Difference between revisions of "Team:WashU StLouis"

Revision as of 03:26, 15 September 2018

OUR NOVEL MULTISTEP APPROACH

Virulent races of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), or wheat stem rust, have caused devastating effects on cereal grains worldwide, impacting global food security. We are engineering Escherichia coli DH5α and Saccharomyces cerevisiae EBY100 to detect Pgt and improve response times to virulent strains. To detect Pgt, we are creating a device that will germinate spores from the Puccinia genus. The germinated spores produce ribitol, a sugar unique to Pgt. Our engineered DH5α will produce a fluorescent signal in the presence of ribitol, thus detecting Pgt. To detect specific virulent races of Pgt, we will modify yeast to contain the stem rust resistance gene Sr35 from Triticum monococcum; Sr35 recognizes its corresponding effector AvrSr35, secreted by Pgt, as part of the plant’s innate immune system. Using bimolecular fluorescence complementation, our yeast will detect AvrSr35, a first step in being able to indicate the virulence of the germinated Pgt spores.

Transform E. coli with a plasmid carrying a promoter induced by ribitol, a compound unique to infectious structures formed by fungal spores, upstream of a fluorescent protein.

Express wheat resistance genes in transformed yeast to detect virulence factors released by Pgt to distinguish whether or not the race of Pgt present is virulent to the strain of wheat.

Diva pls explain

Detect

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-		The purpose of this project is to genetically engineer <I>E. coli</i> and yeast to detect the presence of wheat stem rust, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), a fungus which can infect and kill entire fields of wheat. Many different strains of this fungus are in circulation around the globe but recently, several very destructive races have emerged, including TTKSK in East Africa, TTTTF in Italy, and TKTTF in the Middle East, East Africa, and Europe. These races of Pgt have proven virulent to several wheat resistance genes that usually protect the crop from other races of stem rust. In some cases of field infection, these virulent races can cause a 100% loss of viable crops. Hover over these panels to read about our three methods of testing.
+		Virulent races of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), or wheat stem rust, have caused devastating effects on cereal grains worldwide, impacting global food security. We are engineering Escherichia coli DH5α and Saccharomyces cerevisiae EBY100 to detect Pgt and improve response times to virulent strains. To detect Pgt, we are creating a device that will germinate spores from the Puccinia genus. The germinated spores produce ribitol, a sugar unique to Pgt. Our engineered DH5α will produce a fluorescent signal in the presence of ribitol, thus detecting Pgt. To detect specific virulent races of Pgt, we will modify yeast to contain the stem rust resistance gene Sr35 from Triticum monococcum; Sr35 recognizes its corresponding effector AvrSr35, secreted by Pgt, as part of the plant’s innate immune system. Using bimolecular fluorescence complementation, our yeast will detect AvrSr35, a first step in being able to indicate the virulence of the germinated Pgt spores.
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