Developing Functional Genomics Platforms for Fungi

Fungi are responsible for diseases that result in the deaths of over a million individuals each year and devastating crop infestations that threaten global food supplies. However, outside of a select few model organisms, the majority of fungal genes are uncharacterized. The roles of these genes in the biology of the organism, pathogenesis, and mediating interactions with the environment and other microbes are unknown. Historically, fungal gene characterization has primarily relied on classical genetic screens. However, advances in sequencing technology have enabled more rapid methods of gene functional characterization. Large-scale transcriptional profiling projects are one solution to generating hypotheses about fungal gene function. Together with other ‘omics techniques and newer tools that enable massively parallel mutant screens, knowledge of fungal gene function will be substantially improved. Understanding the function of fungal genes will be instrumental in increasing global food security, protecting ecosystems, and improving health outcomes.