PHENOLIC SUCROSE ESTERS: BIOSYNTHESIS AND EFFECTS ON FUNGAL PATHOGEN RESISTANCE IN MAIZE

Productivity of maize, one of the world's most economically important food crops, is limited by a variety of devastating fungal diseases. Phenolic sucrose esters (PSE), a recently discovered class of maize secondary metabolites, provide protection against Fusarium graminearum and other fungal pathogens. The goal of this research is to better understand the biosynthesis and defensive function of phenolic sucrose esters, a previously uninvestigated class of maize defensive metabolites.The objectives of this project are:Identify the genes participating in PSE biosynthesis.Validate and charecdterize the discovered genes function in PSE metabolism in maize.Use these genes to generate a population of plants with diffeential PSE abundances and examine the effects on different fungal infection.