Professor Barbara Howlett

Research Interests

• Blackleg and Sclerotinia diseases of canola
• Infection of Arabidopsis by the blackleg fungus
• Functional genomics of the blackleg and sclerotinia fungi
• Evolution and regulation of genes involved in biosynthesis of fungal toxins

Research Group

• blackleg group

Publications: 2006 -2008 (as of October 2008)

Fox EM, Howlett BJ (2008) Secondary metabolism: regulation and role in fungal biology. Current Opinion in Microbiology manuscript accepted

Van de Wouw AP, Marcroft SJ, Barbetti MJ, Hua Li, Salisbury PA, Gout L, Rouxel T, Howlett BJ, Balesdent MH(2008)  Dual control of avirulence in Leptosphaeria maculans towards a Brassica napus cultivar with sylvestris-derived resistance suggests involvement of two resistance genes. Plant Pathology in press

Van de Wouw AP, Thomas VL, Cozijnsen AJ, Marcroft SJ, Salisbury PA, Howlett BJ (2008)  Identification of Leptosphaeria biglobosa ‘canadensis’ on Brassica juncea stubble from northern New South Wales Australasian Plant Disease Notes 3: 124-8

Elliott CE, Harjono, Howlett BJ (2008) Mutation of a gene in the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans allows increased frequency of penetration of stomatal apertures of Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular Plant 1: 471-81

Fox EM, Gardiner DM, Keller NP, Howlett BJ (2008) A Zn(II)2Cys6 DNA binding protein regulates the sirodesmin PL biosynthetic gene cluster in Leptosphaeria maculans Fungal Genetics and Biology 45: 671-82

Lambou K, Tharreau D, Kohler A, Sirven C, Marguerettaz M, Barbisan C, Sexton AC, Kellner EM, Martin F, Howlett BJ, Orbach MJ, Lebrun M-H (2008)  Fungi have three tetraspanin families with distinct functions. BMC Genomics 9: 63

Howlett BJ (2008) Biosynthesis of epipolythiodioxopiperazine toxins in fungi. Chemistry in Australia 75: 4-7

Fox EM, Howlett BJ (2008) Biosynthetic gene clusters for epipolythiodioxopiperazines in filamentous fungi. Mycological Research 112:162-9

Heitman J, Howlett BJ (2008) Fungal horizons: The Asilomar Fungal Genetics Conference 2007 Fungal Genetics and Biology 45: 77-83

Patron NJ, Waller RF, Cozijnsen AJ, Straney DC, Gardiner DM, Nierman WC, Howlett BJ (2007) Origin and distribution of epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP) gene clusters in filamentous ascomycetes. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7: 174

Elliott CE, Gardiner DM, Thomas G, Cozijnsen AJ, Van De Wouw A, Howlett BJ (2007) Production of the toxin sirodesmin PL by Leptosphaeria maculans during infection of Brassica napus. Molecular Plant Pathology 8: 791-802

Sprague SJ, Watt M, Kirkegaard JA, Howlett BJ (2007) Pathways of infection of Brassica napus roots by Leptosphaeria maculans. New Phytologist 176: 211-222

Hayden HL, Cozijnsen AJ, Howlett BJ (2007) Microsatellite and minisatellite analysis of populations of the canola pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans reveals regional genetic differentiation in Australia. Phytopathology 97: 879-87

Howlett BJ, Idnurm A and Heitman J (2007) Fungal pathogenesis: Unveiled gene clusters as secrets within the Ustilago maydis code – a dispatch. Current Biology 17: R87-R90

Sexton AC, Whitten AR, Howlett BJ (2006) Population structure of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in an Australian canola field at flowering and stem infection stages of the disease cycle. Genome 49: 1408-15

Sexton AC, Howlett BJ (2006) Parallels between fungal pathogenesis on plants and animal hosts. Eukaryotic Cell 5: 1941-9

Howlett BJ (2006) Secondary metabolite toxins and nutrition of plant pathogenic fungi. Current Opinions in Plant Biology 9: 371-5

Elliott CE, Howlett BJ (2006) Over expression of a 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase in Leptosphaeria maculans causes reduced pathogenicity on Brassica napus. Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 19: 588-96

Sexton AC, Cozijnsen AJ, Keniry A, Jewell E, Love CG, Batley J, Edwards D, Howlett BJ (2006) Transcription profile of genes from three developmental stages of the plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. FEMS Microbiology Letters 258: 150-60

Sprague SJ, Hayden HL, Marcroft SJ, Howlett BJ (2006) Major gene resistance to blackleg in Brassica napus overcome within three years of commercial production in Southeastern Australia. Plant Disease 190: 190-8

Sprague SJ, Hayden HL, Brun H, Marcroft SJ, Pinochet X, Rouxel T, Balesdent MH, Howlett BJ (2006) Major gene resistance in Brassica napus (oilseed rape) is overcome by changes in virulence of populations of Leptosphaeria maculans in France and Australia. European Journal of Plant Pathology 114: 33-40

Kuhn ML, Gout L, Howlett BJ, Melayah D, Meyer M, Balesdent MH, Rouxel T (2006) Genetic linkage maps and genomic organization in Leptosphaeria maculans. European Journal of Plant Pathology 114:17-31

Fitt BDL, Evans N, Howlett BJ, Cooke M (Editors) (2006) Sustainable strategies for managing Brassica napus (oilseed rape) resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans (phoma stem canker). Springer, The Netherlands: 126 pp. (BOOK) ISBN: 1402045247