Journal Article

The genome sequence of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea

Kolomiets, Elena, Dean, Ralph A., Talbot, Nicholas J., Lee, Yong-Hwan, Calvo, Sarah, Birren, Bruce W., Nusbaum, Chad, Bohnert, Heidi, Ma, Li-Jun, Pan, Huaqin, Thon, Michael, Xu, Jin-Rong, Lebrun, Marc-Henri, Oh, Yeon Yee, Djonovic, Slavica, Orbach, Marc J., Coughlan, Sean, Jeong, Jun Seop, Donofrio, Nicole, Li, Weixi, Purcell, Seth, Kim, Soonok, Rehmeyer, Cathryn, Brown, Doug, Kulkarni, Resham, Galagan, James E., Ebbole, Daniel J., Carbone, Ignazio, Butler, Jonathan, Nicol, Robert, Read, Nick D., Soanes, Darren M., Mitchell, Thomas K., Farman, Mark L., Harding, Michael

2005

Overview

Magnaporthe grisea is the most destructive pathogen of rice worldwide and the principal model organism for elucidating the molecular basis of fungal disease of plants. Here, we report the draft sequence of the M. grisea genome. Analysis of the gene set provides an insight into the adaptations required by a fungus to cause disease. The genome encodes a large and diverse set of secreted proteins, including those defined by unusual carbohydrate-binding domains. This fungus also possesses an expanded family of G-protein-coupled receptors, several new virulence-associated genes and large suites of enzymes involved in secondary metabolism. Consistent with a role in fungal pathogenesis, the expression of several of these genes is upregulated during the early stages of infection-related development. The M. grisea genome has been subject to invasion and proliferation of active transposable elements, reflecting the clonal nature of this fungus imposed by widespread rice cultivation. Blast damage: genomes in conflict The genome sequence of the most destructive pathogen of rice is now available. The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea is the first fungal plant pathogen genome to be characterized, and with the rice genome already sequenced, it provides a unique opportunity to study the relationship between host and pathogen. Early findings include a family of novel G-protein-coupled receptors involved in disrupting host defences, a candidate target for fungicides specific for this pest. The genome has been invaded by other genetic elements in the past, probably contributing to rapid evolution when faced with newly introduced resistant rice varieties.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: Biological and medical sciences / Cultivation / Freshwater / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / fungal proteins / Fungal Proteins - genetics / Fungal Proteins - metabolism / G-proteins / genes / Genes, Fungal - genetics / Genome, Fungal / Genomics / Grain cultivation / Growth, nutrition, metabolism, transports, enzymes. Molecular biology / Guanosine Diphosphate - metabolism / Guanosine Triphosphate - metabolism / Humanities and Social Sciences / Magnaporthe - classification / Magnaporthe - genetics / Magnaporthe - metabolism / Magnaporthe - pathogenicity / Magnaporthe grisea / Microbiology / multidisciplinary / Mycology / Oryza - microbiology / Oryza sativa / Pathogens / Plant diseases / Plant Diseases - microbiology / plant pathogenic fungi / point mutation / Point Mutation - genetics / Proteome - genetics / Proteome - metabolism / Proteome - secretion / receptors / Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled - genetics / repetitive sequences / Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid - genetics / Rice / Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Signal Transduction / Virulence - genetics