Useful Application for Ustilago Maydis

Abstract

Ustilago Maydis is a biotrophic phytopathogenic fungus that infects maize crops in order to complete its life cycle. Like many fungi, U. Maydis possesses the capacity to produce a variety of useful chemicals for commercial use. The purpose of this grant proposal is to further investigate the ability of modified strains of U. Maydis to produce itaconic acid, a useful substance utilized in the manufacture of plastics, rubbers and medicines. A culture of the U. Maydis will be used to inoculate indoor-grown sweet corn plants, then the harvested galls will be used to perform a variety of molecular tests. This testing will allow researchers to identify the exact strain of U. Maydis, then a geneticist will identify a gene for removal in order to encourage higher itaconic acid production. Levels of itaconic acid produced by the edited strain, U. Maydis ΔQ, will be measured and compared with that of wild-strain U. Maydis.