Journal Article

Comparative genomics reveals mobile pathogenicity chromosomes in Fusarium

Dufresne, Marie, Zeng, Qiandong, Rothamsted Research ; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Interactions Biotiques et Santé Végétale (IBSV) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Houterman, Petra M, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Rep, Martijn, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Danchin, Etienne, Ruiz-Roldan, Carmen, Lee, Yong-Hwan, Grabherr, Manfred, European Molecular Biology Laboratory European Bioinformatics Institute, Cuomo, Christina A, Henrissat, Bernard, Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11), Gale, Liane R, Sakthikumar, Sharadha, Hilburn, Karen, Young, Sarah, Borkovich, Katherine A, van Der Does, Charlotte, Park, Jongsun, Manners, John M, Diener, Andrew, University of Minnesota [Twin Cities] (UMN) ; University of Minnesota System (UMN), Jonkers, Wilfried, Woloshuk, Charles, University of California [Riverside] (UC Riverside) ; University of California (UC), Xie, Xiaohui, Butchko, Robert A. E, Regev, Aviv, Cornell University [New York], Oregon State University (OSU), Schwartz, David C, Wapin

2010

Overview

Fusarium species are among the most important phytopathogenic and toxigenic fungi. To understand the molecular underpinnings of pathogenicity in the genus Fusarium, we compared the genomes of three phenotypically diverse species: Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Our analysis revealed lineage-specific (LS) genomic regions in F. oxysporum that include four entire chromosomes and account for more than one-quarter of the genome. LS regions are rich in transposons and genes with distinct evolutionary profiles but related to pathogenicity, indicative of horizontal acquisition. Experimentally, we demonstrate the transfer of two LS chromosomes between strains of F. oxysporum, converting a non-pathogenic strain into a pathogen. Transfer of LS chromosomes between otherwise genetically isolated strains explains the polyphyletic origin of host specificity and the emergence of new pathogenic lineages in F. oxysporum. These findings put the evolution of fungal pathogenicity into a new perspective

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group,CCSD,Nature Publishing Group UK
• Subject: 631/208/212/748 / 631/208/726/2001/1428 / 631/326/193/2542 / Amino acids / Biological and medical sciences / Causes of / Cellular Biology / Chromosomes / Chromosomes, Fungal / Chromosomes, Fungal - genetics / Comparative analysis / DNA sequencing / Evolution / Evolution, Molecular / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Fungal diseases of plants / Fungal plant pathogens / Fungi / Fusarium / Fusarium - classification / Fusarium - genetics / Fusarium - pathogenicity / Fusarium fujikuroi / Fusarium graminearum / Fusarium oxysporum / Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici / Fusarium verticillioides / gene transfer / Genes / Genetic aspects / Genetics / genome / Genome, Fungal / Genome, Fungal - genetics / Genomes / Genomics / Gibberella fujikuroi / Gibberella zeae / Host-Parasite Interactions / Host-Parasite Interactions - genetics / Humanities and Social Sciences / Life Sciences / lineage-specific genomic regions / microbial genetic resources / multidisciplinary / Multigene Family / Multigene Family - genetics / Nucleotide sequencing / pathogenicity / Pathogens / Phenotype / Phylogeny / Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection / Plant immunology / Proteins / Proteome / Proteome - genetics / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Sequence Analysis, DNA / Species diversity / Strain / Synteny / Synteny - genetics / transposons / Virulence / Virulence - genetics