Although the genetic aspects of mating are a rapidly expanding field of study, little information is available for the genus Ophiostoma. The first MAT information for the genus focussed on only three species and this was as such, hardly representative of the genus. In this study, existing DNA sequence data were used as a starting point to expand the available knowledge on mating genes to other species of Ophiostoma. Ophiostoma quercus, one of the better-studied species of Ophiostoma was the focus of the initial investigation. The heterothallic mating strategy of O. quercus was confirmed and isolates of both mating-types were used for the molecular analysis of the MAT genes. Regions of both MAT idiomorphs were observed in both mating-type isolates. This discovery was unexpected and suggests an unconventional mating organisation for O. quercus as compared to other heterothallic fungal species. Such a system is not unprecedented for fungi, but is unique for the genus Ophiostoma. The primers developed for O. quercus were tested in isolates representing 17 species of Ophiostoma. These primers were used successfully to amplify a large segment of the MAT-2 idiomorph in all isolates tested. This significantly expanded on the amount of data available for the MAT genes of Ophiostoma. Analysis showed that these isolates share a high amount of conservation in the MAT-2 open reading frame. This region of the genome is, therefore, not useful for phylogenetic analyses. However, the availability of primers for the region might facilitate testing of other areas of the full idiomorph for phylogenetic inference. Overall, the results presented in this study represent a significant increase in the knowledge available on MAT genes in Ophiostoma. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Genetics / Unrestricted

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Submitted by Hiolanda Rêgo (hiolandarego@gmail.com) on 2014-10-21T17:15:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_ICS_ Talita de Jesus Caldas Nunes.pdf: 1705477 bytes, checksum: db29ce9e44a8eae162753f3c1c22e8d9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-21T17:15:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_ICS_ Talita de Jesus Caldas Nunes.pdf: 1705477 bytes, checksum: db29ce9e44a8eae162753f3c1c22e8d9 (MD5) / A criptococose é uma micose sistêmica causada por leveduras pertencentes ao gênero Cryptococcus, cujas principais espécies de importância clínica são C. neoformans e C. gattii. Essas duas espécies são divididas em cinco sorotipos (A, B, C, D e AD) e mais raramente têm sido relatados os sorotipos BD e AB. O gênero possui dois mating types (α e a) determinados em um único locus MAT, com dois alelos. Diferenças genéticas têm sido detectadas através de métodos moleculares e tem sido essenciais para se entender a biologia do fungo. Nesse sentido, o objetivo dessa dissertação foi avaliar a variabilidade genética, através de extração de DNA por fervura, de amostras de Cryptococcus isolados de casos de meningite, diagnosticados no Hospital Especializado Couto Maia, Salvador-BA, no período de 2006 a 2011. A extração de DNA foi realizada através da fervura de suspensão fúngica e a determinação do mating type, das variedades e do sorotipo através da técnica da Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase associada ao Polimorfismo do Tamanho do Fragmento de Restrição (PCR-RFLP). A técnica de extração do DNA genômico por fervura foi bem reproduzida e, após ter sido empregada diretamente na reação da PCR, foi possível observar que nenhuma diferença houve com relação aos produtos da PCR com DNA extraído pela técnica tradicional. Dos 94 isolados analisados, a determinação de mating types e da ploidia mostrou que todos apresentaram padrão compatível com mating type α, assim como haploidia. A técnica molecular de sorotipagem permitiu observar que 88% dos isolados eram da variedade grubii (sorotipo A) e 12% da variedade gattii (sorotipo B). Nossos resultados mostram como se pode facilitar a PCR de leveduras com uma técnica que envolve um menor tempo de execução e menor custo, além de contribuir para a epidemiologia da criptococose, no que se refere à importância de se ter um diagnóstico diferencial entre as variedades envolvidas no processo infeccioso.

Sexual reproduction is an important process amongst eukaryotic organisms, with one function being to maintain genetic variation. The idea that complex eukaryotic species can persist for millions of years in the absence of sex defies fundamental evolutionary dogma, yet a group of organisms known as ancient asexuals were thought to have evolved clonally under deep evolutionary time. Prominent among these are the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which are obligate plant symbionts that colonize the root cells of plants and extend their hyphae into the soil assisting the plant in acquiring key nutrients. Unlike most eukaryotes, AMF cells are multinucleate with thousands of nuclei moving through a continuous cytoplasm. Genomic analyses have identified a putative mating-type (MAT) locus within the nuclear genomes of model AMF Rhizophagus irregularis, a region that in other fungi dictates the process of sexual reproduction. Additional findings demonstrated that AMF strains carry one of two nuclear organizations. They can be either homokaryotic (AMF homokaryons), where all nuclei within the cytoplasm are virtually identical, or heterokaryotic (AMF dikaryons), where two MAT-locus variants co-exist within the cytoplasm. Despite a lack of observable traits indicative of sex, this homo/heterokaryotic dichotomy is reminiscent of the nuclear organization of sexual fungi. My research aims to build on these findings to investigate the actual role of the MAT-locus in driving AMF reproduction. To address this, I build my thesis into three main chapters. The first chapter reviews our current understanding of AMF genetics and what drives genome evolution in these organisms. The second chapter establishes a relatively easy, inexpensive, and reproducible approach to genotype known MAT variants of R. irregularis in natural and experimental conditions. The last chapter uses experimental crossings between strains to assess cytoplasmic compatibility and nuclear exchange. I demonstrate that dikaryotic spore progenies can be formed after co-culturing two distinct AMF homokaryotic strains. Further analyses of various genomic regions also reveal possible recombination in homokaryotic spore progenies from co-cultures. Overall, this research provides new experimental insights into the origin of genetic diversity in AMF. These findings open avenues to produce genetically new AMF strains in the lab using conventional crossing procedures and provide a glimpse of the mechanisms that generate AMF genetic diversity in the field.

Reproductive isolation is an essential stage in speciation. In Ascomycetes, the ubiquitous distribution of many species suggests that sympatric speciation through assertive mating should be an important factor. The MAT locus and the pheromone/receptor system could both potentially contribute to the development of such sexual isolation. Alterations at the MAT loci could lead to distinct reproductive habits or a change in mating system, both of which can reduce gene-flow between species. However, if deliberate pre-mating sexual preferences exist, they are more likely to be determined by the pheromone/receptor system. This study of Fusarium reproductive genes, and comparisons with other Ascomycetes, has yielded numerous interesting findings regarding the evolution of these mate-recognition mechanisms and the implications thereof. The G. fujikuroi and F. graminearum species complexes have offered an interesting comparison between heterothallic and homothallic MAT locus evolution. The value of comparative sequence analysis has been demonstrated in the discovery of a previously unknown gene, MAT1-2-3, which may be specific to members of the Order Hypocreales. While all MAT genes share similar regulatory elements, this is the first report of evidence that a transition to homothallism can be accompanied by the recruitment of distinct elements that could facilitate alternate expression of MAT genes. The MAT genes are also highly divergent between Fusarium spp., largely due to relaxed selective constraint, particularly in homothallic species. However, inter-specific gene-flow could curb MAT gene divergence among homothallic species. Despite strong reproductive barriers in the G. fujikuroi complex, the F. sacchari MAT1-1 sequence appears to have been acquired through lateral transfer from a distant relative. Analytical analysis of the MAT locus novelties reported here, including the new MAT gene, will be necessary to determine their biological significance. To investigate the extent of pheromone diversity in the Ascomycetes, and to gain clues as to its biological importance, pheromone peptides from seventy ascomycete species were compared. A number of reproductively incompatible species, such as those in the G. fujikuroi complex, share identical pheromones; which implies that another mechanism must be responsible for the observed reproductive barriers. However, on the whole, pheromones are highly divergent among species. Both adaptive and non-adaptive evolution could have contributed to this pattern. In fact the structure of the á-class pheromone precursor gene, which consists of multiple repeats of the pheromone module, could facilitate rapid diversification through “birth-and-death” evolution. Within species, selection maintains pheromone peptides, implying that much of the inter-specific variation is functionally relevant. This further suggests that pheromone evolution could contribute to the generation of reproductive isolation between species. The most general trend in the findings of this study is that ascomycete reproductive genes are highly divergent. This is in agreement with findings in other Kingdoms. A number of evolutionary forces are probably involved but weaker selective constraint, resulting from the fact that reproduction is not essential in these fungi, appears to be a common factor. This reproductive gene variability could be directly linked to speciation and, therefore, the great diversity in Ascomycetes. Additional information on the appendices is available on a CD, stored at the Merensky Library on Level 3 / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Genetics / Unrestricted

Sporisorium scitamineum é um fungo basidiomiceto causador do carvão da cana-de-açúcar, uma doença com impacto negativo no cultivo da cana-de-açúcar, e com ocorrência em todos os países produtores. A manifestação da doença na cultura da cana depende da formação de uma hifa dicariótica a partir da anastomose de duas hifas haplóides compatíveis com relação ao tipo de reação sexual (mating-type). O controle do cruzamento sexuado (mating) é realizado pela expressão de um conjunto de genes presentes em dois loci, a e b. O locus a codifica um lipopeptídeo com função de feromônio e um receptor de feromônio, responsáveis pelo reconhecimento de células compatíveis e fusão de hifas, enquanto o locus b codifica fatores de transcrição que controlam a expressão de genes responsáveis pela manutenção das hifas dicarióticas durante o processo de infecção e crescimento do fungo dentro da planta. Apesar de desempenharem função essencial no processo de infecção e manutenção da doença em cana-de-açúcar, o conhecimento a respeito da organização genômica ou da função dos demais genes presentes nos loci a e b em S. scitamineum e em outros fungos causadores de carvão é ainda incipiente. Desta forma, o objetivo geral do presente trabalho foi isolar as regiões genômicas relacionadas aos genes de cruzamento em S. scitamineum e analisar comparativamente com regiões similares já descritas e depositadas em bancos de dados públicos. Para o isolamento destas regiões, foi construída uma biblioteca genômica em BAC de uma linhagem haplóide de S. scitamineum, a Ssc39 (+), isolada de uma variedade de cana-de-açúcar com sintomas de alta susceptibilidade. Foram selecionados 11 clones por PCR. Os insertos foram sequenciados e utilizados para confirmação da montagem dos loci no sequenciamento do genoma do fungo. Apesar do fungo S. scitamineum apresentar sistema bipolar de reação sexual assim como o fungo U. hordei, as análises comparativas de ambos os locus indicaram que S. scitamineum apresenta maior similaridade com o fungo S. reilianum principalmente com o alelo a1, no qual apresenta sistema tetrapolar de reação sexual. A anotação e caracterização dos genes do tipo de reação sexual (mating type) possibilitaram a comparação e melhor entendimento sobre esses genes de grande importância na patogenicidade e no ciclo de vida do fungo. / Sporisorium scitamineum is a basidiomycete fungus causing the smut disease in sugarcane, with a negative impact on the cultivation of sugarcane, and occurring in all producing countries. The manifestation of the disease in sugarcane crop depends on the formation of a dikaryotic hyphae originated of the anastomosis of two haploid mating type compatible cells. The control of the sexual crossing (mating) is performed by expression of a set of genes present in two loci, a and b. The locus a encodes a lipopeptide with the function of pheromone and pheromone membrane receptor responsible for cell recognition and compatible hyphal fusion, whereas the locus b encodes transcription factors that control the expression of genes responsible for the maintenance of the dikaryotic hyphal growth in plant. Although they play an essential role in the maintenance of infection and disease in sugarcane process, knowledge about the genomic organization and function of other genes in these two loci of S. scitamineum and other smut fungi is still incipient. Thus, the overall goal of this work was to isolate genomic regions related to the mating type in S. scitamineum and to perform a comparative analyze with similar regions described and deposited in public databases. For the isolation of these regions, we constructed a genomic BAC library of a haploid strain of S. scitamineum, the Ssc39 (+), isolated from a variety of sugarcane with symptoms of high susceptibility. Eleven clones were selected by PCR. The inserts were sequenced and used to confirm the assembly of both loci in the genome sequencing of the fungus. Although S. scitamineum belongs to the class of bipolar system of sexual response as well as the fungus U. hordei , the comparative analysis of both loci indicated that S. scitamineum shows greater similarity to the S. reilianum mainly with A1 allele, which has a tetrapolar system sexual response. The annotation of the genes and characterization mating type genes enabled the comparison and better understanding of the importance of these genes in the life cycle of the fungus.

Sporisorium scitamineum é um fungo basidiomiceto causador do carvão da cana-de-açúcar, uma doença com impacto negativo no cultivo da cana-de-açúcar, e com ocorrência em todos os países produtores. A manifestação da doença na cultura da cana depende da formação de uma hifa dicariótica a partir da anastomose de duas hifas haplóides compatíveis com relação ao tipo de reação sexual (mating-type). O controle do cruzamento sexuado (mating) é realizado pela expressão de um conjunto de genes presentes em dois loci, a e b. O locus a codifica um lipopeptídeo com função de feromônio e um receptor de feromônio, responsáveis pelo reconhecimento de células compatíveis e fusão de hifas, enquanto o locus b codifica fatores de transcrição que controlam a expressão de genes responsáveis pela manutenção das hifas dicarióticas durante o processo de infecção e crescimento do fungo dentro da planta. Apesar de desempenharem função essencial no processo de infecção e manutenção da doença em cana-de-açúcar, o conhecimento a respeito da organização genômica ou da função dos demais genes presentes nos loci a e b em S. scitamineum e em outros fungos causadores de carvão é ainda incipiente. Desta forma, o objetivo geral do presente trabalho foi isolar as regiões genômicas relacionadas aos genes de cruzamento em S. scitamineum e analisar comparativamente com regiões similares já descritas e depositadas em bancos de dados públicos. Para o isolamento destas regiões, foi construída uma biblioteca genômica em BAC de uma linhagem haplóide de S. scitamineum, a Ssc39 (+), isolada de uma variedade de cana-de-açúcar com sintomas de alta susceptibilidade. Foram selecionados 11 clones por PCR. Os insertos foram sequenciados e utilizados para confirmação da montagem dos loci no sequenciamento do genoma do fungo. Apesar do fungo S. scitamineum apresentar sistema bipolar de reação sexual assim como o fungo U. hordei, as análises comparativas de ambos os locus indicaram que S. scitamineum apresenta maior similaridade com o fungo S. reilianum principalmente com o alelo a1, no qual apresenta sistema tetrapolar de reação sexual. A anotação e caracterização dos genes do tipo de reação sexual (mating type) possibilitaram a comparação e melhor entendimento sobre esses genes de grande importância na patogenicidade e no ciclo de vida do fungo. / Sporisorium scitamineum is a basidiomycete fungus causing the smut disease in sugarcane, with a negative impact on the cultivation of sugarcane, and occurring in all producing countries. The manifestation of the disease in sugarcane crop depends on the formation of a dikaryotic hyphae originated of the anastomosis of two haploid mating type compatible cells. The control of the sexual crossing (mating) is performed by expression of a set of genes present in two loci, a and b. The locus a encodes a lipopeptide with the function of pheromone and pheromone membrane receptor responsible for cell recognition and compatible hyphal fusion, whereas the locus b encodes transcription factors that control the expression of genes responsible for the maintenance of the dikaryotic hyphal growth in plant. Although they play an essential role in the maintenance of infection and disease in sugarcane process, knowledge about the genomic organization and function of other genes in these two loci of S. scitamineum and other smut fungi is still incipient. Thus, the overall goal of this work was to isolate genomic regions related to the mating type in S. scitamineum and to perform a comparative analyze with similar regions described and deposited in public databases. For the isolation of these regions, we constructed a genomic BAC library of a haploid strain of S. scitamineum, the Ssc39 (+), isolated from a variety of sugarcane with symptoms of high susceptibility. Eleven clones were selected by PCR. The inserts were sequenced and used to confirm the assembly of both loci in the genome sequencing of the fungus. Although S. scitamineum belongs to the class of bipolar system of sexual response as well as the fungus U. hordei , the comparative analysis of both loci indicated that S. scitamineum shows greater similarity to the S. reilianum mainly with A1 allele, which has a tetrapolar system sexual response. The annotation of the genes and characterization mating type genes enabled the comparison and better understanding of the importance of these genes in the life cycle of the fungus.

A hierarchy of different chromosome conformations plays a role in many biological systems. These conformations contribute to the regulation of gene expression, cellular development, chromosome transmission, and defects can lead to human disease. The highest functional level of this hierarchy is the partitioning of the genome into compartments of active and inactive chromatin domains (1’s -10’s Mb). These compartments are further partitioned into Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) that spatially cluster co-regulated genes (100’s kb – 1’s Mb). The final level that has been observed is long range loops formed between regulatory elements and promoters (10’s kb – 100’s Mb). At all of these levels, mechanisms that establish these conformations remain poorly understood. To gain new insights into processes that determine chromosome folding I used the mating type switching system in budding yeast to study the chromosome conformation at length scales analogous to looping interaction. I specifically examined the role in chromosome conformation in the mating type switching system. Budding yeast cells can have two sexes: MATa and MATα. The mating types are determined by allele-specific expression of the MAT locus on chromosome III. The MATa allele encodes for transcription factors responsible for the MATa mating type and the MATα allele encodes transcription factors responsible for the MATα mating type. Yeast cells can switch their mating type by a process that repairs a break at MAT using one of two silent loci, HML or HMR, as a donor to convert the allele at the MAT locus. When MATa cells switch they prefer to use HML, which contains the MATα allele, located at the end of the left arm. MATα cells prefer to use HMR, which contains the MATa allele, located on the end of the right arm of chromosome III. The sequences of the HM loci are not important for donor preference. Instead the cell chooses the donor on the left arm in MATa cells and chooses the donor on the right arm in MATα cells. This lack of sequence specificity has led to the hypothesis that the conformation of the chromosome may play a role in donor preference. I found that the conformation of chromosome III is, indeed, different between the two mating types. In MATa cells the chromosomes displays a more crumpled conformation in which the left arm of the chromosome interacts with a large region of the right arm which includes the centromere and the MAT locus. In MATα cells, on the other hand, the left arm of the chromosomes displays a more extend conformation. I found that the Recombination Enhancer (RE), which enhances recombination along the left arm of the chromosome in MATa cells, is responsible for these mating type-specific conformations. Deleting the RE affects the conformation of the chromosomes in both MATa and MATα cells. The left portion of the RE, which is essential for donor preference during the switching reaction in MATa cells, does not contribute to the conformation in MATa. This region does have a minor effect on the conformation in MATα cells. However, I found that the right portion of the RE is responsible for the conformation of chromosome III in both mating types prior to initiation of switching. This work demonstrates that chromosome conformation is determined by specific cis regulatory elements that drive cell-type specific chromosome conformation.

Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum) is a homothallic ascomycete pathogen that is responsible for causing Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat and small grains. In addition to causing a reduction in yield, harvested grain is frequently contaminated with trichothecene mycotoxins that are harmful for human and animal health. Use of wheat varieties with resistance to FHB is an important strategy to lower its impact. In order to produce varieties with durable resistance, we must understand the origin and degree of genetic diversity present in the pathogen population. In my research, I focused my efforts on an investigation of the role of mating and sexual development in the generation of genotypic and phenotypic variability in G. zeae. The goal of one part of my work was to develop new genetic markers that can be used to monitor out-crossing and genetic diversity in the population. I also optimized gene deletion protocols for G. zeae so that I could produce mutant and control strains to address my research hypothesis that MAT genes play a direct role in pathogenicity. Application of novel repetitive RFLP probes to a group of G. zeae isolates originating from and near Kentucky revealed a surprisingly high degree of diversity in these local populations. Diversity between locations was greater than that within locations, suggesting the relative importance of local inoculum sources. The probes were also useful as genetic markers for segregation analysis. I crossed two genetically closely related, and commonly used, laboratory strains of G. zeae and found that this resulted in transgressive segregation for both aggressiveness and toxigenicity. I showed that the very high and very low levels of aggressiveness and toxigenicity in transgressive segregants are heritable. I also showed that selfing produced a higher degree of diversity in these traits among the progeny than was observed among conidial progeny. This suggests the presence of epigenetic factors that impact pathogenicity. Sexual behavior in G. zeae is under the control of MATing type genes. I deleted the complete MAT1 locus, and the MAT1-1-1, and MAT1-2-1 genes separately. Deletion of each of the targeted sequences produced the expected shifts in fertility phenotype. The mat1KO strains became asexual, while mat1-1-1KO and mat1-2-1KO strains shifted to obligate heterothallism. Deletion of the MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1 genes had a negative effect on aggressiveness and mycotoxin production in planta, but deletion of the complete MAT1 locus had no effect. The set of mutant and ectopic control strains that I generated will be a useful asset that will be made available to the research community.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2017-01-13T17:55:23Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Lorena Ferreira Peixoto - 2014.pdf: 2832669 bytes, checksum: ed2f415262daf1618ecdf785ad9bfb22 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-01-16T10:48:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Lorena Ferreira Peixoto - 2014.pdf: 2832669 bytes, checksum: ed2f415262daf1618ecdf785ad9bfb22 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-16T10:48:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Lorena Ferreira Peixoto - 2014.pdf: 2832669 bytes, checksum: ed2f415262daf1618ecdf785ad9bfb22 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-15 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás - FAPEG / Rice is a worldwide cultivated and consumed grain, playing an important role on the diet of half of the world’s population. Several losses in production and grain quality have been reported due to biotic factors, such as rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, which is the major disease in rice crops. One of the most effective ways to control this disease is the use of resistant cultivars. However, the high genetic variability of the pathogen results in a rapid resistance loss. The discovery of highly fertile, hermaphrodites individuals outside of the rice center of origin, suggests that sexual reproduction may contribute to this genetic variability, which influences the appropriate control strategies. M. oryzae reproduction studies begins with the determination of mating types, controlled by two idiomorphic genes (MAT1-1 e MAT1-2), along with the sexuality (hermaphrodite, female or male) and fertility (number of perithecia). Another important approach under investigation for this crop is the detection of avirulence genes from M. oryzae, to understand the pathogen variability. Our study focused on the investigation of MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 genes, and the presence of the avirulence gene AVR1-CO39in field isolates collected from all rice production regions from Brazil. Sexuality and fertility were also characterized. 208 selected isolates were cultivated in PDA medium and the fungus mycelia were used for DNA extraction and PCR detection of the above-mentioned genes. For the sexual characterization, 106 field isolates were paired in Petri dishes containing rice bran medium with two reference isolates: KA-3 (MAT1-1) and GUY11 (MAT1-2), known worldwide for their mating type and high fertility. The AVR1-CO39 gene was only detected in two field isolates. One of them was able to infect the rice cultivar CO39, which has the resistance gene Pi-CO39(t). A mutation on AVR1-CO39 gene could impair the recognition of its effector by Pi-CO39(t) protein. Only one mating type (MAT1-2) was observed on the 208 field isolates. It was also observed that, among the 106 analyzed isolates, one (0,94%) was identified as a female; three (2,8%) as hermaphrodite, 62 (57,9%) as male; and 41 (38,3%) were not determined, considered infertile. We also observed the formation of perithecia inside of rice leaves. Despite the predominance of one mating type among rice field isolates, there is a possibility that sexual reproduction may occur as the other idiomorphic gene (MAT1-1) is present on field isolates collected from other Poaceae. The identification of highly fertile hermaphrodites and fertile-female individuals in this study also highlight this possibility. / O arroz é cultivado e consumido em todos os continentes, desempenhando um importante papel na dieta de mais da metade da população mundial. O seu cultivo vem sofrendo perdas na produção e na qualidade de grãos, devido a fatores bióticos como a brusone, causada pelo fungo Magnaporthe oryzae, que é a principal doença da cultura do arroz, representando uma ameaça à segurança alimentar mundial. O uso de cultivares resistentes é considerado o método mais efetivo para o controle da doença, porém, a alta variabilidade do patógeno resulta em uma rápida suplantação da resistência. Com a descoberta de isolados de alta fertilidade, hermafroditas, fora do centro de origem do arroz, sugere-se que a reprodução sexuada possa estar contribuindo para esta variabilidade genética, o que consequentemente influencia as estratégias apropriadas de controle. O estudo da reprodução sexuada em M. oryzae inicia-se com a definição dos tipos compatíveis, característica controlada pelo gene mating type com dois idiomorfos (MAT1-1 e MAT1-2); além das características como sexualidade (hermafrodita, fêmea ou macho) e fertilidade (número de peritécios). Outra abordagem de grande importância para a cultura é a detecção de genes de avirulência de M. oryzae, visando estudos de sua variabilidade. Dessa forma, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar a presença dos genes MAT1-1 ou MAT1-2, e do gene de avirulência AVR1-CO39, em isolados coletados em todas as regiões produtoras de arroz do Brasil, além de caracterizá-los quanto à sexualidade e fertilidade. Foram selecionados 208 isolados que forma cultivados em BDA e seus micélios utilizados para extração de DNA e detecção dos genes citados. Para a caracterização sexual, 106 isolados de campo foram pareados em placa de Petri, contendo meio de farelo de arroz, com dois isolados: KA-3 (MAT1-1) e GUY11 (MAT1-2), os quais apresentam mating types e alta fertilidade, conhecidos mundialmente. O gene AVR1-CO39 foi detectado em apenas dois isolados, e um deles é patogênico à cultivar CO39, portadora do gene de resistência Pi-CO39(t), levantando a possibilidade de que uma mutação possa ter ocorrido, como deleção, o que impossibilita o reconhecimento do efetor pela proteína do gene Pi-CO39(t). Apenas um tipo compatível (MAT1-2) foi observado nos 208 isolados de campo. Foi observado também que, entre os 106 isolados analisados, um (0,94%), foi identificado como fêmea; três (2,8%), como hermafroditas; 62 (57,9%), como machos; e 41 (38,3%), como não determinados, sendo considerados inférteis. Observou-se também a formação de peritécios no interior da folha de arroz. Apesar do predomínio de um mating type, entre os isolados do arroz, há a possibilidade de ocorrência da reprodução sexuada, devido à presença do outro idiomorfo (MAT1-1) em isolados coletados de outras gramíneas, juntamente com a presença de hermafroditas e da fêmea-fértil, com alta fertilidade, de isolados MAT1-2 identificados nesse trabalho.