Location: Vegetable Crops Research
Project Number: 5090-21220-006-046-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 17, 2025
End Date: Sep 16, 2026
Objective:
1) Identify mycoviruses present in A. solani, Helminthosporium solani (silver scurf), and C.olletotrichum coccodes (black dot) strains collected from WI potato fields; 2) Determine the effect of the presence of mycoviruses on gene expression changes and virulence of the fungal pathogens.
Approach:
Objective 1: We will use RNAseq to detect RNA mycoviruses. The RNAseq data will also provide valuable information about the expression of genes within the fungus. This will be useful in determining the effect of the mycovirus(es) in the second objective. For this work, we plan to utilize existing collections of A. solani, C. coccodes and H. solani, but will also isolate new strains from the field or storage when possible. For instance, the H. solani samples were collected between 2014-2016 from symptomatic tubers from various states including WI, ME and MI. Based on the collections we currently have, we expect to perform RNAseq on up to 20 isolates of each fungus. Since the A. solani lab culture we have analyzed thus far under specific experimental conditions was positive for three mycoviruses with various expression levels, we expect to find a wide diversity and abundance using this number of strains.
Each fungal isolate will be first plated on solid growth media. Of particular interest will be isolates that have different growth patterns or pigmentation, which are often associated with stress or hypovirulence. Total RNA will be extracted 48 hours after plating. Total RNA samples will be submitted for high throughput sequencing.