<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:DengXian;
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@DengXian";
panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Vladimir Script";
panose-1:3 5 4 2 4 4 7 7 3 5;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#467886;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1027" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Dear all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Please join us in Marley 230 on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 4:00 PM for a seminar presented by Dr. Marc Orbach from the School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><a href="https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83044711714?pwd=IQ994mWIPwbsRKMnfF9sERx5sNtv4m.1">Zoom link</a>: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83044711714 (password: SPLS24).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Refreshments will be provided in the Marley Lobby at 3:30 PM.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Title: From a Maize Pathogen Virulence Factor to a Valley Fever Vaccine
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter" />
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0" />
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0" />
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1" />
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2" />
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth" />
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight" />
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1" />
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2" />
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth" />
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0" />
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight" />
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0" />
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" />
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t" />
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style='position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:22.55pt;width:174.5pt;height:160.3pt;z-index:-251657216;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:text;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-width-relative:page;mso-height-relative:page'>
<v:imagedata src="cid:image001.jpg@01DB26CB.4C6ED4B0" o:title="" />
<w:wrap type="tight"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><img width="233" height="214" style="width:2.427in;height:2.2291in" src="cid:image002.jpg@01DB26CB.4C6ED4B0" align="left" hspace="12" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2"><![endif]><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Abstract</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">:
<i>Coccidioides</i> sp., the causative agents of valley fever, are mammalian pathogens endemic to the Southwest US and the Americas. Two-thirds of US infections occur in Arizona. Climate change suggests an expanding range for this pathogen and its disease.
To combat this disease, efforts to develop new antifungals or vaccines have been ongoing. Several approaches have been taken to identify fungal virulence factors, including identifying orthologs of virulence genes in other fungal pathogens. We found that
the <i>Cochliobolus</i> virulence factor <i>CPS1</i> was conserved <i>in Coccidioides
</i>and expressed early in its parasitic spherule phase. Deletion of <i>CPS1</i> resulted in a completely avirulent strain, unable to cause disease even in immunodeficient mice. When mice were pre-treated with the delta-<i>cps1
</i>mutant, they were protected against WT <i>Coccidioides</i> infection. This live-attenuated vaccine protects mice and dogs against valley fever and is undergoing regulatory approval for use as a canine vaccine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">To understand why the <i>CPS1</i> deletion is so debilitating to
<i>Coccidioides</i>, and support the safety of the vaccine, structural studies of the Cps1 protein and functional and expression studies of
<i>CPS1</i> are being used to define the role of the gene in <i>Coccidioides</i> growth and spherulation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";mso-ligatures:none">===============================================================<br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Vladimir Script";mso-ligatures:none">Zhongguo Xiong</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";mso-ligatures:none"> <br>
School of Plant Sciences BIO5 Institute<br>
BIO5 Email: <span style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:zxiong@arizona.edu"><span style="color:blue">zxiong@arizona.edu</span></a></span>
<br>
Phone: (520)-621-9869<br>
Forbes 303, P.O. box 210036 Fax: (520)-621-7186<br>
University of Arizona <br>
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036 <span style="color:blue"><a href="http://ag.arizona.edu/~zxiong"><span style="color:blue">http://ag.arizona.edu/~zxiong</span></a></span><br>
===============================================================</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>