Biocontrol of Orchid-pathogenic Mold, , by Antifungal Proteins from RS1.

Black rot disease in orchids is caused by the water mold . To gain better biocontrol performance, several factors affecting growth and antifungal substance production by RS1 were verified. These factors include type and pH of media, temperature, and time for antifungal production.

Fluffy, the major regulator of conidiation in Neurospora crassa, directly activates a developmentally regulated hydrophobin gene.

The fluffy (fl) gene of Neurospora crassa is required for asexual sporulation and encodes an 88 kDa polypeptide containing a typical fungal Zn2Cys6 DNA-binding motif. Identification of genes regulated by fl will provide insight into how fungi regulate growth during morphogenesis. As a step towards identifying the target genes on which FL may act, we sought to define target sequences to which the FL protein binds.