Jin-Rong Xu

Professor

Department: Botany and Plant Pathology
Phone: 765.496.6918
Fax: 765.494.5896
Office: Whistler Hall, Room 222
E-mail: jinrong@purdue.edu

Area of Expertise: Fungal Biology - Characterization of infection-related signaling pathways and genes important for fungal-plant interactions in Magnaporthe grisea and Fusarium graminearum

Fungi have enormous impact on human welfare by destroying valuable crops and producing toxins that are harmful to humans and livestock. My interest lies in using genetic and genomics approaches to identify genes essential for fungal development and pathogenesis. My lab works with the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae and the wheat scab fungus Fusarium graminearum. Rice blast is one of the most severe diseases on rice and is a model to study fungal-plant interactions. Current efforts are focused on the signal transduction pathways regulating infection-related morphogenesis and infectious growth. We are also using proteomics and functional genomics approaches to identify pathogenesis-related genes and characterize their interactions during plant infection.

The wheat scab fungus is a less studied but important pathogen that has caused devastating epidemics recently in the US. Besides yield loss, F. graminearum also produced a variety of mycotoxins, including vomitoxin and zearalenone. Currently, we are using comparative genomics approaches to study genes that are important for F. graminearum biology and pathogenesis (in comparison with F. orysporum and F. verticillioides). We are also studying molecular mechanisms regulating Fusarium-wheat interactions and DON production in flowering wheat heads.


Rice Blast Disease	Appressoria formed by Magnaporthe grisea (A: Appressorium; C: conidium; G: germ tube)

Infection cycle of the Rice Blast Fungus M. grisea	Wheat Head Scab

- Recent Publications

Xu, J. (2026). The PMK1 MAP kinase pathway in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. Gordon Research Conference on Cellular and Molecular Mycology.

Xu, J., Z. H. Tracy, H. C. Kistler, & J. R. Xu (2012). REMI mutagenesis in the wheat scab fungus Fusarium graminearum. the Wheat and Barley Scab Forum.

Xu, J. (2007). From genes to genomes; a new paradigm for studying fungal pathogenesis in Magnaporthe oryzae. Advances in Genetics, 57, 175-218.

Zhao, X., R. Mehrabi, & J. Xu (2007). MAP KINASE PATHWAYS AND FUNGAL PATHOGENESIS. Eukaryotic Cell, 6.

Li, L., S. Ding, A. Sharon, M. Orbach, & J. Xu (2007). A novel nuclear protein Mir1 is highly up-regulated during infectious hyphal growth in the rice blast fungus. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, 20, 448-458.

Xu, J., Y. Peng, M. Dickman, & A. Sharon (2006). THE DAWN OF FUNGAL PATHOGEN GENOMICS. Annual Reviews of Phytopathology, 44, 337-366.

Xu, J. (2006). Development of a Fusarium graminearum Affymetrix GeneChip for profiling fungal gene expression in vitro and in planta. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 43, 316-325.

Seong, K., L. Li, Z. Hou, M. Tracy, H. C. Kistler, & J. Xu (2006). Cryptic promoter activity of the HMR1 coding region in the wheat scab fungus Fusarium graminearum. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 43, 34-41.

Xu, J., & H. C. Kistler (2005). Random Insertional Mutagenesis Identifies Genes Associated with Virulence in the wheat scab fungus Fusarium graminearum. Phytopathology.

Xu, J., & J. R. Xu (2005). A Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade regulating infection-related morphogenesis in Magnaporthe grisea. The Plant Cell, 17(4), 1317-1329.