Genes and Genetic Networks Underlying Resistance to Aspergillus flavus In Corn

1) Comparative transcriptome analysis between resistant vis-à-vis susceptible near-isogenic lines to identify genes/miRNAs induced in response to Aspergillus (A.) flavus infection in corn; (2) Construction of resistance associated coexpression networks to identify A. flavus resistance gene/miRNA modules; and (3) Functional validation of the candidate resistance genes via evaluation of transgenic overexpressers or knock-out mutants for A. flavus resistance. Transgenic corn developed with the candidate genes will be tested against A. flavus and other microbial pathogens. Candidate resistance genes identified in this study and co-localized in known major resistance quantitative trait loci (QTLs) will lead to the development of functional markers for future use in marker-assisted breeding.