Journal Article

Sanctuary : a Starship transposon facilitating the movement of the virulence factor ToxA in fungal wheat pathogens

Milgate, Andrew, Wilson, Hannah M., Simpfendorfer, Steven, McDonald, Megan C., Bucknell, Angus, Solomon, Peter S., Bentham, Adam, Gonçalves dos Santos, Karen C., Germain, Hugo

2025

Overview

The work presented here expands our understanding of a novel group of mobile genetic elements called Starships that facilitate the horizontal exchange of numerous genes between fungal pathogens. Our analysis shows that Sanctuary and ToxTA are both active transposons within the Bipolaris sorokiniana genome. We also show that the smaller ToxTA transposon has been independently acquired by two different Starships , namely Sanctuary in B. sorokiniana and Horizon in Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and Parastagonospora nodorum . Outside of ToxTA, these two Starships share no sequence identity. The acquisition of ToxTA by two different mobile elements in three different fungal wheat pathogens demonstrates how horizontal transposon transfer is driving the evolution of virulence in these important wheat pathogens.

• Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
• Subject: Ascomycota - genetics / Ascomycota - pathogenicity / Bipolaris / Bipolaris - genetics / Bipolaris - pathogenicity / Bipolaris sorokiniana / Chromosomes / DNA Transposable Elements / Evolution & development / Fungal Proteins - genetics / Gene transfer / Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Genomes / Genomic analysis / horizontal gene transfer / Horizontal transfer / long-read sequencing / Mutation / Mycology / Parastagonospora nodorum / Pathogens / Plant Diseases - microbiology / Pyrenophora tritici-repentis / Recombinase / Research Article / Ribosomal DNA / Species / Starships / ToxA / Transposition / Transposons / Triticum - microbiology / Virulence / Virulence factors / Virulence Factors - genetics / Wheat