Contact information:

 517-432-2939
 trail@msu.edu

Trail Lab 

Education:

BA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Botany 
MS, Oregon State University, Plant Pathology 
PhD, Cornell University, Plant Pathology

General areas of expertise:

Mycology, host-pathogen interactions

Overview of current program:

My laboratory studies the biology of mycotoxigenic fungi using techniques of molecular genetics, genomics, microscopy and biochemistry.   We are currently studying Gibberella zeae (anamorph: Fusarium graminearum). G. zeae is a pathogen of corn, wheat and barley and produces two mycotoxins, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone.  Through the study of the pathogen life cycle, we are working on developing novel strategies to control these toxin-producing organisms.

The group of fungi known as the Ascomycota produce their meiotic products, ascospores, in a sac-like structure called an ascus.   The ascus evolved as a tubular gun used to shoot ascospores into the air.   Forcible discharge enables these fungi to propel their propagules into air currents where they are carried many miles to (hopefully) fertile new territories.   In the spring, G. zeae uses this technique to move its spores from the previous season's crop to emerging wheat, barley and corn flowers. This new generation of ascospores infects the flowers and initiates another cycle of the devastating head blight disease.   The ascospores are produced in flask-shaped structures called perithecia (Figure 1) that contain hundreds of spore-filled asci. When conditions are right, each ascus pushes through the "mouth" of the perithecium and fires its contents into the air (Figure 2). The empty ascus withdraws into the perithecium and another ascus protrudes. We have developed a model of ascus function that accounts for our physiological and gene disruption experiments. Rigorous testing of this model in underway. The discharge mechanism will most likely be conserved among all ascomycetes which forcibly discharge their spores.

My laboratory also studies the mycotoxins that are produced by G. zeae including zearalenone, a nonsteroidal estrogen which affects mammalian sexual development. Recently we have identified the genes for biosynthesis of this important mycotoxin.

Publications:

Qi, W., Kwon, C. and F. Trail. 2006. Microarray analysis of transcript accumulation during perithecium development in Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum). Molecular Genetics and Genomics 276:87-100.

Gueldener, U., K.-Y. Seong, J. Boddu, S. Cho, F. Trail, J.-R. Xu, G. Adam, H.-W. Mewes, G.J. Muehlbauer, and H. C. Kistler. 2006. Development of a Fusarium graminearum Affymetrix GeneChip For profiling fungal gene expression in vitro and in planta. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 43 (5): 316-325.

Gaffoor, I., and F. Trail. 2006. Characterization of two polyketide synthase genes involved in zearalenone biosynthesis in Gibberella zeae. Appl. and Environ. Microbiol. 72:1793-1799.

Gaffoor, I., Brown, D. W., Plattner, R., Proctor, R. H., Qi, W., and Trail, F. 2005. Functional analysis of the polyketide synthase genes in the filamentous fungus Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum). Euk Cell. 4:1926-1933.

Trail, F., Gaffoor, I., and Vogel, S. 2005. Ejection mechanics and trajectory of the ascospores of Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum). Fungal Genetics and Biology: 42:528-533

Guenther, J. and Trail, F. 2005. The development and differentiation of Gibberella zeae (anamorph: Fusarium graminearum) during colonization of wheat. Mycologia 97 (1): 232-240. COVER.

Trail, F., Xu, J.-R., San Miguel, P., Halgren, R. G. and Kistler, H. C. 2003. Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum). Fungal Genetics and Biology 38:187-197.

Trail, F. and Xu, H. 2002. Purification and characterization of mannitol dehydrogenase and isolation of the corresponding cDNA from the head blight fungus, Gibberella zeae (Fusarium graminearum). Phytochemistry 61:791-796.

Trail, F., Xu, H., Loranger, R. and Gadoury, D. 2002. Physiological and environmental aspects of ascospore discharge in Gibberella zeae. Mycologia 94:181-189.

Annis, S., L. Velasquez, H. Xu, R. Hammerschmidt, J. Linz, and F. Trail. 2000. A novel procedure for identification of compounds inhibitory to transcription of genes involved in mycotoxin biosynthesis. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 48 (10) 4656-4660.

Courses taught:

PLB/PLP 402, Biology of the Fungi