Johannes Freitag

Dr. Johannes Freitag


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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18 February 2021 in Journal of Fungi
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SWSarah-Maria Wege
Sarah-Maria Wege
KGKatharina Gejer
Katharina Gejer
FBFabienne Becker
Fabienne Becker
MBMichael Bölker
Michael Bölker
JFJohannes Freitag
Johannes Freitag
BSBjörn Sandrock
Björn Sandrock
The phytopathogenic smut fungus Ustilago maydis is a versatile model organism to study plant pathology, fungal genetics, and molecular cell biology. Here, we report several strategies to manipulate the genome of U. maydis by the CRISPR/Cas9 technology. These include targeted gene deletion via homologous recombination of short double-stranded oligonucleotides, introduction of point mutations, heterologous complementation at the genomic locus, and endogenous N-terminal tagging with the fluorescent protein mCherry. All applications are independent of a permanent selectable marker and only require transient expression of the endonuclease Cas9hf and sgRNA. The techniques presented here are likely to accelerate research in the U. maydis community but can also act as a template for genome editing in other important fungi.