins. High amounts of the fumonisins in food is unsafe to creatures and humans. The objective of this research is to define the role(s) of individual fungal nitrate specific regulatory transcription factor genes in verticillioides by making deletion mutants utilizing the OSCAR technique (One Step Construction of Agrobacterium-Recombination-prepared plasmids). During the course of this project we were able to successfully delete the open reading frame, ORF, for the targeted gene FVEG_04246. This deletion construct was then successfully introduced into F. verticillioides via Agrobacterium mediated transformation.
Not SubmittedFunder Acknowledgement(s): This work was supported by NSF HRD (#1238789) HBCU-UP Targeted Infusion grant awarded to Prof. Seema Dhir at Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA.
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Seema Dhir, dhirs@fvsu.edu
Role: I prepared the deletion construct and introduced it into F. verticillioides via Agrobacterium mediated transformation.