1
|
Marrafon-Silva M, Maia T, Calderan-Rodrigues MJ, Strabello M, Oliveira L, Creste S, Melotto M, Monteiro-Vitorello CB. Exploring Potential Surrogate Systems for Studying the Early Steps of the Sporisorium scitamineum Pathogenesis. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2024; 114:1295-1304. [PMID: 38148162 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-05-23-0156-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Despite its global importance as a primary source of table sugar and bioethanol, sugarcane faces a significant threat to its production due to diseases. One of these diseases, sugarcane smut, involves the emergence of a whip-like structure from the host apical shoot. The slow onset of this pathogenesis is the most substantial challenge for researchers to investigate the molecular events leading to resistance or susceptibility. In this study, we explored the early interaction between the smut fungus Sporisorium scitamineum and foliar tissues of the model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana. Upon inoculation with the fungus, A. thaliana showed a compatible reaction, producing lesions during fungus colonization, whereas N. benthamiana showed signs of nonhost resistance. In addition, we propose a sugarcane detached leaf assay using plants cultivated in vitro to reveal sugarcane smut response outcomes. We used two sugarcane genotypes with known contrasting reactions to smut in the field. Although there is no evidence of sugarcane smut fungus infecting host leaves naturally, the sugarcane detached leaf assay enabled a rapid assessment of disease outcomes. Different symptoms in the detached leaves after inoculation distinguished smut-susceptible and smut-resistant sugarcane genotypes. Microscopic observations and gene expression analysis of S. scitamineum candidate effectors confirmed the fungal growth and its restriction on the compatible and incompatible interactions, respectively. These findings offer new prospects into the disease phenotyping of S. scitamineum, which could greatly expedite the comprehension of the initial stages of the pathogenesis and predict smut resistance in sugarcane genotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Marrafon-Silva
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Thiago Maia
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
- Departamento de Fitopatologia e Nematologia, USP, ESALQ, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Maria Juliana Calderan-Rodrigues
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Mariana Strabello
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Lâina Oliveira
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Maeli Melotto
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
| | - Claudia Barros Monteiro-Vitorello
- Departamento de Genética, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Plücker L, Bösch K, Geißl L, Hoffmann P, Göhre V. Genetic Manipulation of the Brassicaceae Smut Fungus Thecaphora thlaspeos. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7010038. [PMID: 33435409 PMCID: PMC7826943 DOI: 10.3390/jof7010038] [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: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Investigation of plant–microbe interactions greatly benefit from genetically tractable partners to address, molecularly, the virulence and defense mechanisms. The smut fungus Ustilago maydis is a model pathogen in that sense: efficient homologous recombination and a small genome allow targeted modification. On the host side, maize is limiting with regard to rapid genetic alterations. By contrast, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is an excellent model with a vast amount of information and techniques as well as genetic resources. Here, we present a transformation protocol for the Brassicaceae smut fungus Thecaphora thlaspeos. Using the well-established methodology of protoplast transformation, we generated the first reporter strains expressing fluorescent proteins to follow mating. As a proof-of-principle for homologous recombination, we deleted the pheromone receptor pra1. As expected, this mutant cannot mate. Further analysis will contribute to our understanding of the role of mating for infection biology in this novel model fungus. From now on, the genetic manipulation of T. thlaspeos, which is able to colonize the model plant A. thaliana, provides us with a pathosystem in which both partners are genetically amenable to study smut infection biology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Vera Göhre
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-211-811-1529
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ren Z, Liu J, Din GMU, Zhang H, Du Z, Chen W, Liu T, Zhang J, Zhao S, Gao L. Transcriptome analysis of wheat spikes in response to Tilletia controversa Kühn which cause wheat dwarf bunt. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21567. [PMID: 33299089 PMCID: PMC7725808 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78628-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Wheat dwarf bunt is caused by Tilletia controversa Kühn, which is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat worldwide. To explore the interaction of T. controversa and wheat, we analysed the transcriptome profile of spikes of the susceptible wheat cultivar Dongxuan 3, which was subjected to a T. controversa infection and a mock infection. The results obtained from a differential expression analysis of T. controversa-infected plants compared with mock-infected ones showed that 10,867 out of 21,354 genes were upregulated, while 10,487 genes were downregulated, and these genes were enriched in 205 different pathways. Our findings demonstrated that the genes associated with defence against diseases, such as PR-related genes, WRKY transcription factors and mitogen-activated protein kinase genes, were more highly expressed in response to T. controversa infection. Additionally, a number of genes related to physiological attributes were expressed during infection. Three pathways were differentiated based on the characteristics of gene ontology classification. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that twenty genes were expressed differentially during the infection of wheat with T. controversa. Notable changes were observed in the transcriptomes of wheat plants after infection. The results of this study may help to elucidate the mechanism governing the interactions between this pathogen and wheat plants and may facilitate the development of new methods to increase the resistance level of wheat against T. controversa, including the overexpression of defence-related genes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoyu Ren
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Jianjian Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.,School of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Hubei, 434025, China
| | - Ghulam Muhae Ud Din
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Han Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.,Key Laboratory at Universities of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for Oasis Agricultural Pest Management and Plant Protection Resource Utilization, Shihezi University, Xinjiang, 832003, China
| | - Zhenzhen Du
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Wanquan Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Taiguo Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Jianmin Zhang
- School of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Hubei, 434025, China
| | - Sifeng Zhao
- Key Laboratory at Universities of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for Oasis Agricultural Pest Management and Plant Protection Resource Utilization, Shihezi University, Xinjiang, 832003, China
| | - Li Gao
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Farysia magdalena sp. nov. and description of the anamorph of Anthracocystis heteropogonicola from the Americas. Mycol Prog 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11557-020-01610-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
5
|
Hartmann FE, Snirc A, Cornille A, Godé C, Touzet P, Van Rossum F, Fournier E, Le Prieur S, Shykoff J, Giraud T. Congruent population genetic structures and divergence histories in anther‐smut fungi and their host plants
Silene italica
and the
Silene nutans
species complex. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:1154-1172. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fanny E. Hartmann
- Ecologie Systematique Evolution Batiment 360 AgroParisTech CNRS Universite Paris‐Saclay Orsay France
| | - Alodie Snirc
- Ecologie Systematique Evolution Batiment 360 AgroParisTech CNRS Universite Paris‐Saclay Orsay France
| | - Amandine Cornille
- Genetique Quantitative et Evolution–Le Moulon AgroParisTech CNRS INRAE Universite Paris‐Saclay Gif‐sur‐Yvette France
| | - Cécile Godé
- UMR 8198 ‐ Evo‐Eco‐Paleo CNRS Univ. Lille Lille France
| | - Pascal Touzet
- UMR 8198 ‐ Evo‐Eco‐Paleo CNRS Univ. Lille Lille France
| | - Fabienne Van Rossum
- Meise Botanic Garden Meise Belgium
- Fédération Wallonie–Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | | | - Stéphanie Le Prieur
- Ecologie Systematique Evolution Batiment 360 AgroParisTech CNRS Universite Paris‐Saclay Orsay France
| | - Jacqui Shykoff
- Ecologie Systematique Evolution Batiment 360 AgroParisTech CNRS Universite Paris‐Saclay Orsay France
| | - Tatiana Giraud
- Ecologie Systematique Evolution Batiment 360 AgroParisTech CNRS Universite Paris‐Saclay Orsay France
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
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.
Collapse
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;
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Saville BJ, Perlin MH. "When worlds collide and smuts converge": Tales from the 1st International Ustilago/Smut Convergence. Fungal Genet Biol 2019; 132:103260. [PMID: 31394176 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2019.103260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Revised: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
From the evening of March 12, till dinner on March 13, 2017, the 1st International Ustilago/Smut Convergence took place as a workshop prior to the start of the 29th Fungal Genetics Conference, in Asilomar, California. The overall goals of the meeting were to expand the smut model systems being used and to expand participation by the next generations of scientists with these fungi. These goals were implemented through a combination of emphasis on student and post-doc presentations, mentoring of such individuals, and active recruitment of participation by groups under-represented at such meetings in recent years in the US, especially those from Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries. Work was presented at the first workshop on U. maydis, Sporosorium reilianum, Microbotryum violaceum, U. esculenta, and Thecaphora thlaspeos. Students and post-doctoral researchers were encouraged to present their "just-in-time," as-yet-unpublished data, in a safe environment, with the understanding of those attending the meeting that this early access was a privilege not to be taken advantage of. The result was lively and constructive discussion, including a variety of presentations by these young scientists on putative and characterized smut effector proteins, clearly at the forefront of such research, even considering the advances presented later that week at the Fungal Genetics Conference. This review also briefly compares the first meeting with the events of the recent 2nd International Ustilago/Smut Convergence (March 11-12, 2019), which ended with a tribute to Prof. Dr. Regine Kahmann, in honor of her career, and especially for her contributions to the field of smut genetics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Barry J Saville
- Forensic Science Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - Michael H Perlin
- Department of Biology, Program on Disease Evolution, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Nowrousian M. Genomics and transcriptomics to study fruiting body development: An update. FUNGAL BIOL REV 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fbr.2018.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
|
9
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Idnurm A, Bailey AM, Cairns TC, Elliott CE, Foster GD, Ianiri G, Jeon J. A silver bullet in a golden age of functional genomics: the impact of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of fungi. Fungal Biol Biotechnol 2017; 4:6. [PMID: 28955474 PMCID: PMC5615635 DOI: 10.1186/s40694-017-0035-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The implementation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a transformation tool revolutionized approaches to discover and understand gene functions in a large number of fungal species. A. tumefaciens mediated transformation (AtMT) is one of the most transformative technologies for research on fungi developed in the last 20 years, a development arguably only surpassed by the impact of genomics. AtMT has been widely applied in forward genetics, whereby generation of strain libraries using random T-DNA insertional mutagenesis, combined with phenotypic screening, has enabled the genetic basis of many processes to be elucidated. Alternatively, AtMT has been fundamental for reverse genetics, where mutant isolates are generated with targeted gene deletions or disruptions, enabling gene functional roles to be determined. When combined with concomitant advances in genomics, both forward and reverse approaches using AtMT have enabled complex fungal phenotypes to be dissected at the molecular and genetic level. Additionally, in several cases AtMT has paved the way for the development of new species to act as models for specific areas of fungal biology, particularly in plant pathogenic ascomycetes and in a number of basidiomycete species. Despite its impact, the implementation of AtMT has been uneven in the fungi. This review provides insight into the dynamics of expansion of new research tools into a large research community and across multiple organisms. As such, AtMT in the fungi, beyond the demonstrated and continuing power for gene discovery and as a facile transformation tool, provides a model to understand how other technologies that are just being pioneered, e.g. CRISPR/Cas, may play roles in fungi and other eukaryotic species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Idnurm
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Andy M. Bailey
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Timothy C. Cairns
- Department of Applied and Molecular Microbiology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Candace E. Elliott
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Gary D. Foster
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Giuseppe Ianiri
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, USA
| | - Junhyun Jeon
- College of Life and Applied Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|