@misc{torto-alalibo_collmer_gwinn-giglio_lindeberg_meng_chibucos_tseng_lomax_biehl_ireland_et al._2010, title={Unifying Themes in Microbial Associations with Animal and Plant Hosts Described Using the Gene Ontology}, volume={74}, ISSN={["1098-5557"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-78650086447&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1128/mmbr.00017-10}, abstractNote={SUMMARY Microbes form intimate relationships with hosts (symbioses) that range from mutualism to parasitism. Common microbial mechanisms involved in a successful host association include adhesion, entry of the microbe or its effector proteins into the host cell, mitigation of host defenses, and nutrient acquisition. Genes associated with these microbial mechanisms are known for a broad range of symbioses, revealing both divergent and convergent strategies. Effective comparisons among these symbioses, however, are hampered by inconsistent descriptive terms in the literature for functionally similar genes. Bioinformatic approaches that use homology-based tools are limited to identifying functionally similar genes based on similarities in their sequences. An effective solution to these limitations is provided by the Gene Ontology (GO), which provides a standardized language to describe gene products from all organisms. The GO comprises three ontologies that enable one to describe the molecular function(s) of gene products, the biological processes to which they contribute, and their cellular locations. Beginning in 2004, the Plant-Associated Microbe Gene Ontology (PAMGO) interest group collaborated with the GO consortium to extend the GO to accommodate terms for describing gene products associated with microbe-host interactions. Currently, over 900 terms that describe biological processes common to diverse plant- and animal-associated microbes are incorporated into the GO database. Here we review some unifying themes common to diverse host-microbe associations and illustrate how the new GO terms facilitate a standardized description of the gene products involved. We also highlight areas where new terms need to be developed, an ongoing process that should involve the whole community.}, number={4}, journal={MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS}, author={Torto-Alalibo, Trudy and Collmer, Candace W. and Gwinn-Giglio, Michelle and Lindeberg, Magdalen and Meng, Shaowu and Chibucos, Marcus C. and Tseng, Tsai-Tien and Lomax, Jane and Biehl, Bryan and Ireland, Amelia and et al.}, year={2010}, month={Dec}, pages={479–503} }
 @misc{meng_torto-alalibo_chibucos_tyler_dean_2009, title={Common processes in pathogenesis by fungal and oomycete plant pathogens, described with Gene Ontology terms}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1471-2180"]}, DOI={10.1186/1471-2180-9-s1-s7}, abstractNote={Abstract Plant diseases caused by fungi and oomycetes result in significant economic losses every year. Although phylogenetically distant, the infection processes by these organisms share many common features. These include dispersal of an infectious particle, host adhesion, recognition, penetration, invasive growth, and lesion development. Previously, many of these common processes did not have corresponding Gene Ontology (GO) terms. For example, no GO terms existed to describe processes related to the appressorium, an important structure for infection by many fungi and oomycetes. In this mini-review, we identify common features of the pathogenic processes of fungi and oomycetes and create a pathogenesis model using 256 newly developed and 38 extant GO terms, with an emphasis on the appressorium and signal transduction. This set of standardized GO terms provides a solid base to further compare and contrast the molecular underpinnings of fungal and oomycete pathogenesis.}, journal={BMC MICROBIOLOGY}, author={Meng, Shaowu and Torto-Alalibo, Trudy and Chibucos, Marcus C. and Tyler, Brett M. and Dean, Ralph A.}, year={2009}, month={Feb} }
 @misc{meng_brown_ebbole_torto-alalibo_oh_deng_mitchell_dean_2009, title={Gene Ontology annotation of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1471-2180"]}, DOI={10.1186/1471-2180-9-s1-s8}, abstractNote={Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of blast disease of rice, is the most destructive disease of rice worldwide. The genome of this fungal pathogen has been sequenced and an automated annotation has recently been updated to Version 6 http://www.broad.mit.edu/annotation/genome/magnaporthe_grisea/MultiDownloads.html. However, a comprehensive manual curation remains to be performed. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation is a valuable means of assigning functional information using standardized vocabulary. We report an overview of the GO annotation for Version 5 of M. oryzae genome assembly.A similarity-based (i.e., computational) GO annotation with manual review was conducted, which was then integrated with a literature-based GO annotation with computational assistance. For similarity-based GO annotation a stringent reciprocal best hits method was used to identify similarity between predicted proteins of M. oryzae and GO proteins from multiple organisms with published associations to GO terms. Significant alignment pairs were manually reviewed. Functional assignments were further cross-validated with manually reviewed data, conserved domains, or data determined by wet lab experiments. Additionally, biological appropriateness of the functional assignments was manually checked.In total, 6,286 proteins received GO term assignment via the homology-based annotation, including 2,870 hypothetical proteins. Literature-based experimental evidence, such as microarray, MPSS, T-DNA insertion mutation, or gene knockout mutation, resulted in 2,810 proteins being annotated with GO terms. Of these, 1,673 proteins were annotated with new terms developed for Plant-Associated Microbe Gene Ontology (PAMGO). In addition, 67 experiment-determined secreted proteins were annotated with PAMGO terms. Integration of the two data sets resulted in 7,412 proteins (57%) being annotated with 1,957 distinct and specific GO terms. Unannotated proteins were assigned to the 3 root terms. The Version 5 GO annotation is publically queryable via the GO site http://amigo.geneontology.org/cgi-bin/amigo/go.cgi. Additionally, the genome of M. oryzae is constantly being refined and updated as new information is incorporated. For the latest GO annotation of Version 6 genome, please visit our website http://scotland.fgl.ncsu.edu/smeng/GoAnnotationMagnaporthegrisea.html. The preliminary GO annotation of Version 6 genome is placed at a local MySql database that is publically queryable via a user-friendly interface Adhoc Query System.Our analysis provides comprehensive and robust GO annotations of the M. oryzae genome assemblies that will be solid foundations for further functional interrogation of M. oryzae.}, journal={BMC MICROBIOLOGY}, author={Meng, Shaowu and Brown, Douglas E. and Ebbole, Daniel J. and Torto-Alalibo, Trudy and Oh, Yeon Yee and Deng, Jixin and Mitchell, Thomas K. and Dean, Ralph A.}, year={2009}, month={Feb} }
 @misc{torto-alalibo_meng_dean_2009, title={Infection strategies of filamentous microbes described with the Gene Ontology}, volume={17}, ISSN={["1878-4380"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.tim.2009.05.003}, abstractNote={Filamentous microbes that form highly developed symbiotic associations (ranging from pathogenesis to mutualism) with their hosts include fungi, oomycetes and actinomycete bacteria. These organisms share many common features in growth, development and infection and have evolved similar strategies for neutralizing host defense responses to establish symbioses. Recent advances in sequencing technologies have led to a remarkable increase in the number of sequenced genomes of filamentous organisms. Analysis of the available genomes has provided useful information about genes that might be important for host infection and colonization. However, because many functional similarities among these organisms have arisen by convergent evolution, sequence-based genomic comparisons will miss many genes that are functionally analogous. In the absence of sequence similarity, annotating genes with standardized terms from the Gene Ontology (GO) can facilitate functional comparisons. Here, we review common strategies employed by filamentous organisms during colonization of their hosts, with reference to GO terms that best describe the processes involved.}, number={7}, journal={TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY}, author={Torto-Alalibo, Trudy and Meng, Shaowu and Dean, Ralph A.}, year={2009}, month={Jul}, pages={320–327} }
 @misc{oh_donofrio_pan_coughlan_brown_meng_mitchell_dean_2008, title={Transcriptome analysis reveals new insight into appressorium formation and function in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae}, volume={9}, ISSN={["1474-760X"]}, DOI={10.1186/gb-2008-9-5-r85}, abstractNote={BackgroundRice blast disease is caused by the filamentous Ascomycetous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and results in significant annual rice yield losses worldwide. Infection by this and many other fungal plant pathogens requires the development of a specialized infection cell called an appressorium. The molecular processes regulating appressorium formation are incompletely understood.ResultsWe analyzed genome-wide gene expression changes during spore germination and appressorium formation on a hydrophobic surface compared to induction by cAMP. During spore germination, 2,154 (approximately 21%) genes showed differential expression, with the majority being up-regulated. During appressorium formation, 357 genes were differentially expressed in response to both stimuli. These genes, which we refer to as appressorium consensus genes, were functionally grouped into Gene Ontology categories. Overall, we found a significant decrease in expression of genes involved in protein synthesis. Conversely, expression of genes associated with protein and amino acid degradation, lipid metabolism, secondary metabolism and cellular transportation exhibited a dramatic increase. We functionally characterized several differentially regulated genes, including a subtilisin protease (SPM1) and a NAD specific glutamate dehydrogenase (Mgd1), by targeted gene disruption. These studies revealed hitherto unknown findings that protein degradation and amino acid metabolism are essential for appressorium formation and subsequent infection.ConclusionWe present the first comprehensive genome-wide transcript profile study and functional analysis of infection structure formation by a fungal plant pathogen. Our data provide novel insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms that will directly benefit efforts to identify fungal pathogenicity factors and aid the development of new disease management strategies.}, number={5}, journal={GENOME BIOLOGY}, author={Oh, Yeonyee and Donofrio, Nicole and Pan, Huaqin and Coughlan, Sean and Brown, Douglas E. and Meng, Shaowu and Mitchell, Thomas and Dean, Ralph A.}, year={2008} }