A03

The contribution of transposable elements of Blumeria graminis to cross kingdom compatibility with cereal hosts

With this project, the role of transposable elements (TEs) in shaping the genomic organization and effector repertoire of Blumeria hordei will be examined. As a result of adaptation to the host environment, this obligate parasitic fungus shows intra-species diversity at the genome organization as well as effector sequence levels.

This project will address the questions

• whether diversity is observed and selection occurs at TEs and candidate effector genes that derive from TE sequences (Nottensteiner et al. 2018, J Exp. Bot., https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ery174) and
• what is the contribution of TEs to the chromosomal re-structuring and evolution and regulation of TE-neighbouring housekeeping and effector genes as well as on genome structure.

Principal Investigators:
Prof. Dr. Ralph Hückelhoven, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich
Prof. Aurelien Tellier, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich