Secondary metabolites in the Parastagonospora nodorum-wheat pathosystem
type: CreativeWork
description: Parastagonospora nodorum is a fungal pathogen and the causal agent of Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB), a disease of wheat responsible for significant yield losses around the globe. This pathogen can be easily cultured under laboratory conditions and genetically manipulated following standard procedures. Furthermore, its genome has been sequenced and several “omics” resources are available making P. nodorum a model organism to study necrotrophic fungal pathogens. It is now well recognised that this pathogen relies on the production of proteinaceous toxins (effectors) to drive the infection process. There are though many other facets of the SNB disease that are poorly understood compared to the effectors. Such is the case for the P. nodorum secondary metabolites (SMs). Bioinformatic analysis of the P. nodorum genome has revealed that it contains around 40 genes responsible for biosynthesising the core structure of different SMs which provides this fungus the capacity to produce a vast array of small molecule diversity. However, the potential of P. nodorum to produce SMs contrast with the relatively low number of identified compounds. In this thesis, I embarked upon the task of looking for P. nodorum SMs involved in the interactions occurring within the plant-pathogen system. The first experimental chapter presents an assessment of the in vitro capacity of P. nodorum to produce SMs utilising liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The data obtained from these analyses demonstrated the high capacity of P. nodorum to produce an array of metabolites. The spectrometric data was compiled in a spectral library of unknown SMs which was used in the second chapter to hunt for ecologically relevant SMs. The production of these substances was studied in vitro, during the interaction of P. nodorum and a possible antagonist, the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici; and in planta, during the infection of wheat by P. nodorum and during the co-infection of P. nodorum and Z. tri…
abstract: Parastagonospora nodorum is a fungal pathogen and the causal agent of Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB), a disease of wheat responsible for significant yield losses around the globe. This pathogen can be easily cultured under laboratory conditions and genetically manipulated following standard procedures. Furthermore, its genome has been sequenced and several “omics” resources are available making P. nodorum a model organism to study necrotrophic fungal pathogens. It is now well recognised that this pathogen relies on the production of proteinaceous toxins (effectors) to drive the infection process. There are though many other facets of the SNB disease that are poorly understood compared to the effectors. Such is the case for the P. nodorum secondary metabolites (SMs). Bioinformatic analysis of the P. nodorum genome has revealed that it contains around 40 genes responsible for biosynthesising the core structure of different SMs which provides this fungus the capacity to produce a vast array of small molecule diversity. However, the potential of P. nodorum to produce SMs contrast with the relatively low number of identified compounds. In this thesis, I embarked upon the task of looking for P. nodorum SMs involved in the interactions occurring within the plant-pathogen system. The first experimental chapter presents an assessment of the in vitro capacity of P. nodorum to produce SMs utilising liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The data obtained from these analyses demonstrated the high capacity of P. nodorum to produce an array of metabolites. The spectrometric data was compiled in a spectral library of unknown SMs which was used in the second chapter to hunt for ecologically relevant SMs. The production of these substances was studied in vitro, during the interaction of P. nodorum and a possible antagonist, the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici; and in planta, during the infection of wheat by P. nodorum and during the co-infection of P. nodorum and Z. tri…
author: Muria Gonzalez, Mariano Jordi
language: en
keywords: Parastagonospora nodorum, secondary metabolites, mass spectrometry, LC-MS, GC-MS, volatile organic compounds, VOCs, sesquiterpenes
date published: 2016
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:54:44Z
provider: Australian National University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Australian National University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/110542