OMNG - Day 3

This is the final report from the last day of the Oomycete Molecular Genetics Network Annual Meeting! Thanks to the Kamoun Lab. for reporting, I hope they all had a great time and enjoyed both learning new science, and meeting new people. If you would like ConferenceCast to feature a conference you or your lab are going to in the future, please do get in touch!

Name: Kamoun Lab
Location: Pacific Grove, California, USA
Date: 15th March, third and final day of the conference

Highlights of day 3

Howard Judelson, University of California, Riverside, gave an inspiring talk on spore biology of Phytophthora. He used both comparative genomics and genetics to identify zoospore-specific proteins. In species that do not produce zoospores, e.g. the downy mildew Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, the zoospore genes are either missing or pseudogenized. Judelson also developed a series of cellular markers for Phytophthora and used them to trace subcellular dynamics during spore development. He showed a series of impressive images illustrating organelle dynamics during development. He said that he has learned more from the cell biology than other approaches he used in the last 20 years. Finally, he brought presents: the collection of fluorescent tag markers and vectors for oomycetes. Thanks Howard!

Oomycetes have an RNAi machinery (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, dicer, and argonaute). Several talks addressed epigenetic regulation in Phytophthora. Takao Kasuga, University of California, Davis, reported that Phytophthora ramorum Crinkler effector genes are differentially expressed in isolates that originate from distinct hosts.

Despite lingering controversies, the oomycete community remains characterized by a great spirit of camaraderie. As always in science, truth will prevail. Replication of key findings in independent labs will be critical and will help the field move forward.

Next for many of the attendees: the Fungal Genetics Conference!