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Kusch S, Frantzeskakis L, Lassen BD, Kümmel F, Pesch L, Barsoum M, Walden KD, Panstruga R. A fungal plant pathogen overcomes mlo-mediated broad-spectrum disease resistance by rapid gene loss. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 39155769 DOI: 10.1111/nph.20063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/03/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024]
Abstract
Hosts and pathogens typically engage in a coevolutionary arms race. This also applies to phytopathogenic powdery mildew fungi, which can rapidly overcome plant resistance and perform host jumps. Using experimental evolution, we show that the powdery mildew pathogen Blumeria hordei is capable of breaking the agriculturally important broad-spectrum resistance conditioned by barley loss-of-function mlo mutants. Partial mlo virulence of evolved B. hordei isolates is correlated with a distinctive pattern of adaptive mutations, including small-sized (c. 8-40 kb) deletions, of which one is linked to the de novo insertion of a transposable element. Occurrence of the mutations is associated with a transcriptional induction of effector protein-encoding genes that is absent in mlo-avirulent isolates on mlo mutant plants. The detected mutational spectrum comprises the same loci in at least two independently isolated mlo-virulent isolates, indicating convergent multigenic evolution. The mutational events emerged in part early (within the first five asexual generations) during experimental evolution, likely generating a founder population in which incipient mlo virulence was later stabilized by additional events. This work highlights the rapid dynamic genome evolution of an obligate biotrophic plant pathogen with a transposon-enriched genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Kusch
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Lamprinos Frantzeskakis
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Birthe D Lassen
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Florian Kümmel
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Lina Pesch
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mirna Barsoum
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Kim D Walden
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ralph Panstruga
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, D-52056, Aachen, Germany
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2
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Liang X, Yu W, Meng Y, Shang S, Tian H, Zhang Z, Rollins JA, Zhang R, Sun G. Genome comparisons reveal accessory genes crucial for the evolution of apple Glomerella leaf spot pathogenicity in Colletotrichum fungi. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2024; 25:e13454. [PMID: 38619507 PMCID: PMC11018114 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Apple Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) is an emerging fungal disease caused by Colletotrichum fructicola and other Colletotrichum species. These species are polyphyletic and it is currently unknown how these pathogens convergently evolved to infect apple. We generated chromosome-level genome assemblies of a GLS-adapted isolate and a non-adapted isolate in C. fructicola using long-read sequencing. Additionally, we resequenced 17 C. fructicola and C. aenigma isolates varying in GLS pathogenicity using short-read sequencing. Genome comparisons revealed a conserved bipartite genome architecture involving minichromosomes (accessory chromosomes) shared by C. fructicola and other closely related species within the C. gloeosporioides species complex. Moreover, two repeat-rich genomic regions (1.61 Mb in total) were specifically conserved among GLS-pathogenic isolates in C. fructicola and C. aenigma. Single-gene deletion of 10 accessory genes within the GLS-specific regions of C. fructicola identified three that were essential for GLS pathogenicity. These genes encoded a putative non-ribosomal peptide synthetase, a flavin-binding monooxygenase and a small protein with unknown function. These results highlight the crucial role accessory genes play in the evolution of Colletotrichum pathogenicity and imply the significance of an unidentified secondary metabolite in GLS pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofei Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
| | - Wei Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
| | - Yanan Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
| | - Shengping Shang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
| | - Huanhuan Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
| | - Zhaohui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
| | | | - Rong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
| | - Guangyu Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid AreasCollege of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F UniversityYanglingChina
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3
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Schuster M, Schweizer G, Reißmann S, Happel P, Aßmann D, Rössel N, Güldener U, Mannhaupt G, Ludwig N, Winterberg S, Pellegrin C, Tanaka S, Vincon V, Presti LL, Wang L, Bender L, Gonzalez C, Vranes M, Kämper J, Seong K, Krasileva K, Kahmann R. Novel Secreted Effectors Conserved Among Smut Fungi Contribute to the Virulence of Ustilago maydis. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2024; 37:250-263. [PMID: 38416124 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-09-23-0139-fi] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Fungal pathogens deploy a set of molecules (proteins, specialized metabolites, and sRNAs), so-called effectors, to aid the infection process. In comparison to other plant pathogens, smut fungi have small genomes and secretomes of 20 Mb and around 500 proteins, respectively. Previous comparative genomic studies have shown that many secreted effector proteins without known domains, i.e., novel, are conserved only in the Ustilaginaceae family. By analyzing the secretomes of 11 species within Ustilaginaceae, we identified 53 core homologous groups commonly present in this lineage. By collecting existing mutants and generating additional ones, we gathered 44 Ustilago maydis strains lacking single core effectors as well as 9 strains containing multiple deletions of core effector gene families. Pathogenicity assays revealed that 20 of these 53 mutant strains were affected in virulence. Among the 33 mutants that had no obvious phenotypic changes, 13 carried additional, sequence-divergent, structurally similar paralogs. We report a virulence contribution of seven previously uncharacterized single core effectors and of one effector family. Our results help to prioritize effectors for understanding U. maydis virulence and provide genetic resources for further characterization. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Schuster
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Gabriel Schweizer
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Independent Data Lab UG, 80937 Munich, Germany
| | - Stefanie Reißmann
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Petra Happel
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Aßmann
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Rössel
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Güldener
- Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Technische Universität München, 80636 München, Germany
| | - Gertrud Mannhaupt
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Ludwig
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Research & Development, Weed Control Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, 65926 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Sarah Winterberg
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Clément Pellegrin
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Shigeyuki Tanaka
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Volker Vincon
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Libera Lo Presti
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Lei Wang
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Lena Bender
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Phillips-University Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany
| | - Carla Gonzalez
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Miroslav Vranes
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Department of Genetics, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Jörg Kämper
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Biosciences, Department of Genetics, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Kyungyong Seong
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A
| | - Ksenia Krasileva
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A
| | - Regine Kahmann
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043 Marburg, Germany
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Nagarajan N, Khan M, Djamei A. Manipulation of Auxin Signaling by Smut Fungi during Plant Colonization. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:1184. [PMID: 38132785 PMCID: PMC10744876 DOI: 10.3390/jof9121184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A common feature of many plant-colonizing organisms is the exploitation of plant signaling and developmental pathways to successfully establish and proliferate in their hosts. Auxins are central plant growth hormones, and their signaling is heavily interlinked with plant development and immunity responses. Smuts, as one of the largest groups in basidiomycetes, are biotrophic specialists that successfully manipulate their host plants and cause fascinating phenotypes in so far largely enigmatic ways. This review gives an overview of the growing understanding of how and why smut fungi target the central and conserved auxin growth signaling pathways in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Armin Djamei
- Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany; (N.N.); (M.K.)
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5
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Wang S, Xia W, Li Y, Peng Y, Zhang Y, Tang J, Cui H, Qu L, Yao T, Yu Z, Ye Z. The Novel Effector Ue943 Is Essential for Host Plant Colonization by Ustilago esculenta. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9050593. [PMID: 37233304 DOI: 10.3390/jof9050593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The smut fungus Ustilago esculenta obligately parasitizes Zizania latifolia and induces smut galls at the stem tips of host plants. Previous research identified a putative secreted protein, Ue943, which is required for the biotrophic phase of U. esculenta but not for the saprophytic phase. Here, we studied the role of Ue943 during the infection process. Conserved homologs of Ue943 were found in smut fungi. Ue943 can be secreted by U. esculenta and localized to the biotrophic interface between fungi and plants. It is required at the early stage of colonization. The Ue943 deletion mutant caused reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and callose deposition in the host plant at 1 and 5 days post inoculation, which led to failed colonization. The virulence deficiency was restored by overexpressing gene Ue943 or Ue943:GFP. Transcriptome analysis further showed a series of changes in plant hormones following ROS production when the host plant was exposed to ΔUe943. We hypothesize that Ue943 might be responsible for ROS suppression or avoidance of recognition by the plant immune system. The mechanism underlying Ue943 requires further study to provide more insights into the virulence of smut fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuqing Wang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Wenqiang Xia
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
- Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, China
| | - Yani Li
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yuyan Peng
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yafen Zhang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Jintian Tang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Haifeng Cui
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Lisi Qu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Tongfu Yao
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Zetao Yu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Zihong Ye
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
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6
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Pan-Genomics Reveals a New Variation Pattern of Secreted Proteins in Pyricularia oryzae. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8121238. [PMID: 36547571 PMCID: PMC9785059 DOI: 10.3390/jof8121238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Pyricularia oryzae, the causal agent of rice blast disease, is one of the major rice pathogens. The complex population structure of P. oryzae facilitates the rapid virulence variations, which make the blast disease a serious challenge for global food security. There is a large body of existing genomics research on P. oryzae, however the population structure at the pan-genome level is not clear, and the mechanism of genetic divergence and virulence variations of different sub-populations is also unknown. (2) Methods: Based on the genome data published in the NCBI, we constructed a pan-genome database of P. oryzae, which consisted of 156 strains (117 isolated from rice and 39 isolated from other hosts). (3) Results: The pan-genome contained a total of 24,100 genes (12,005 novel genes absent in the reference genome 70-15), including 16,911 (~70%) core genes (population frequency ≥95%) and 1378 (~5%) strain-specific genes (population frequency ≤5%). Gene presence-absence variation (PAV) based clustering analysis of the population structure of P. oryzae revealed four subgroups (three from rice and one from other hosts). Interestingly, the cloned avirulence genes and conventional secreted proteins (SPs, with signal peptides) were enriched in the high-frequency regions and significantly associated with transposable elements (TEs), while the unconventional SPs (without signal peptides) were enriched in the low-frequency regions and not associated significantly with TEs. This pan-genome will expand the breadth and depth of the rice blast fungus reference genome, and also serve as a new blueprint for scientists to further study the pathogenic mechanism and virulence variation of the rice blast fungus.
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Depotter JRL, Ökmen B, Ebert MK, Beckers J, Kruse J, Thines M, Doehlemann G. High Nucleotide Substitution Rates Associated with Retrotransposon Proliferation Drive Dynamic Secretome Evolution in Smut Pathogens. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0034922. [PMID: 35972267 PMCID: PMC9603552 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00349-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) play a pivotal role in shaping diversity in eukaryotic genomes. The covered smut pathogen on barley, Ustilago hordei, encountered a recent genome expansion. Using long reads, we assembled genomes of 6 U. hordei strains and 3 sister species, to study this genome expansion. We found that larger genome sizes can mainly be attributed to a higher genome fraction of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs). In the studied smut genomes, LTR-RTs fractions are the largest in U. hordei and are positively correlated with the mating-type locus sizes, which is up to ~560 kb in U. hordei. Furthermore, LTR-RTs were found to be associated with higher nucleotide substitution levels, as these occur in specific genome regions of smut species with a recent LTR-RT proliferation. Moreover, genes in genome regions with higher nucleotide substitution levels generally reside closer to LTR-RTs than other genome regions. Genome regions with many nucleotide substitutions encountered an especially high fraction of CG substitutions, which is not observed for LTR-RT sequences. The high nucleotide substitution levels particularly accelerate the evolution of secretome genes, as their more accessory nature results in substitutions that often lead to amino acid alterations. IMPORTANCE Genomic alteration can be generated through various means, in which transposable elements (TEs) can play a pivotal role. Their mobility causes mutagenesis in itself and can disrupt the function of the sequences they insert into. They also impact genome evolution as their repetitive nature facilitates nonhomologous recombination. Furthermore, TEs have been linked to specific epigenetic genome organizations. We report a recent TE proliferation in the genome of the barley covered smut fungus, Ustilago hordei. This proliferation is associated with a distinct nucleotide substitution regime that has a higher rate and a higher fraction of CG substitutions. This different regime shapes the evolution of genes in subjected genome regions. We hypothesize that TEs may influence the error-rate of DNA polymerase in a hitherto unknown fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. R. L. Depotter
- CEPLAS, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - B. Ökmen
- CEPLAS, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - M. K. Ebert
- CEPLAS, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - J. Beckers
- CEPLAS, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - J. Kruse
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt a. M., Germany
- Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
| | - M. Thines
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt a. M., Germany
- Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
| | - G. Doehlemann
- CEPLAS, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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RoyChowdhury M, Sternhagen J, Xin Y, Lou B, Li X, Li C. Evolution of pathogenicity in obligate fungal pathogens and allied genera. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13794. [PMID: 36042858 PMCID: PMC9420410 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Obligate fungal pathogens (ascomycetes and basidiomycetes) and oomycetes are known to cause diseases in cereal crop plants. They feed on living cells and most of them have learned to bypass the host immune machinery. This paper discusses some of the factors that are associated with pathogenicity drawing examples from ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and oomycetes, with respect to their manifestation in crop plants. The comparisons have revealed a striking similarity in the three groups suggesting convergent pathways that have arisen from three lineages independently leading to an obligate lifestyle. This review has been written with the intent, that new information on adaptation strategies of biotrophs, modifications in pathogenicity strategies and population dynamics will improve current strategies for breeding with stable resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moytri RoyChowdhury
- Infectious Diseases Program, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, California, United States of America
| | - Jake Sternhagen
- Riverside School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States of America
| | - Ya Xin
- Hangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Binghai Lou
- Guangxi Academy of Specialty Crops, Guilin, Guangxi, P.R. China
| | - Xiaobai Li
- Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Chunnan Li
- Hangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, P.R. China
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Maia T, Rody HVS, Bombardelli RGH, Souto TG, Camargo LEA, Monteiro-Vitorello CB. A Bacterial Type Three Secretion-Based Delivery System for Functional Characterization of Sporisorium scitamineum Plant Immune Suppressing Effector Proteins. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2022; 112:1513-1523. [PMID: 35050679 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-08-21-0326-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The facultative biotrophic basidiomycete Sporisorium scitamineum causes smut disease in sugarcane. This study applied an assay to identify S. scitamineum candidate effectors (CEs) with plant immunity suppression activities by delivering them into Nicotiana benthamiana cells via the type-three secretion system of Pseudomonas fluorescens EtHAn. Six CEs were individually cloned into the pEDV6 vector and expressed by P. fluorescens EtHAn for translocation into the plant cells. Three CEs (g1052, g3890, and g5159) could suppress pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) responses with high reproducibility in different coinfiltration experiments with P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000. In addition, three CEs (g1052, g4549, and g5159) were also found to be AvrB-induced suppressors of effector-triggered immunity (ETI), demonstrating for the first time that S. scitamineum can defeat both PTI and ETI responses. A transcriptomic analysis at different stages of infection by the smut fungus of three sugarcane cultivars with contrasting responses to the pathogen revealed that suppressors g1052, g3890, g4549, and g5159 were induced at the early stage of infection. By contrast, the two CEs (g2666 and g6610) that did not exhibit suppression activities expressed only at the late stage of infection. Moreover, genomic structures of the CEs and searches for orthologs in other smut species suggested duplication events and further divergence in CEs evolution of S. scitamineum. Thus, the transient assay applied here demonstrated the potential of pEDV6 and P. fluorescens EtHAn as biological tools for identifying plant immune suppressors from S. scitamineum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thiago Maia
- Departamento de Fitopatologia e Nematologia, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
- Departamento de Genética, USP, ESALQ, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Hugo V S Rody
- Departamento de Genética, USP, ESALQ, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Tiarla Graciane Souto
- Departamento de Fitopatologia e Nematologia, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
- Departamento de Genética, USP, ESALQ, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Luis Eduardo Aranha Camargo
- Departamento de Fitopatologia e Nematologia, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
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10
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The Sporisorium reilianum Effector Vag2 Promotes Head Smut Disease via Suppression of Plant Defense Responses. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8050498. [PMID: 35628753 PMCID: PMC9146561 DOI: 10.3390/jof8050498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome comparison between the maize pathogens Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum revealed a large diversity region (19-1) containing nearly 30 effector gene candidates, whose deletion severely hampers virulence of both fungi. Dissection of the S. reilianum gene cluster resulted in the identification of one major contributor to virulence, virulence-associated gene 2 (vag2; sr10050). Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) experiments revealed high expression of vag2 during biotrophic growth of S. reilianum. Using the yeast secretion trap assay, we confirmed the existence of a functional signal peptide allowing protein secretion via the conventional secretory pathway. We identified the cytoplasmic maize chorismate mutase ZmCM2 by yeast two-hybrid screening as a possible interaction partner of Vag2. Interaction of the two proteins in planta was confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation. qRT-PCR experiments revealed vag2-dependent downregulation of salicylic acid (SA)-induced genes, which correlated with higher SA levels in plant tissues colonized by Δvag2 deletion strains relative to S. reilianum wildtype strains. Metabolite analysis suggested rewiring of pathogen-induced SA biosynthesis by preferential conversion of the SA precursor chorismate into the aromatic amino acid precursor prephenate by ZmCM2 in the presence of Vag2. Possibly, the binding of Vag2 to ZmCM2 inhibits the back reaction of the ZmCM2-catalyzed interconversion of chorismate and prephenate, thus contributing to fungal virulence by lowering the plant SA-induced defenses.
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11
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Wu Q, Wang Y, Liu LN, Shi K, Li CY. Comparative Genomics and Gene Pool Analysis Reveal the Decrease of Genome Diversity and Gene Number in Rice Blast Fungi by Stable Adaption with Rice. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 8:jof8010005. [PMID: 35049945 PMCID: PMC8778285 DOI: 10.3390/jof8010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnaporthe oryzae caused huge losses in rice and wheat production worldwide. Comparing to long-term co-evolution history with rice, wheat-infecting isolates were new-emerging. To reveal the genetic differences between rice and wheat blast on global genomic scale, 109 whole-genome sequences of M. oryzae from rice, wheat, and other hosts were reanalyzed in this study. We found that the rice lineage had gone through stronger selective sweep and fewer conserved genes than those of Triticum and Lolium lineages, which indicated that rice blast fungi adapted to rice by gene loss and rapid evolution of specific loci. Furthermore, 228 genes associated with host adaptation of M. oryzae were found by presence/absence variation (PAV) analyses. The functional annotation of these genes found that the fine turning of genes gain/loss involved with transport and transcription factor, thiol metabolism, and nucleotide metabolism respectively are major mechanisms for rice adaption. This result implies that genetic base of specific host plant may lead to gene gain/loss variation of pathogens, so as to enhance their adaptability to host. Further characterization of these specific loci and their roles in adaption and evaluation of the fungi may eventually lead to understanding of interaction mechanism and develop new strategies of the disease management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Wu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China; (Q.W.); (Y.W.); (L.-N.L.)
- College of Science, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China
- Yunnan Organic Tea Industry Intelligent Engineering Research Center, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Organic Tea Garden Construction in Universities of Yunnan Province, Key Laboratory for Crop Production and Smart Agriculture of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China
| | - Yi Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China; (Q.W.); (Y.W.); (L.-N.L.)
| | - Li-Na Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China; (Q.W.); (Y.W.); (L.-N.L.)
- Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Transboundary Pests of Yunnan Province, Agricultural Environment and Resources Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming 650201, China
| | - Kai Shi
- School of Foreign Language, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China;
| | - Cheng-Yun Li
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China; (Q.W.); (Y.W.); (L.-N.L.)
- Correspondence:
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12
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Bentham AR, Petit-Houdenot Y, Win J, Chuma I, Terauchi R, Banfield MJ, Kamoun S, Langner T. A single amino acid polymorphism in a conserved effector of the multihost blast fungus pathogen expands host-target binding spectrum. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009957. [PMID: 34758051 PMCID: PMC8608293 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Accelerated gene evolution is a hallmark of pathogen adaptation and specialization following host-jumps. However, the molecular processes associated with adaptive evolution between host-specific lineages of a multihost plant pathogen remain poorly understood. In the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (Syn. Pyricularia oryzae), host specialization on different grass hosts is generally associated with dynamic patterns of gain and loss of virulence effector genes that tend to define the distinct genetic lineages of this pathogen. Here, we unravelled the biochemical and structural basis of adaptive evolution of APikL2, an exceptionally conserved paralog of the well-studied rice-lineage specific effector AVR-Pik. Whereas AVR-Pik and other members of the six-gene AVR-Pik family show specific patterns of presence/absence polymorphisms between grass-specific lineages of M. oryzae, APikL2 stands out by being ubiquitously present in all blast fungus lineages from 13 different host species. Using biochemical, biophysical and structural biology methods, we show that a single aspartate to asparagine polymorphism expands the binding spectrum of APikL2 to host proteins of the heavy-metal associated (HMA) domain family. This mutation maps to one of the APikL2-HMA binding interfaces and contributes to an altered hydrogen-bonding network. By combining phylogenetic ancestral reconstruction with an analysis of the structural consequences of allelic diversification, we revealed a common mechanism of effector specialization in the AVR-Pik/APikL2 family that involves two major HMA-binding interfaces. Together, our findings provide a detailed molecular evolution and structural biology framework for diversification and adaptation of a fungal pathogen effector family following host-jumps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam R. Bentham
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Yohann Petit-Houdenot
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR BIOGER, Thiverval-Grignon, France
| | - Joe Win
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Izumi Chuma
- Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan
| | - Ryohei Terauchi
- Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Japan
| | - Mark J. Banfield
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Sophien Kamoun
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Thorsten Langner
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
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13
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Zuo W, Depotter JRL, Gupta DK, Thines M, Doehlemann G. Cross-species analysis between the maize smut fungi Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum highlights the role of transcriptional change of effector orthologs for virulence and disease. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:719-733. [PMID: 34270791 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The constitution and regulation of effector repertoires shape host-microbe interactions. Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum are two closely related smut fungi, which both infect maize but cause distinct disease symptoms. Understanding how effector orthologs are regulated in these two pathogens can therefore provide insights into the evolution of different infection strategies. We tracked the infection progress of U. maydis and S. reilianum in maize leaves and used two distinct infection stages for cross-species RNA-sequencing analyses. We identified 207 of 335 one-to-one effector orthologs as differentially regulated during host colonization, which might reflect the distinct disease development strategies. Using CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene conversion, we identified two differentially expressed effector orthologs with conserved function between two pathogens. Thus, differential expression of functionally conserved genes might contribute to species-specific adaptation and symptom development. Interestingly, another differentially expressed orthogroup (UMAG_05318/Sr10075) showed divergent protein function, providing a possible case for neofunctionalization. Collectively, we demonstrated that the diversification of effector genes in related pathogens can be caused both by alteration on the transcriptional level and through functional diversification of the encoded effector proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiliang Zuo
- Institute for Plant Sciences and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, Cologne, 50674, Germany
| | - Jasper R L Depotter
- Institute for Plant Sciences and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, Cologne, 50674, Germany
| | - Deepak K Gupta
- Department for Biological Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
- Integrative Fungal Research Cluster (IPF), Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Marco Thines
- Department for Biological Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
- Integrative Fungal Research Cluster (IPF), Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany
| | - Gunther Doehlemann
- Institute for Plant Sciences and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, Cologne, 50674, Germany
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14
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Harting R, Starke J, Kusch H, Pöggeler S, Maurus I, Schlüter R, Landesfeind M, Bulla I, Nowrousian M, de Jonge R, Stahlhut G, Hoff KJ, Aßhauer KP, Thürmer A, Stanke M, Daniel R, Morgenstern B, Thomma BPHJ, Kronstad JW, Braus‐Stromeyer SA, Braus GH. A 20-kb lineage-specific genomic region tames virulence in pathogenic amphidiploid Verticillium longisporum. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2021; 22:939-953. [PMID: 33955130 PMCID: PMC8295516 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.13071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Amphidiploid fungal Verticillium longisporum strains Vl43 and Vl32 colonize the plant host Brassica napus but differ in their ability to cause disease symptoms. These strains represent two V. longisporum lineages derived from different hybridization events of haploid parental Verticillium strains. Vl32 and Vl43 carry same-sex mating-type genes derived from both parental lineages. Vl32 and Vl43 similarly colonize and penetrate plant roots, but asymptomatic Vl32 proliferation in planta is lower than virulent Vl43. The highly conserved Vl43 and Vl32 genomes include less than 1% unique genes, and the karyotypes of 15 or 16 chromosomes display changed genetic synteny due to substantial genomic reshuffling. A 20 kb Vl43 lineage-specific (LS) region apparently originating from the Verticillium dahliae-related ancestor is specific for symptomatic Vl43 and encodes seven genes, including two putative transcription factors. Either partial or complete deletion of this LS region in Vl43 did not reduce virulence but led to induction of even more severe disease symptoms in rapeseed. This suggests that the LS insertion in the genome of symptomatic V. longisporum Vl43 mediates virulence-reducing functions, limits damage on the host plant, and therefore tames Vl43 from being even more virulent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekka Harting
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Jessica Starke
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Harald Kusch
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Stefanie Pöggeler
- Department of Genetics of Eukaryotic MicroorganismsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Isabel Maurus
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Rabea Schlüter
- Imaging Center of the Department of BiologyUniversity of GreifswaldGreifswaldGermany
| | - Manuel Landesfeind
- Department of BioinformaticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Ingo Bulla
- Institute for Mathematics and Computer ScienceUniversity of GreifswaldGreifswaldGermany
| | - Minou Nowrousian
- Department of Molecular and Cellular BotanyRuhr‐Universität BochumBochumGermany
| | - Ronnie de Jonge
- Plant–Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Science4LifeUtrecht UniversityUtrechtNetherlands
- Laboratory of PhytopathologyWageningen UniversityWageningenNetherlands
| | - Gertrud Stahlhut
- Department of Genetics of Eukaryotic MicroorganismsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Katharina J. Hoff
- Institute for Mathematics and Computer ScienceUniversity of GreifswaldGreifswaldGermany
- Center for Functional Genomics of MicrobesUniversity of GreifswaldGreifswaldGermany
| | - Kathrin P. Aßhauer
- Department of BioinformaticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Andrea Thürmer
- Department of Genomic and Applied MicrobiologyInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Mario Stanke
- Institute for Mathematics and Computer ScienceUniversity of GreifswaldGreifswaldGermany
- Center for Functional Genomics of MicrobesUniversity of GreifswaldGreifswaldGermany
| | - Rolf Daniel
- Department of Genomic and Applied MicrobiologyInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Burkhard Morgenstern
- Department of BioinformaticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | | | - James W. Kronstad
- Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
| | - Susanna A. Braus‐Stromeyer
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Gerhard H. Braus
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and GeneticsInstitute of Microbiology and Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular BiosciencesUniversity of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
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15
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Hoang CV, Bhaskar CK, Ma LS. A Novel Core Effector Vp1 Promotes Fungal Colonization and Virulence of Ustilago maydis. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7080589. [PMID: 34436129 PMCID: PMC8396986 DOI: 10.3390/jof7080589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The biotrophic fungus Ustilago maydis secretes a plethora of uncharacterized effector proteins and causes smut disease in maize. Among the effector genes that are up-regulated during the biotrophic growth in maize, we identified vp1 (virulence promoting 1), which has an expression that was up-regulated and maintained at a high level throughout the life cycle of the fungus. We characterized Vp1 by applying in silico analysis, reverse genetics, phenotypic assessment, microscopy, and protein localization and provided a fundamental understanding of the Vp1 protein in U. maydis. The reduction in fungal virulence and colonization in the vp1 mutant suggests the virulence-promoting function of Vp1. The deletion studies on the NLS (nuclear localization signal) sequence and the protein localization study revealed that the C-terminus of Vp1 is processed after secretion in plant apoplast and could localize to the plant nucleus. The Ustilago hordei ortholog UhVp1 lacks NLS localized in the plant cytoplasm, suggesting that the orthologs might have a distinct subcellular localization. Further complementation studies of the Vp1 orthologs in related smut fungi revealed that none of them could complement the virulence function of U. maydis Vp1, suggesting that UmVp1 could acquire a specialized function via sequence divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuong V. Hoang
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (C.V.H.); (C.K.B.)
- Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
| | - Chibbhi K. Bhaskar
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (C.V.H.); (C.K.B.)
- Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
| | - Lay-Sun Ma
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; (C.V.H.); (C.K.B.)
- Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-2-2787-1145
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16
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The Pleiades are a cluster of fungal effectors that inhibit host defenses. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009641. [PMID: 34166468 PMCID: PMC8224859 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Biotrophic plant pathogens secrete effector proteins to manipulate the host physiology. Effectors suppress defenses and induce an environment favorable to disease development. Sequence-based prediction of effector function is impeded by their rapid evolution rate. In the maize pathogen Ustilago maydis, effector-coding genes frequently organize in clusters. Here we describe the functional characterization of the pleiades, a cluster of ten effector genes, by analyzing the micro- and macroscopic phenotype of the cluster deletion and expressing these proteins in planta. Deletion of the pleiades leads to strongly impaired virulence and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in infected tissue. Eight of the Pleiades suppress the production of ROS upon perception of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Although functionally redundant, the Pleiades target different host components. The paralogs Taygeta1 and Merope1 suppress ROS production in either the cytoplasm or nucleus, respectively. Merope1 targets and promotes the auto-ubiquitination activity of RFI2, a conserved family of E3 ligases that regulates the production of PAMP-triggered ROS burst in plants.
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17
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Mayer T, Mari A, Almario J, Murillo-Roos M, Syed M Abdullah H, Dombrowski N, Hacquard S, Kemen EM, Agler MT. Obtaining deeper insights into microbiome diversity using a simple method to block host and nontargets in amplicon sequencing. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 21:1952-1965. [PMID: 33905604 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Profiling diverse microbiomes is revolutionizing our understanding of biological mechanisms and ecologically relevant problems, including metaorganism (host + microbiome) assembly, functions and adaptation. Amplicon sequencing of multiple conserved, phylogenetically informative loci has therefore become an instrumental tool for many researchers. Investigations in many systems are hindered, however, since essential sequencing depth can be lost by amplification of nontarget DNA from hosts or overabundant microorganisms. Here, we introduce "blocking oligos", a low-cost and flexible method using standard oligonucleotides to block amplification of diverse nontargets and software to aid their design. We apply them primarily in leaves, where exceptional challenges with host amplification prevail. A. thaliana-specific blocking oligos applied in eight different target loci reduce undesirable host amplification by up to 90%. To expand applicability, we designed universal 16S and 18S rRNA gene plant blocking oligos for targets that are conserved in diverse plant species and demonstrate that they efficiently block five plant species from five orders spanning monocots and dicots (Bromus erectus, Plantago lanceolata, Lotus corniculatus, Amaranth sp., Arabidopsis thaliana). These can increase alpha diversity discovery without biasing beta diversity patterns and do not compromise microbial load information inherent to plant-derived 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data. Finally, we designed and tested blocking oligos to avoid amplification of 18S rRNA genes of a sporulating oomycete pathogen, demonstrating their effectiveness in applications well beyond plants. Using these tools, we generated a survey of the A. thaliana leaf microbiome based on eight loci targeting bacterial, fungal, oomycete and other eukaryotic microorganisms and discuss complementarity of commonly used amplicon sequencing regions for describing leaf microbiota. This approach has potential to make questions in a variety of study systems more tractable by making amplicon sequencing more targeted, leading to deeper, systems-based insights into microbial discovery. For fast and easy design for blocking oligos for any nontarget DNA in other study systems, we developed a publicly available R package.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Mayer
- Plant Microbiosis Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Alfredo Mari
- Plant Microbiosis Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.,Department of Microbial Interactions, IMIT/ZMBP, Eberhardt Karl University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Juliana Almario
- Department of Microbial Interactions, IMIT/ZMBP, Eberhardt Karl University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mariana Murillo-Roos
- Plant Microbiosis Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Hafiz Syed M Abdullah
- Plant Microbiosis Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Nina Dombrowski
- Department of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Stephane Hacquard
- Department of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Eric M Kemen
- Department of Microbial Interactions, IMIT/ZMBP, Eberhardt Karl University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matthew T Agler
- Plant Microbiosis Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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18
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Schweizer G, Haider MB, Barroso GV, Rössel N, Münch K, Kahmann R, Dutheil JY. Population Genomics of the Maize Pathogen Ustilago maydis: Demographic History and Role of Virulence Clusters in Adaptation. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:evab073. [PMID: 33837781 PMCID: PMC8120014 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The tight interaction between pathogens and their hosts results in reciprocal selective forces that impact the genetic diversity of the interacting species. The footprints of this selection differ between pathosystems because of distinct life-history traits, demographic histories, or genome architectures. Here, we studied the genome-wide patterns of genetic diversity of 22 isolates of the causative agent of the corn smut disease, Ustilago maydis, originating from five locations in Mexico, the presumed center of origin of this species. In this species, many genes encoding secreted effector proteins reside in so-called virulence clusters in the genome, an arrangement that is so far not found in other filamentous plant pathogens. Using a combination of population genomic statistical analyses, we assessed the geographical, historical, and genome-wide variation of genetic diversity in this fungal pathogen. We report evidence of two partially admixed subpopulations that are only loosely associated with geographic origin. Using the multiple sequentially Markov coalescent model, we inferred the demographic history of the two pathogen subpopulations over the last 0.5 Myr. We show that both populations experienced a recent strong bottleneck starting around 10,000 years ago, coinciding with the assumed time of maize domestication. Although the genome average genetic diversity is low compared with other fungal pathogens, we estimated that the rate of nonsynonymous adaptive substitutions is three times higher in genes located within virulence clusters compared with nonclustered genes, including nonclustered effector genes. These results highlight the role that these singular genomic regions play in the evolution of this pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Schweizer
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Muhammad Bilal Haider
- Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Research Group Molecular Systems Evolution, Plön, Germany
| | - Gustavo V Barroso
- Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Research Group Molecular Systems Evolution, Plön, Germany
| | - Nicole Rössel
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Karin Münch
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Regine Kahmann
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Julien Y Dutheil
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Research Group Molecular Systems Evolution, Plön, Germany
- Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier, University of Montpellier 2, France
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19
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Lofgren LA, Nguyen NH, Vilgalys R, Ruytinx J, Liao HL, Branco S, Kuo A, LaButti K, Lipzen A, Andreopoulos W, Pangilinan J, Riley R, Hundley H, Na H, Barry K, Grigoriev IV, Stajich JE, Kennedy PG. Comparative genomics reveals dynamic genome evolution in host specialist ectomycorrhizal fungi. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:774-792. [PMID: 33355923 PMCID: PMC7969408 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
While there has been significant progress characterizing the 'symbiotic toolkit' of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, how host specificity may be encoded into ECM fungal genomes remains poorly understood. We conducted a comparative genomic analysis of ECM fungal host specialists and generalists, focusing on the specialist genus Suillus. Global analyses of genome dynamics across 46 species were assessed, along with targeted analyses of three classes of molecules previously identified as important determinants of host specificity: small secreted proteins (SSPs), secondary metabolites (SMs) and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Relative to other ECM fungi, including other host specialists, Suillus had highly dynamic genomes including numerous rapidly evolving gene families and many domain expansions and contractions. Targeted analyses supported a role for SMs but not SSPs or GPCRs in Suillus host specificity. Phylogenomic-based ancestral state reconstruction identified Larix as the ancestral host of Suillus, with multiple independent switches between white and red pine hosts. These results suggest that like other defining characteristics of the ECM lifestyle, host specificity is a dynamic process at the genome level. In the case of Suillus, both SMs and pathways involved in the deactivation of reactive oxygen species appear to be strongly associated with enhanced host specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotus A Lofgren
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92507, USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Nhu H Nguyen
- Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Science, University of Hawaii, Manoa, HI, 96822, USA
| | - Rytas Vilgalys
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Joske Ruytinx
- Research group Microbiology, Department of Bio-engineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, BE1500, Belgium
| | - Hui-Ling Liao
- Department of Soil Microbial Ecology, University of Florida, Quincy, FL, 32351, USA
| | - Sara Branco
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, 80204, USA
| | - Alan Kuo
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kurt LaButti
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Anna Lipzen
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - William Andreopoulos
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jasmyn Pangilinan
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Robert Riley
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Hope Hundley
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Hyunsoo Na
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kerrie Barry
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Igor V Grigoriev
- US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jason E Stajich
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92507, USA
| | - Peter G Kennedy
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA
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20
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Ludwig N, Reissmann S, Schipper K, Gonzalez C, Assmann D, Glatter T, Moretti M, Ma LS, Rexer KH, Snetselaar K, Kahmann R. A cell surface-exposed protein complex with an essential virulence function in Ustilago maydis. Nat Microbiol 2021; 6:722-730. [PMID: 33941900 PMCID: PMC8159752 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-021-00896-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Plant pathogenic fungi colonizing living plant tissue secrete a cocktail of effector proteins to suppress plant immunity and reprogramme host cells. Although many of these effectors function inside host cells, delivery systems used by pathogenic bacteria to translocate effectors into host cells have not been detected in fungi. Here, we show that five unrelated effectors and two membrane proteins from Ustilago maydis, a biotrophic fungus causing smut disease in corn, form a stable protein complex. All seven genes appear co-regulated and are only expressed during colonization. Single mutants arrest in the epidermal layer, fail to suppress host defence responses and fail to induce non-host resistance, two reactions that likely depend on translocated effectors. The complex is anchored in the fungal membrane, protrudes into host cells and likely contacts channel-forming plant plasma membrane proteins. Constitutive expression of all seven complex members resulted in a surface-exposed form in cultured U. maydis cells. As orthologues of the complex-forming proteins are conserved in smut fungi, the complex may become an interesting fungicide target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Ludwig
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Reissmann
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Kerstin Schipper
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany ,grid.411327.20000 0001 2176 9917Present Address: Institut für Mikrobiologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Carla Gonzalez
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Assmann
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Timo Glatter
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Marino Moretti
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Lay-Sun Ma
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany ,grid.28665.3f0000 0001 2287 1366Present Address: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Karl-Heinz Rexer
- grid.10253.350000 0004 1936 9756Department of Evolutionary Ecology of Plants, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Karen Snetselaar
- grid.262952.80000 0001 0699 5924Department of Biology, Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - Regine Kahmann
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
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21
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Harris JM, Balint-Kurti P, Bede JC, Day B, Gold S, Goss EM, Grenville-Briggs LJ, Jones KM, Wang A, Wang Y, Mitra RM, Sohn KH, Alvarez ME. What are the Top 10 Unanswered Questions in Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions? MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2020; 33:1354-1365. [PMID: 33106084 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-08-20-0229-cr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
This article is part of the Top 10 Unanswered Questions in MPMI invited review series.The past few decades have seen major discoveries in the field of molecular plant-microbe interactions. As the result of technological and intellectual advances, we are now able to answer questions at a level of mechanistic detail that we could not have imagined possible 20 years ago. The MPMI Editorial Board felt it was time to take stock and reassess. What big questions remain unanswered? We knew that to identify the fundamental, overarching questions that drive our research, we needed to do this as a community. To reach a diverse audience of people with different backgrounds and perspectives, working in different areas of plant-microbe interactions, we queried the more than 1,400 participants at the 2019 International Congress on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions meeting in Glasgow. This group effort resulted in a list of ten, broad-reaching, fundamental questions that influence and inform our research. Here, we introduce these Top 10 unanswered questions, giving context and a brief description of the issues. Each of these questions will be the subject of a detailed review in the coming months. We hope that this process of reflecting on what is known and unknown and identifying the themes that underlie our research will provide a framework to use going forward, giving newcomers a sense of the mystery of the big questions and inspiring new avenues and novel insights.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeanne M Harris
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, U.S.A
| | - Peter Balint-Kurti
- USDA-ARS, Plant Science Research Unit, Raleigh NC, and Dept. of Entomology and Plant Pathology, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7613, U.S.A
| | - Jacqueline C Bede
- Department of Plant Science, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Brad Day
- Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
| | - Scott Gold
- Plant Pathology Department, University of Georgia, USDA-ARS, Athens, GA 30605-2720, U.S.A
| | - Erica M Goss
- Plant Pathology Department and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, U.S.A
| | - Laura J Grenville-Briggs
- Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Kathryn M Jones
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, U.S.A
| | - Aiming Wang
- London Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, ON N5V 4T3, Canada
| | - Yuanchao Wang
- Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, and Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Raka M Mitra
- Biology Department, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, U.S.A
| | - Kee Hoon Sohn
- Department of Life Sciences, Pohang University of Science and Technology and School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 37673, Korea
| | - Maria Elena Alvarez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Química Biológica de Córdoba, CIQUIBIC, CONICET, Departamento de Química Biológica Ranwel Caputto, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba X5000HUA, Argentina
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22
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Purayannur S, Cano LM, Bowman MJ, Childs KL, Gent DH, Quesada-Ocampo LM. The Effector Repertoire of the Hop Downy Mildew Pathogen Pseudoperonospora humuli. Front Genet 2020; 11:910. [PMID: 32849854 PMCID: PMC7432248 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Pseudoperonospora humuli is an obligate biotrophic oomycete that causes downy mildew (DM), one of the most destructive diseases of cultivated hop that can lead to 100% crop loss in susceptible cultivars. We used the published genome of P. humuli to predict the secretome and effectorome and analyze the transcriptome variation among diverse isolates and during infection of hop leaves. Mining the predicted coding genes of the sequenced isolate OR502AA of P. humuli revealed a secretome of 1,250 genes. We identified 296 RXLR and RXLR-like effector-encoding genes in the secretome. Among the predicted RXLRs, there were several WY-motif-containing effectors that lacked canonical RXLR domains. Transcriptome analysis of sporangia from 12 different isolates collected from various hop cultivars revealed 754 secreted proteins and 201 RXLR effectors that showed transcript evidence across all isolates with reads per kilobase million (RPKM) values > 0. RNA-seq analysis of OR502AA-infected hop leaf samples at different time points after infection revealed highly expressed effectors that may play a relevant role in pathogenicity. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis confirmed the differential expression of selected effectors. We identified a set of P. humuli core effectors that showed transcript evidence in all tested isolates and elevated expression during infection. These effectors are ideal candidates for functional analysis and effector-assisted breeding to develop DM resistant hop cultivars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Savithri Purayannur
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Liliana M. Cano
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- Indian River Research and Education Center, Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Fort Pierce, FL, United States
| | - Megan J. Bowman
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Ball Horticultural Company, West Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Kevin L. Childs
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - David H. Gent
- United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
| | - Lina M. Quesada-Ocampo
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
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23
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Abstract
Opportunistic commensal and environmental fungi can cause superficial to systemic diseases in humans. But how did these pathogens adapt to infect us and how does host-pathogen co-evolution shape their virulence potential? During evolution toward pathogenicity, not only do microorganisms gain virulence genes, but they also tend to lose non-adaptive genes in the host niche. Additionally, virulence factors can become detrimental during infection when they trigger host recognition. The loss of non-adaptive genes as well as the loss of the virulence potential of genes by adaptations to the host has been investigated in pathogenic bacteria and phytopathogenic fungi, where they are known as antivirulence and avirulence genes, respectively. However, these concepts are nearly unknown in the field of pathogenic fungi of humans. We think that this unnecessarily limits our view of human-fungal interplay, and that much could be learned if we applied a similar framework to aspects of these interactions. In this review, we, therefore, define and adapt the concepts of antivirulence and avirulence genes for human pathogenic fungi. We provide examples for analogies to antivirulence genes of bacterial pathogens and to avirulence genes of phytopathogenic fungi. Introducing these terms to the field of pathogenic fungi of humans can help to better comprehend the emergence and evolution of fungal virulence and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofía Siscar-Lewin
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Bernhard Hube
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany.,Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Sascha Brunke
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
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24
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Tanaka S, Gollin I, Rössel N, Kahmann R. The functionally conserved effector Sta1 is a fungal cell wall protein required for virulence in Ustilago maydis. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 227:185-199. [PMID: 32112567 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The biotrophic fungus Ustilago maydis causes the smut disease of maize. The interaction with its host and induction of characteristic tumors are governed largely by secreted effectors whose function is mostly unknown. To identify effectors with a prominent role in virulence, we used RNA sequencing and found that the gene sta1 is upregulated during early stages of infection. We characterized Sta1 by comparative genomics, reverse genetics, protein localization, stress assays, and microscopy. sta1 mutants show a dramatic reduction of virulence and show altered colonization of tissue neighboring the vascular bundles. Functional orthologues of Sta1 are found in related smut pathogens infecting monocot and dicot plants. Sta1 is secreted by budding cells but is attached to the cell wall of filamentous hyphae. Upon constitutive expression of Sta1, fungal filaments become susceptible to Congo red, β-glucanase, and chitinase, suggesting that Sta1 alters the structure of the fungal cell wall. Constitutive or delayed expression of sta1 during plant colonization negatively impacts on virulence. Our results suggest that Sta1 is a novel kind of effector, which needs to modify the hyphal cell wall to allow hyphae to be accommodated in tissue next to the vascular bundles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeyuki Tanaka
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 10, D-35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Isabelle Gollin
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 10, D-35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Rössel
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 10, D-35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Regine Kahmann
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 10, D-35043, Marburg, Germany
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25
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Ren F, Yan DH, Wu G, Sun X, Song X, Li R. Distinctive Gene Expression Profiles and Effectors Consistent With Host Specificity in Two Formae Speciales of Marssonina brunnea. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:276. [PMID: 32210930 PMCID: PMC7076119 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The knowledge on the host specificity of a pathogen underlying an interaction is becoming an urgent necessity for global warming. In this study, the gene expression profiles and the roles of effectors in host specificity were integrally characterized with two formae speciales, multigermtubi and monogermtubi, of a hemibiotrophic pathogen Marssonina brunnea when they were infecting respective susceptible poplar hosts. With a functional genome comparison referring to a de novo transcriptome of M. brunnea and Pathogen-Host Interaction database functional annotations, the multigermtubi strain showed abundant and significant differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) (more than 40%) in colonizing the initial invasion stage and in the necrotrophic stage. The monogermtubi strain induced less than 10% of DEGs in the initial invasion stage but which abruptly increased to more than 80% DEGs in the necrotrophic stage. Both strains induced the least DEGs in the biotrophic stage compared to the initial invasion and necrotrophic stages. The orthologs of the effector genes Ecp6, PemG1, XEG1, ACE1, and Mg3LysM were exclusively induced by one of the two formae speciales depending on the infection stages. Some unigenes homologous to carbohydrate lytic enzyme genes, especially pectate lyases, were notably induced with multigermtubi forma specialis infection but not expressed in the monogermtubi forma specialis at an earlier infection stage. The extraordinary differences in the functional genome level between the two formae speciales of M. brunnea could be fundamental to exploring their host specificity determinant and evolution. This study also firstly provided the fungal transcriptome of the monogermtubi forma specialis for M. brunnea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Ren
- Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Key Laboratory of Forest Protection Affiliated to State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Institute of Cereal & Oil Science and Technology, Academy of National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Dong-Hui Yan
- Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Key Laboratory of Forest Protection Affiliated to State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Guanghua Wu
- Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Key Laboratory of Forest Protection Affiliated to State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoming Sun
- Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Key Laboratory of Forest Protection Affiliated to State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoyu Song
- Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Key Laboratory of Forest Protection Affiliated to State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Ruhua Li
- Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Key Laboratory of Forest Protection Affiliated to State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
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26
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Dohmen E, Klasberg S, Bornberg-Bauer E, Perrey S, Kemena C. The modular nature of protein evolution: domain rearrangement rates across eukaryotic life. BMC Evol Biol 2020; 20:30. [PMID: 32059645 PMCID: PMC7023805 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-020-1591-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Modularity is important for evolutionary innovation. The recombination of existing units to form larger complexes with new functionalities spares the need to create novel elements from scratch. In proteins, this principle can be observed at the level of protein domains, functional subunits which are regularly rearranged to acquire new functions. RESULTS In this study we analyse the mechanisms leading to new domain arrangements in five major eukaryotic clades (vertebrates, insects, fungi, monocots and eudicots) at unprecedented depth and breadth. This allows, for the first time, to directly compare rates of rearrangements between different clades and identify both lineage specific and general patterns of evolution in the context of domain rearrangements. We analyse arrangement changes along phylogenetic trees by reconstructing ancestral domain content in combination with feasible single step events, such as fusion or fission. Using this approach we explain up to 70% of all rearrangements by tracing them back to their precursors. We find that rates in general and the ratio between these rates for a given clade in particular, are highly consistent across all clades. In agreement with previous studies, fusions are the most frequent event leading to new domain arrangements. A lineage specific pattern in fungi reveals exceptionally high loss rates compared to other clades, supporting recent studies highlighting the importance of loss for evolutionary innovation. Furthermore, our methodology allows us to link domain emergences at specific nodes in the phylogenetic tree to important functional developments, such as the origin of hair in mammals. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that domain rearrangements are based on a canonical set of mutational events with rates which lie within a relatively narrow and consistent range. In addition, gained knowledge about these rates provides a basis for advanced domain-based methodologies for phylogenetics and homology analysis which complement current sequence-based methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias Dohmen
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasse 1, Münster, 48149, Germany.,Institute for Bioinformatics and Chemoinformatics, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, August-Schmidt-Ring 10, Recklinghausen, 45665, Germany
| | - Steffen Klasberg
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasse 1, Münster, 48149, Germany
| | - Erich Bornberg-Bauer
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasse 1, Münster, 48149, Germany
| | - Sören Perrey
- Institute for Bioinformatics and Chemoinformatics, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, August-Schmidt-Ring 10, Recklinghausen, 45665, Germany
| | - Carsten Kemena
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Hüfferstrasse 1, Münster, 48149, Germany.
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27
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Xia W, Yu X, Ye Z. Smut fungal strategies for the successful infection. Microb Pathog 2020; 142:104039. [PMID: 32027975 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The smut fungi include a large number of plant pathogens that establish obligate biotrophic relationships with their host. Throughout the whole life inside plant tissue, smut fungi keep plant cells alive and acquire nutrients via biotrophic interfaces. This mini-review mainly summarizes the interactions between smut fungi and their host plants during the infection process. Despite various strategies recruited by plants to defense invading pathogens, smut fungi successfully evolved an arsenal for colonization. Mating of two compatible haploids gives rise to parasitic mycelium, which can sense plant surface cues such as fatty acids and hydrophobic surface, and induce the formation of appressoria for surface penetration. Plants can recognize fungal invading and activate defense response, including callose and lignin deposition, programmed cell death, and SA signaling pathway. To suppress plant immunity and alter the metabolic pathway of host plants, a cocktail of effectors is secreted by smut fungi depending on the plant organ and cell type that is infected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqiang Xia
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, 310018, China
| | - Xiaoping Yu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, 310018, China
| | - Zihong Ye
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
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28
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Gong L, Liu Y, Xiong Y, Li T, Yin C, Zhao J, Yu J, Yin Q, Gupta VK, Jiang Y, Duan X. New insights into the evolution of host specificity of three Penicillium species and the pathogenicity of P. Italicum involving the infection of Valencia orange ( Citrus sinensis). Virulence 2020; 11:748-768. [PMID: 32525727 PMCID: PMC7549954 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2020.1773038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Blue and green molds, the common phenotypes of post-harvest diseases in fruits, are mainly caused by Penicillium fungal species, including P. italicum, P. digitatum, and P. expansum. We sequenced and assembled the genome of a P. italicum strain, which contains 31,034,623 bp with 361 scaffolds and 627 contigs. The mechanisms underlying the evolution of host specificity among the analyzed Penicillium species were associated with the expansion of protein families, genome restructuring, horizontal gene transfer, and positive selection pressure. A dual-transcriptome analysis following the infection of Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis) by P. italicum resulted in the annotation of 9,307 P. italicum genes and 24,591 Valencia orange genes. The pathogenicity of P. italicum may be due to the activation of effectors, including 51 small secreted cysteine-rich proteins, 110 carbohydrate-active enzymes, and 12 G protein-coupled receptors. Additionally, 211 metabolites related to the interactions between P. italicum and Valencia orange were identified by gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrography, three of which were further confirmed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. A metabolomics analysis indicated that P. italicum pathogenicity is associated with the sphingolipid and salicylic acid signaling pathways. Moreover, a correlation analysis between the metabolite contents and gene expression levels suggested that P. italicum induces carbohydrate metabolism in Valencia orange fruits as part of its infection strategy. This study provides useful information regarding the genomic determinants that drive the evolution of host specificity in Penicillium species and clarifies the host-plant specificity during the infection of Valencia orange by P. italicum. IMPORTANCE P. italicum GL_Gan1, a local strain in Guangzhou, China, was sequenced. Comparison of the genome of P. italicum GL_Gan1 with other pathogenic Penicillium species, P. digitatum and P. expansum, revealed that the expansion of protein families, genome restructuring, HGT, and positive selection pressure were related to the host range expansion of the analyzed Penicillium species. Moreover, gene gains or losses might be associated with the speciation of these Penicillium species. In addition, the molecular basis of host-plant specificity during the infection of Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis) by P. italicum was also elucidated by transcriptomic and metabolomics analysis. The data presented herein may be useful for further elucidating the molecular basis of the evolution of host specificity of Penicillium species and for illustrating the host-plant specificity during the infection of Valencia orange by P. italicum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Gong
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Post-Harvest Handling of Fruits, Ministry of Agriculture , Guangzhou, China
| | - Yongfeng Liu
- BGI PathoGenesis Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd, BGI-Shenzhen , Shenzhen, China
| | - Yehui Xiong
- Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University , Beijing, China
| | - Taotao Li
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Post-Harvest Handling of Fruits, Ministry of Agriculture , Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunxiao Yin
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Post-Harvest Handling of Fruits, Ministry of Agriculture , Guangzhou, China
| | - Juanni Zhao
- BGI PathoGenesis Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd, BGI-Shenzhen , Shenzhen, China
| | - Jialin Yu
- BGI PathoGenesis Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd, BGI-Shenzhen , Shenzhen, China
| | - Qi Yin
- BGI PathoGenesis Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd, BGI-Shenzhen , Shenzhen, China
| | - Vijai Kumar Gupta
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, ERA Chair of Green Chemistry, School of Science, Tallinn University of Technology , Tallinn, Estonia
| | - Yueming Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Post-Harvest Handling of Fruits, Ministry of Agriculture , Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuewu Duan
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Sustainable Utilization/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Post-Harvest Handling of Fruits, Ministry of Agriculture , Guangzhou, China
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29
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Bosch J, Czedik-Eysenberg A, Hastreiter M, Khan M, Güldener U, Djamei A. Two Is Better Than One: Studying Ustilago bromivora- Brachypodium Compatibility by Using a Hybrid Pathogen. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2019; 32:1623-1634. [PMID: 31657673 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-05-19-0148-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic fungi can have devastating effects on agriculture and health. One potential challenge in dealing with pathogens is the possibility of a host jump (i.e., when a pathogen infects a new host species). This can lead to the emergence of new diseases or complicate the management of existing threats. We studied host specificity by using a hybrid fungus formed by mating two closely related fungi: Ustilago bromivora, which normally infects Brachypodium spp., and U. hordei, which normally infects barley. Although U. hordei was unable to infect Brachypodium spp., the hybrid could. These hybrids also displayed the same mating-type bias that had been observed in U. bromivora and provide evidence of a dominant spore-killer-like system on the sex chromosome of U. bromivora. By analyzing the genomic composition of 109 hybrid strains, backcrossed with U. hordei over four generations, we identified three regions associated with infection on Brachypodium spp. and 75 potential virulence candidates. The most strongly associated region was located on chromosome 8, where seven genes encoding predicted secreted proteins were identified. The fact that we identified several regions relevant for pathogenicity on Brachypodium spp. but that none were essential suggests that host specificity, in the case of U. bromivora, is a multifactorial trait which can be achieved through different subsets of virulence factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Bosch
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Angelika Czedik-Eysenberg
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Maximilian Hastreiter
- TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Department of Bioinformatics, Maximus-von-Imhof-Forum 3, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Mamoona Khan
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstraße 3, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
| | - Ulrich Güldener
- TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Department of Bioinformatics, Maximus-von-Imhof-Forum 3, 85354 Freising, Germany
| | - Armin Djamei
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), OT Gatersleben, Corrensstraße 3, D-06466 Stadt Seeland, Germany
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Thines M. An evolutionary framework for host shifts - jumping ships for survival. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 224:605-617. [PMID: 31381166 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Host jumping is a process by which pathogens settle in new host groups. It is a cornerstone in the evolution of pathogens, as it leads to pathogen diversification. It is unsurprising that host jumping is observed in facultative pathogens, as they can reproduce even if they kill their hosts. However, host jumps were thought to be rare in obligate biotrophic pathogens, but molecular phylogenetics has revealed that the opposite is true. Here, I review some concepts and recent findings and present several hypotheses on the matter. In short, pathogens evolve and diversify via host jumps, followed by radiation, specialisation and speciation. Host jumps are facilitated by, for example, effector innovations, stress, compatible pathogens and physiological similarities. Host jumping, subsequent establishment, and speciation takes place rapidly - within centuries and millennia rather than over millions of years. If pathogens are unable to evolve into neutral or mutualistic interactions with their hosts, they will eventually be removed from the host population, despite balancing trade-offs. Thus, generally, plant pathogens only survive in the course of evolution if they jump hosts. This is also reflected by the diversity patterns observed in many genera of plant pathogens, where it leads to a mosaic pattern of host groups over time, in which the original host group becomes increasingly obscure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Thines
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, D-60486, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (TBG), Georg-Voigt-Str. 14-16, D-60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Hartmann FE, Rodríguez de la Vega RC, Carpentier F, Gladieux P, Cornille A, Hood ME, Giraud T. Understanding Adaptation, Coevolution, Host Specialization, and Mating System in Castrating Anther-Smut Fungi by Combining Population and Comparative Genomics. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2019; 57:431-457. [PMID: 31337277 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-082718-095947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Anther-smut fungi provide a powerful system to study host-pathogen specialization and coevolution, with hundreds of Microbotryum species specialized on diverse Caryophyllaceae plants, castrating their hosts through manipulation of the hosts' reproductive organs to facilitate disease transmission. Microbotryum fungi have exceptional genomic characteristics, including dimorphic mating-type chromosomes, that make this genus anexcellent model for studying the evolution of mating systems and their influence on population genetics structure and adaptive potential. Important insights into adaptation, coevolution, host specialization, and mating system evolution have been gained using anther-smut fungi, with new insights made possible by the recent advent of genomic approaches. We illustrate with Microbotryum case studies how using a combination of comparative genomics, population genomics, and transcriptomics approaches enables the integration of different evolutionary perspectives across different timescales. We also highlight current challenges and suggest future studies that will contribute to advancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptive processes in populations of fungal pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny E Hartmann
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France;
| | | | - Fantin Carpentier
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France;
| | - Pierre Gladieux
- UMR BGPI, Univ. Montpellier, INRA, CIRAD, Montpellier SupAgro, 34398 Montpellier, France
| | - Amandine Cornille
- Génétique Quantitative et Evolution-Le Moulon, INRA; Univ. Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Michael E Hood
- Biology Department, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002-5000, USA
| | - Tatiana Giraud
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91400 Orsay, France;
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Zuo W, Ökmen B, Depotter JRL, Ebert MK, Redkar A, Misas Villamil J, Doehlemann G. Molecular Interactions Between Smut Fungi and Their Host Plants. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2019; 57:411-430. [PMID: 31337276 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-082718-100139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Smut fungi are a large group of biotrophic plant pathogens that infect mostly monocot species, including economically relevant cereal crops. For years, Ustilago maydis has stood out as the model system to study the genetics and cell biology of smut fungi as well as the pathogenic development of biotrophic plant pathogens. The identification and functional characterization of secreted effectors and their role in virulence have particularly been driven forward using the U. maydis-maize pathosystem. Today, advancing tools for additional smut fungi such as Ustilago hordei and Sporisorium reilianum, as well as an increasing number of available genome sequences, provide excellent opportunities to investigate in parallel the effector function and evolution associated with different lifestyles and host specificities. In addition, genome analyses revealed similarities in the genomic signature between pathogenic smuts and epiphytic Pseudozyma species. This review elaborates on how knowledge about fungal lifestyles, genome biology, and functional effector biology has helped in understanding the biology of this important group of fungal pathogens. We highlight the contribution of the U. maydis model system but also discuss the differences from other smut fungi, which raises the importance of comparative genomic and genetic analyses in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiliang Zuo
- Botanical Institute and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Bilal Ökmen
- Botanical Institute and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Jasper R L Depotter
- Botanical Institute and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Malaika K Ebert
- Botanical Institute and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Amey Redkar
- Current affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
| | - Johana Misas Villamil
- Botanical Institute and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany;
| | - Gunther Doehlemann
- Botanical Institute and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany;
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Hoffmeier A, Gramzow L, Bhide AS, Kottenhagen N, Greifenstein A, Schubert O, Mummenhoff K, Becker A, Theißen G. A Dead Gene Walking: Convergent Degeneration of a Clade of MADS-Box Genes in Crucifers. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 35:2618-2638. [PMID: 30053121 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Genes are "born," and eventually they "die." These processes shape the phenotypic evolution of organisms and are hence of great biological interest. If genes die in plants, they generally do so quite rapidly. Here, we describe the fate of GOA-like genes that evolve in a dramatically different manner. GOA-like genes belong to the subfamily of Bsister genes of MIKC-type MADS-box genes. Typical MIKC-type genes encode conserved transcription factors controlling plant development. We show that ABS-like genes, a clade of Bsister genes, are indeed highly conserved in crucifers (Brassicaceae) maintaining the ancestral function of Bsister genes in ovule and seed development. In contrast, their closest paralogs, the GOA-like genes, have been undergoing convergent gene death in Brassicaceae. Intriguingly, erosion of GOA-like genes occurred after millions of years of coexistence with ABS-like genes. We thus describe Delayed Convergent Asymmetric Degeneration, a so far neglected but possibly frequent pattern of duplicate gene evolution that does not fit classical scenarios. Delayed Convergent Asymmetric Degeneration of GOA-like genes may have been initiated by a reduction in the expression of an ancestral GOA-like gene in the stem group of Brassicaceae and driven by dosage subfunctionalization. Our findings have profound implications for gene annotations in genomics, interpreting patterns of gene evolution and using genes in phylogeny reconstructions of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Hoffmeier
- Genetics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Lydia Gramzow
- Genetics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Amey S Bhide
- Plant Developmental Biology Group, Institute of Botany, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Nina Kottenhagen
- Genetics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Andreas Greifenstein
- Genetics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Olesia Schubert
- Plant Developmental Biology Group, Institute of Botany, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Klaus Mummenhoff
- Department of Biology/Botany, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Annette Becker
- Plant Developmental Biology Group, Institute of Botany, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Günter Theißen
- Genetics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
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35
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Sharma R, Ökmen B, Doehlemann G, Thines M. Saprotrophic yeasts formerly classified as Pseudozyma have retained a large effector arsenal, including functional Pep1 orthologs. Mycol Prog 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11557-019-01486-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Zhang Y, Yin Y, Hu P, Yu J, Xia W, Ge Q, Cao Q, Cui H, Yu X, Ye Z. Mating-type loci of Ustilago esculenta are essential for mating and development. Fungal Genet Biol 2019; 125:60-70. [PMID: 30685508 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2019.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Ustilago esculenta is closely related to the smut fungus Ustilago maydis and, in an endophytic-like life in the plant Zizania latifolia, only infects host stems and causes swollen stems to form edible galls called Jiaobai in China. In order to study its different modes of invasion and sites of symptom development from other smut fungi at the molecular level, we first characterized the a and b mating-type loci of U. esculenta. The a loci contained three a mating-type alleles, encoding two pheromones and one pheromone receptor per allele. The pheromone/receptor system controlled the conjugation formation, the initial step of mating, in which each pheromone was specific for recognition by only one mating partner. In addition, there are at least three b alleles identified in U. esculenta, encoding two subunits of heterodimeric homeodomain transcription factors bE and bW, responsible for hyphal growth and invasiveness. Hyphal formation, elongation and invasion after mating of two compatible partners occurred, only when a heterodimer complex was formed by the bE and bW proteins derived from different alleles. We also demonstrated that even with only one paired pheromone-pheromone receptor, the active b locus heterodimer triggered hyphal growth and infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafen Zhang
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yumei Yin
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Peng Hu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiajia Yu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenqiang Xia
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qianwen Ge
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qianchao Cao
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Haifeng Cui
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoping Yu
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zihong Ye
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China.
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Adetunji MC, Ngoma L, Atanda OO, Mwanza M. A polyphasic method for the identification of aflatoxigenic Aspergilla from cashew nuts. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 35:15. [PMID: 30607686 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-018-2575-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The invasion of food by toxigenic fungi is a threat to public health. This study aimed at enumerating the microbial profile, detection of aflatoxin producing genes and quantification of the levels of aflatoxin contamination of cashew nuts meant for human consumption. A polyphasic method of analysis using newly formulated β-Cyclodextrin Neutral Red Desiccated coconut agar (β-CDNRDCA) and Yeast Extract Sucrose agar (YES) with Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) method was adopted in determining the aflatoxigenic potential of the isolates, the presence of aflatoxin biosynthetic gene (aflM, aflD, aflR, aflJ omt-A) and estimation of the total aflatoxin content of the nuts. The fungal counts ranged from 2.0 to 2.4 log10cfu/g and sixty-three fungal isolates belonging to 18 genera and 34 species were isolated. The Aspergillus spp. were the most frequently isolated (50.79%) while Trichoderma spp. (1.59%) were the least. and fluorescence production was enhanced on the newly formulated β-CDNRDCA by the aflatoxigenic species. The aflD gene was amplified in all the isolates while aflM, aflR and aflJ gene were each amplified in 77.77% of the isolates and omt-A gene in 70.37%. The aflatoxin content of the nuts ranged from 0.03 to 0.77 µg/kg and were below the 4 µg/kg EU recommended limit for total aflatoxins. The present work confirms that a single method of analysis may not be sufficient to screen for the presence of aflatoxins in foods, as with a combination of different methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Modupeade C Adetunji
- Department of Animal Health, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa. .,Department of Biological Sciences, McPherson University, P.M.B. 2094, Seriki Sotayo, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
| | - Lubanza Ngoma
- Department of Animal Health, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa.,Food Security and Food Safety Niche Area, North-West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
| | - Olusegun O Atanda
- Department of Biological Sciences, McPherson University, P.M.B. 2094, Seriki Sotayo, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria
| | - Mulunda Mwanza
- Department of Animal Health, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa.,Food Security and Food Safety Niche Area, North-West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
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38
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Seitner D, Uhse S, Gallei M, Djamei A. The core effector Cce1 is required for early infection of maize by Ustilago maydis. MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY 2018; 19:2277-2287. [PMID: 29745456 PMCID: PMC6638113 DOI: 10.1111/mpp.12698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The biotrophic pathogen Ustilago maydis, the causative agent of corn smut disease, infects one of the most important crops worldwide - Zea mays. To successfully colonize its host, U. maydis secretes proteins, known as effectors, that suppress plant defense responses and facilitate the establishment of biotrophy. In this work, we describe the U. maydis effector protein Cce1. Cce1 is essential for virulence and is upregulated during infection. Through microscopic analysis and in vitro assays, we show that Cce1 is secreted from hyphae during filamentous growth of the fungus. Strikingly, Δcce1 mutants are blocked at early stages of infection and induce callose deposition as a plant defense response. Cce1 is highly conserved among smut fungi and the Ustilago bromivora ortholog complemented the virulence defect of the SG200Δcce1 deletion strain. These data indicate that Cce1 is a core effector with apoplastic localization that is essential for U. maydis to infect its host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise Seitner
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna BioCenter (VBC)Vienna1030Austria
| | - Simon Uhse
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna BioCenter (VBC)Vienna1030Austria
| | - Michelle Gallei
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna BioCenter (VBC)Vienna1030Austria
- Institute of Science and Technology AustriaKlosterneuburg3400Austria
| | - Armin Djamei
- Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW), Vienna BioCenter (VBC)Vienna1030Austria
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39
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Ye Z, Pan Y, Zhang Y, Cui H, Jin G, McHardy AC, Fan L, Yu X. Comparative whole-genome analysis reveals artificial selection effects on Ustilago esculenta genome. DNA Res 2018; 24:635-648. [PMID: 28992048 PMCID: PMC5726479 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsx031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Ustilago esculenta, infects Zizania latifolia, and induced host stem swollen to be a popular vegetable called Jiaobai in China. It is the long-standing artificial selection that maximizes the occurrence of favourable Jiaobai, and thus maintaining the plant-fungi interaction and modulating the fungus evolving from plant pathogen to entophyte. In this study, whole genome of U. esculenta was sequenced and transcriptomes of the fungi and its host were analysed. The 20.2 Mb U. esculenta draft genome of 6,654 predicted genes including mating, primary metabolism, secreted proteins, shared a high similarity to related Smut fungi. But U. esculenta prefers RNA silencing not repeat-induced point in defence and has more introns per gene, indicating relatively slow evolution rate. The fungus also lacks some genes in amino acid biosynthesis pathway which were filled by up-regulated host genes and developed distinct amino acid response mechanism to balance the infection-resistance interaction. Besides, U. esculenta lost some surface sensors, important virulence factors and host range-related effectors to maintain the economic endophytic life. The elucidation of the U. esculenta genomic information as well as expression profiles can not only contribute to more comprehensive insights into the molecular mechanism underlying artificial selection but also into smut fungi-host interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihong Ye
- Department of Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yao Pan
- Department of Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Yafen Zhang
- Department of Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Haifeng Cui
- Department of Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Gulei Jin
- Department of Agronomy & Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Resources, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Alice C McHardy
- Department of Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Longjiang Fan
- Department of Agronomy & Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Resources, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoping Yu
- Department of Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Biometrology and Inspection & Quarantine, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China
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40
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Massonnet M, Morales-Cruz A, Minio A, Figueroa-Balderas R, Lawrence DP, Travadon R, Rolshausen PE, Baumgartner K, Cantu D. Whole-Genome Resequencing and Pan-Transcriptome Reconstruction Highlight the Impact of Genomic Structural Variation on Secondary Metabolite Gene Clusters in the Grapevine Esca Pathogen Phaeoacremonium minimum. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:1784. [PMID: 30150972 PMCID: PMC6099105 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The Ascomycete fungus Phaeoacremonium minimum is one of the primary causal agents of Esca, a widespread and damaging grapevine trunk disease. Variation in virulence among Pm. minimum isolates has been reported, but the underlying genetic basis of the phenotypic variability remains unknown. The goal of this study was to characterize intraspecific genetic diversity and explore its potential impact on virulence functions associated with secondary metabolism, cellular transport, and cell wall decomposition. We generated a chromosome-scale genome assembly, using single molecule real-time sequencing, and resequenced the genomes and transcriptomes of multiple isolates to identify sequence and structural polymorphisms. Numerous insertion and deletion events were found for a total of about 1 Mbp in each isolate. Structural variation in this extremely gene dense genome frequently caused presence/absence polymorphisms of multiple adjacent genes, mostly belonging to biosynthetic clusters associated with secondary metabolism. Because of the observed intraspecific diversity in gene content due to structural variation we concluded that a transcriptome reference developed from a single isolate is insufficient to represent the virulence factor repertoire of the species. We therefore compiled a pan-transcriptome reference of Pm. minimum comprising a non-redundant set of 15,245 protein-coding sequences. Using naturally infected field samples expressing Esca symptoms, we demonstrated that mapping of meta-transcriptomics data on a multi-species reference that included the Pm. minimum pan-transcriptome allows the profiling of an expanded set of virulence factors, including variable genes associated with secondary metabolism and cellular transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Massonnet
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Abraham Morales-Cruz
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Andrea Minio
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Rosa Figueroa-Balderas
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Daniel P. Lawrence
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Renaud Travadon
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Philippe E. Rolshausen
- Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States
| | - Kendra Baumgartner
- Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Dario Cantu
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Benevenuto J, Teixeira-Silva NS, Kuramae EE, Croll D, Monteiro-Vitorello CB. Comparative Genomics of Smut Pathogens: Insights From Orphans and Positively Selected Genes Into Host Specialization. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:660. [PMID: 29681893 PMCID: PMC5897528 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Host specialization is a key evolutionary process for the diversification and emergence of new pathogens. However, the molecular determinants of host range are poorly understood. Smut fungi are biotrophic pathogens that have distinct and narrow host ranges based on largely unknown genetic determinants. Hence, we aimed to expand comparative genomics analyses of smut fungi by including more species infecting different hosts and to define orphans and positively selected genes to gain further insights into the genetics basis of host specialization. We analyzed nine lineages of smut fungi isolated from eight crop and non-crop hosts: maize, barley, sugarcane, wheat, oats, Zizania latifolia (Manchurian rice), Echinochloa colona (a wild grass), and Persicaria sp. (a wild dicot plant). We assembled two new genomes: Ustilago hordei (strain Uhor01) isolated from oats and U. tritici (strain CBS 119.19) isolated from wheat. The smut genomes were of small sizes, ranging from 18.38 to 24.63 Mb. U. hordei species experienced genome expansions due to the proliferation of transposable elements and the amount of these elements varied among the two strains. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that Ustilago is not a monophyletic genus and, furthermore, detected misclassification of the U. tritici specimen. The comparison between smut pathogens of crop and non-crop hosts did not reveal distinct signatures, suggesting that host domestication did not play a dominant role in shaping the evolution of smuts. We found that host specialization in smut fungi likely has a complex genetic basis: different functional categories were enriched in orphans and lineage-specific selected genes. The diversification and gain/loss of effector genes are probably the most important determinants of host specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Benevenuto
- Microbial Genetics Laboratory, Department of Genetics, University of São Paulo/Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (USP/ESALQ), Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Natalia S. Teixeira-Silva
- Microbial Genetics Laboratory, Department of Genetics, University of São Paulo/Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (USP/ESALQ), Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Eiko E. Kuramae
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Daniel Croll
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel (UNINE), Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Claudia B. Monteiro-Vitorello
- Microbial Genetics Laboratory, Department of Genetics, University of São Paulo/Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (USP/ESALQ), Piracicaba, Brazil
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42
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Comparative Methods for Molecular Determination of Host-Specificity Factors in Plant-Pathogenic Fungi. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19030863. [PMID: 29543717 PMCID: PMC5877724 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19030863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Many plant-pathogenic fungi are highly host-specific. In most cases, host-specific interactions evolved at the time of speciation of the respective host plants. However, host jumps have occurred quite frequently, and still today the greatest threat for the emergence of new fungal diseases is the acquisition of infection capability of a new host by an existing plant pathogen. Understanding the mechanisms underlying host-switching events requires knowledge of the factors determining host-specificity. In this review, we highlight molecular methods that use a comparative approach for the identification of host-specificity factors. These cover a wide range of experimental set-ups, such as characterization of the pathosystem, genotyping of host-specific strains, comparative genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, as well as gene prediction and functional gene validation. The methods are described and evaluated in view of their success in the identification of host-specificity factors and the understanding of their functional mechanisms. In addition, potential methods for the future identification of host-specificity factors are discussed.
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43
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Fouché S, Plissonneau C, Croll D. The birth and death of effectors in rapidly evolving filamentous pathogen genomes. Curr Opin Microbiol 2018; 46:34-42. [PMID: 29455143 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2018.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Revised: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Plant pathogenic fungi and oomycetes are major risks to food security due to their evolutionary success in overcoming plant defences. Pathogens produce effectors to interfere with host defences and metabolism. These effectors are often encoded in rapidly evolving compartments of the genome. We review how effector genes emerged and were lost in pathogen genomes drawing on the links between effector evolution and chromosomal rearrangements. Some new effectors entered pathogen genomes via horizontal transfer or introgression. However, new effector functions also arose through gene duplication or from previously non-coding sequences. The evolutionary success of an effector is tightly linked to its transcriptional regulation during host colonization. Some effectors converged on an epigenetic control of expression imposed by genomic defences against transposable elements. Transposable elements were also drivers of effector diversification and loss that led to mosaics in effector presence-absence variation. Such effector mosaics within species was the foundation for rapid pathogen adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Fouché
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Clémence Plissonneau
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland; UMR BIOGER, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Avenue Lucien Bretignières, BP 01, Thiverval-Grignon F-78850, France
| | - Daniel Croll
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
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Schweizer G, Münch K, Mannhaupt G, Schirawski J, Kahmann R, Dutheil JY. Positively Selected Effector Genes and Their Contribution to Virulence in the Smut Fungus Sporisorium reilianum. Genome Biol Evol 2018; 10:629-645. [PMID: 29390140 PMCID: PMC5811872 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evy023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants and fungi display a broad range of interactions in natural and agricultural ecosystems ranging from symbiosis to parasitism. These ecological interactions result in coevolution between genes belonging to different partners. A well-understood example is secreted fungal effector proteins and their host targets, which play an important role in pathogenic interactions. Biotrophic smut fungi (Basidiomycota) are well-suited to investigate the evolution of plant pathogens, because several reference genomes and genetic tools are available for these species. Here, we used the genomes of Sporisorium reilianum f. sp. zeae and S. reilianum f. sp. reilianum, two closely related formae speciales infecting maize and sorghum, respectively, together with the genomes of Ustilago hordei, Ustilago maydis, and Sporisorium scitamineum to identify and characterize genes displaying signatures of positive selection. We identified 154 gene families having undergone positive selection during species divergence in at least one lineage, among which 77% were identified in the two investigated formae speciales of S. reilianum. Remarkably, only 29% of positively selected genes encode predicted secreted proteins. We assessed the contribution to virulence of nine of these candidate effector genes in S. reilianum f. sp. zeae by deleting individual genes, including a homologue of the effector gene pit2 previously characterized in U. maydis. Only the pit2 deletion mutant was found to be strongly reduced in virulence. Additional experiments are required to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the selection forces acting on the other candidate effector genes, as well as the large fraction of positively selected genes encoding predicted cytoplasmic proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Schweizer
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Karin Münch
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Gertrud Mannhaupt
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Institute for Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Jan Schirawski
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Microbial Genetics, Institute of Applied Microbiology, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Regine Kahmann
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Julien Y Dutheil
- Department of Organismic Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier, “Genome” Department, CNRS, University of Montpellier 2, France
- Research Group Molecular Systems Evolution, Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
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45
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Krishnan P, Ma X, McDonald BA, Brunner PC. Widespread signatures of selection for secreted peptidases in a fungal plant pathogen. BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:7. [PMID: 29368587 PMCID: PMC5784588 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1123-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fungal plant pathogens secrete a large arsenal of hydrolytic enzymes during the course of infection, including peptidases. Secreted peptidases have been extensively studied for their role as effectors. In this study, we combined transcriptomics, comparative genomics and evolutionary analyses to investigate all 39 secreted peptidases in the fungal wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici and its close relatives Z. pseudotritici and Z. ardabiliae. RESULTS RNA-seq data revealed that a majority of the secreted peptidases displayed differential transcription during the course of Z. tritici infection, indicative of specialization for different stages in the life cycle. Evolutionary analyses detected widespread evidence of adaptive evolution acting on at least 28 of the peptidases. A few peptidases displayed lineage-specific rates of molecular evolution, suggesting altered selection pressure in Z. tritici following host specialization on domesticated wheat. The peptidases belonging to MEROPS families A1 and G1 emerged as a particularly interesting group that may play key roles in host-pathogen co-evolution, host adaptation and pathogenicity. Sister genes in the A1 and G1 families showed accelerated substitution rates after gene duplications. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest widespread evolution of secreted peptidases leading to novel gene functions, consistent with predicted models of "escape from adaptive conflict" and "neo-functionalization". Our analyses identified candidate genes worthy of functional analyses that may encode effector functions, for example by suppressing plant defenses during the biotrophic phase of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parvathy Krishnan
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, -8092, Zurich, CH, Switzerland
| | - Xin Ma
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, -8092, Zurich, CH, Switzerland
| | - Bruce A McDonald
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, -8092, Zurich, CH, Switzerland
| | - Patrick C Brunner
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, -8092, Zurich, CH, Switzerland.
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46
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Plissonneau C, Hartmann FE, Croll D. Pangenome analyses of the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici reveal the structural basis of a highly plastic eukaryotic genome. BMC Biol 2018; 16:5. [PMID: 29325559 PMCID: PMC5765654 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-017-0457-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Structural variation contributes substantially to polymorphism within species. Chromosomal rearrangements that impact genes can lead to functional variation among individuals and influence the expression of phenotypic traits. Genomes of fungal pathogens show substantial chromosomal polymorphism that can drive virulence evolution on host plants. Assessing the adaptive significance of structural variation is challenging, because most studies rely on inferences based on a single reference genome sequence. Results We constructed and analyzed the pangenome of Zymoseptoria tritici, a major pathogen of wheat that evolved host specialization by chromosomal rearrangements and gene deletions. We used single-molecule real-time sequencing and high-density genetic maps to assemble multiple genomes. We annotated the gene space based on transcriptomics data that covered the infection life cycle of each strain. Based on a total of five telomere-to-telomere genomes, we constructed a pangenome for the species and identified a core set of 9149 genes. However, an additional 6600 genes were exclusive to a subset of the isolates. The substantial accessory genome encoded on average fewer expressed genes but a larger fraction of the candidate effector genes that may interact with the host during infection. We expanded our analyses of the pangenome to a worldwide collection of 123 isolates of the same species. We confirmed that accessory genes were indeed more likely to show deletion polymorphisms and loss-of-function mutations compared to core genes. Conclusions The pangenome construction of a highly polymorphic eukaryotic pathogen showed that a single reference genome significantly underestimates the gene space of a species. The substantial accessory genome provides a cradle for adaptive evolution. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12915-017-0457-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clémence Plissonneau
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.,UMR BIOGER, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, Avenue Lucien Bretignières, BP 01, Thiverval-Grignon, F-78850, France
| | - Fanny E Hartmann
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.,Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, AgroParisTech, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Daniel Croll
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, CH-2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
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Chen J, Liu C, Gui Y, Si K, Zhang D, Wang J, Short DPG, Huang J, Li N, Liang Y, Zhang W, Yang L, Ma X, Li T, Zhou L, Wang B, Bao Y, Subbarao KV, Zhang G, Dai X. Comparative genomics reveals cotton-specific virulence factors in flexible genomic regions in Verticillium dahliae and evidence of horizontal gene transfer from Fusarium. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 217:756-770. [PMID: 29084346 PMCID: PMC5765495 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Verticillium dahliae isolates are most virulent on the host from which they were originally isolated. Mechanisms underlying these dominant host adaptations are currently unknown. We sequenced the genome of V. dahliae Vd991, which is highly virulent on its original host, cotton, and performed comparisons with the reference genomes of JR2 (from tomato) and VdLs.17 (from lettuce). Pathogenicity-related factor prediction, orthology and multigene family classification, transcriptome analyses, phylogenetic analyses, and pathogenicity experiments were performed. The Vd991 genome harbored several exclusive, lineage-specific (LS) genes within LS regions (LSRs). Deletion mutants of the seven genes within one LSR (G-LSR2) in Vd991 were less virulent only on cotton. Integration of G-LSR2 genes individually into JR2 and VdLs.17 resulted in significantly enhanced virulence on cotton but did not affect virulence on tomato or lettuce. Transcription levels of the seven LS genes in Vd991 were higher during the early stages of cotton infection, as compared with other hosts. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that G-LSR2 was acquired from Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum through horizontal gene transfer. Our results provide evidence that horizontal gene transfer from Fusarium to Vd991 contributed significantly to its adaptation to cotton and may represent a significant mechanism in the evolution of an asexual plant pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie‐Yin Chen
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Chun Liu
- BGI‐ShenzhenShenzhenGuangdong518083China
| | - Yue‐Jing Gui
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Kai‐Wei Si
- BGI‐ShenzhenShenzhenGuangdong518083China
| | - Dan‐Dan Zhang
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Jie Wang
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Dylan P. G. Short
- Department of Plant PathologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCA95616USA
| | | | - Nan‐Yang Li
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Yong Liang
- BGI‐ShenzhenShenzhenGuangdong518083China
| | - Wen‐Qi Zhang
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Lin Yang
- BGI‐ShenzhenShenzhenGuangdong518083China
| | - Xue‐Feng Ma
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Ting‐Gang Li
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Lei Zhou
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Bao‐Li Wang
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | - Yu‐Ming Bao
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
| | | | | | - Xiao‐Feng Dai
- Laboratory of Cotton DiseaseInstitute of Food Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Agricultural SciencesBeijing100193China
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48
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Białas A, Zess EK, De la Concepcion JC, Franceschetti M, Pennington HG, Yoshida K, Upson JL, Chanclud E, Wu CH, Langner T, Maqbool A, Varden FA, Derevnina L, Belhaj K, Fujisaki K, Saitoh H, Terauchi R, Banfield MJ, Kamoun S. Lessons in Effector and NLR Biology of Plant-Microbe Systems. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2018; 31:34-45. [PMID: 29144205 DOI: 10.1101/171223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
A diversity of plant-associated organisms secrete effectors-proteins and metabolites that modulate plant physiology to favor host infection and colonization. However, effectors can also activate plant immune receptors, notably nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat region (NLR)-containing proteins, enabling plants to fight off invading organisms. This interplay between effectors, their host targets, and the matching immune receptors is shaped by intricate molecular mechanisms and exceptionally dynamic coevolution. In this article, we focus on three effectors, AVR-Pik, AVR-Pia, and AVR-Pii, from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (syn. Pyricularia oryzae), and their corresponding rice NLR immune receptors, Pik, Pia, and Pii, to highlight general concepts of plant-microbe interactions. We draw 12 lessons in effector and NLR biology that have emerged from studying these three little effectors and are broadly applicable to other plant-microbe systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Białas
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Erin K Zess
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | | | - Marina Franceschetti
- 2 Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Helen G Pennington
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Kentaro Yoshida
- 3 Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Jessica L Upson
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Emilie Chanclud
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Chih-Hang Wu
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Thorsten Langner
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Abbas Maqbool
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Freya A Varden
- 2 Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Lida Derevnina
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Khaoula Belhaj
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Koki Fujisaki
- 4 Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan; and
| | - Hiromasa Saitoh
- 4 Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan; and
- 5 Department of Molecular Microbiology, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryohei Terauchi
- 3 Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
- 4 Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan; and
| | - Mark J Banfield
- 2 Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Sophien Kamoun
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
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49
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Białas A, Zess EK, De la Concepcion JC, Franceschetti M, Pennington HG, Yoshida K, Upson JL, Chanclud E, Wu CH, Langner T, Maqbool A, Varden FA, Derevnina L, Belhaj K, Fujisaki K, Saitoh H, Terauchi R, Banfield MJ, Kamoun S. Lessons in Effector and NLR Biology of Plant-Microbe Systems. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2018; 31:34-45. [PMID: 29144205 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-08-17-0196-fi] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
A diversity of plant-associated organisms secrete effectors-proteins and metabolites that modulate plant physiology to favor host infection and colonization. However, effectors can also activate plant immune receptors, notably nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat region (NLR)-containing proteins, enabling plants to fight off invading organisms. This interplay between effectors, their host targets, and the matching immune receptors is shaped by intricate molecular mechanisms and exceptionally dynamic coevolution. In this article, we focus on three effectors, AVR-Pik, AVR-Pia, and AVR-Pii, from the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (syn. Pyricularia oryzae), and their corresponding rice NLR immune receptors, Pik, Pia, and Pii, to highlight general concepts of plant-microbe interactions. We draw 12 lessons in effector and NLR biology that have emerged from studying these three little effectors and are broadly applicable to other plant-microbe systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Białas
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Erin K Zess
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | | | - Marina Franceschetti
- 2 Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Helen G Pennington
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Kentaro Yoshida
- 3 Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Jessica L Upson
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Emilie Chanclud
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Chih-Hang Wu
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Thorsten Langner
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Abbas Maqbool
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Freya A Varden
- 2 Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Lida Derevnina
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Khaoula Belhaj
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Koki Fujisaki
- 4 Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan; and
| | - Hiromasa Saitoh
- 4 Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan; and
- 5 Department of Molecular Microbiology, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryohei Terauchi
- 3 Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
- 4 Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Kitakami, Iwate, Japan; and
| | - Mark J Banfield
- 2 Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Sophien Kamoun
- 1 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
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50
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Kruse J, Mishra B, Choi YJ, Sharma R, Thines M. New smut-specific primers for multilocus genotyping and phylogenetics of Ustilaginaceae. Mycol Prog 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s11557-017-1328-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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