Micro Pato

TRR356 - A04 Genetic diversity within the basidiomycete yeast Dioszegia modulates reproductive fitness of the obligate pathogen Albugo laibachii on Arabidopsis thaliana

01/01/2023 to 31/12/2026

Basidiomycete yeasts are ubiquitous in the plant phylosphere of almost all plant species and their ecological
and economical importance reaches from being pathogenic, such as smut fungi, to being biocontrol agents
such as Cryptococcus sp. or Rhodotorula sp.. While all these basidiomycete yeasts show strong antimicrobial
activity in vitro, there is limited knowledge about mechanisms and functions in more complex interactions
particularly in cases where the yeasts do not show obvious direct inhibitory effects but nevertheless can
significantly impact the plant health status by even promoting the growth of microbes. One such yeast genus
that has been identified as key regulator in microbial communities and has therefore been described as a hub
microbe (Agler et al., 2016) that persists on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana throughout the plants life cycle
(Almario et al., 2022), is Dioszegia.
Our goal in this project is therefore to understand genetic diversity within Dioszegia, a plant colonizing
basidiomycete yeast genus that modulates host colonization efficiency of the white rust causing agent Albugo
laibachii on A. thaliana and to use this data to identify underlying mechanisms of interactions