Zea mays (maize) produces a class of sesquiterpenoid defense compounds called zealexins in response to fungal infection. These compounds exhibit antimicrobial activity, with their accumulation at the site of infection likely inhibiting fungal growth and different members of this family have activity against different fungal pathogens.
The goal of this project is to produce CRISPR-Cas9 loss-of-function mutants in two genes that may be good candidates for several of the missing steps in zealexin biosynthesis (NMD1 and NMD2), and to profile the production of zealexins in the mutants to determine if indeed NMD1 and NMD2 function in zealexin biosynthesis. Knowledge of the genes involved in the production of these compounds will be useful for molecular breeding programs focused on enhancing disease resistance in maize.