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Baruah IK, Shao J, Ali SS, Schmidt ME, Meinhardt LW, Bailey BA, Cohen SP. Cacao pod transcriptome profiling of seven genotypes identifies features associated with post-penetration resistance to Phytophthora palmivora. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4175. [PMID: 38378988 PMCID: PMC10879190 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54355-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The oomycete Phytophthora palmivora infects the fruit of cacao trees (Theobroma cacao) causing black pod rot and reducing yields. Cacao genotypes vary in their resistance levels to P. palmivora, yet our understanding of how cacao fruit respond to the pathogen at the molecular level during disease establishment is limited. To address this issue, disease development and RNA-Seq studies were conducted on pods of seven cacao genotypes (ICS1, WFT, Gu133, Spa9, CCN51, Sca6 and Pound7) to better understand their reactions to the post-penetration stage of P. palmivora infection. The pod tissue-P. palmivora pathogen assay resulted in the genotypes being classified as susceptible (ICS1, WFT, Gu133 and Spa9) or resistant (CCN51, Sca6 and Pound7). The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) ranged from 1625 to 6957 depending on genotype. A custom gene correlation approach identified 34 correlation groups. De novo motif analysis was conducted on upstream promoter sequences of differentially expressed genes, identifying 76 novel motifs, 31 of which were over-represented in the upstream sequences of correlation groups and associated with gene ontology terms related to oxidative stress response, defense against fungal pathogens, general metabolism and cell function. Genes in one correlation group (Group 6) were strongly induced in all genotypes and enriched in genes annotated with defense-responsive terms. Expression pattern profiling revealed that genes in Group 6 were induced to higher levels in the resistant genotypes. An additional analysis allowed the identification of 17 candidate cis-regulatory modules likely to be involved in cacao defense against P. palmivora. This study is a comprehensive exploration of the cacao pod transcriptional response to P. palmivora spread after infection. We identified cacao genes, promoter motifs, and promoter motif combinations associated with post-penetration resistance to P. palmivora in cacao pods and provide this information as a resource to support future and ongoing efforts to breed P. palmivora-resistant cacao.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrani K Baruah
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Jonathan Shao
- Statistics and Bioinformatics Group-Northeast Area, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Shahin S Ali
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
- ATCC (American Type Culture Collection), Gaithersburg, MD, 20877, USA
| | - Martha E Schmidt
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Lyndel W Meinhardt
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Bryan A Bailey
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Stephen P Cohen
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA.
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Winters NP, Wafula EK, Knollenberg BJ, Hämälä T, Timilsena PR, Perryman M, Zhang D, Sheaffer LL, Praul CA, Ralph PE, Prewitt S, Leandro-Muñoz ME, Delgadillo-Duran DA, Altman NS, Tiffin P, Maximova SN, dePamphilis CW, Marden JH, Guiltinan MJ. A combination of conserved and diverged responses underlies Theobroma cacao's defense response to Phytophthora palmivora. BMC Biol 2024; 22:38. [PMID: 38360697 PMCID: PMC10870529 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-024-01831-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plants have complex and dynamic immune systems that have evolved to resist pathogens. Humans have worked to enhance these defenses in crops through breeding. However, many crops harbor only a fraction of the genetic diversity present in wild relatives. Increased utilization of diverse germplasm to search for desirable traits, such as disease resistance, is therefore a valuable step towards breeding crops that are adapted to both current and emerging threats. Here, we examine diversity of defense responses across four populations of the long-generation tree crop Theobroma cacao L., as well as four non-cacao Theobroma species, with the goal of identifying genetic elements essential for protection against the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora palmivora. RESULTS We began by creating a new, highly contiguous genome assembly for the P. palmivora-resistant genotype SCA 6 (Additional file 1: Tables S1-S5), deposited in GenBank under accessions CP139290-CP139299. We then used this high-quality assembly to combine RNA and whole-genome sequencing data to discover several genes and pathways associated with resistance. Many of these are unique, i.e., differentially regulated in only one of the four populations (diverged 40 k-900 k generations). Among the pathways shared across all populations is phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, a metabolic pathway with well-documented roles in plant defense. One gene in this pathway, caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE), was upregulated across all four populations following pathogen treatment, indicating its broad importance for cacao's defense response. Further experimental evidence suggests this gene hydrolyzes caffeoyl shikimate to create caffeic acid, an antimicrobial compound and known inhibitor of Phytophthora spp. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate most expression variation associated with resistance is unique to populations. Moreover, our findings demonstrate the value of using a broad sample of evolutionarily diverged populations for revealing the genetic bases of cacao resistance to P. palmivora. This approach has promise for further revealing and harnessing valuable genetic resources in this and other long-generation plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noah P Winters
- IGDP Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, 422 Huck Life Sciences Building, University Park, PA, 16803, USA
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Eric K Wafula
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | - Tuomas Hämälä
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Prakash R Timilsena
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Melanie Perryman
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Dapeng Zhang
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA
| | - Lena L Sheaffer
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Craig A Praul
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Paula E Ralph
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Sarah Prewitt
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | | | | | - Naomi S Altman
- Department of Statistics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Peter Tiffin
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Siela N Maximova
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Claude W dePamphilis
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- IGDP Plant Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - James H Marden
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Mark J Guiltinan
- Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
- IGDP Plant Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
- Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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Fletcher K, Michelmore R. Genome-Enabled Insights into Downy Mildew Biology and Evolution. ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2023; 61:165-183. [PMID: 37268005 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-phyto-021622-103440] [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: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Oomycetes that cause downy mildew diseases are highly specialized, obligately biotrophic phytopathogens that can have major impacts on agriculture and natural ecosystems. Deciphering the genome sequence of these organisms provides foundational tools to study and deploy control strategies against downy mildew pathogens (DMPs). The recent telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of the DMP Peronospora effusa revealed high levels of synteny with distantly related DMPs, higher than expected repeat content, and previously undescribed architectures. This provides a road map for generating similar high-quality genome assemblies for other oomycetes. This review discusses biological insights made using this and other assemblies, including ancestral chromosome architecture, modes of sexual and asexual variation, the occurrence of heterokaryosis, candidate gene identification, functional validation, and population dynamics. We also discuss future avenues of research likely to be fruitful in studies of DMPs and highlight resources necessary for advancing our understanding and ability to forecast and control disease outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Fletcher
- The Genome Center, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Richard Michelmore
- The Genome Center, University of California, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Plant Sciences; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, Davis, California, USA;
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Minio A, Figueroa-Balderas R, Cohen SP, Ali SS, Carriel D, Britto D, Stack C, Baruah IK, Marelli JP, Cantu D, Bailey BA. Clonal reproduction of Moniliophthora roreri and the emergence of unique lineages with distinct genomes during range expansion. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2023; 13:jkad125. [PMID: 37337677 PMCID: PMC10468315 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad125] [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: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
The basidiomycete Moniliophthora roreri causes frosty pod rot of cacao (Theobroma cacao) in the western hemisphere. Moniliophthora roreri is considered asexual and haploid throughout its hemibiotrophic life cycle. To understand the processes driving genome modification, using long-read sequencing technology, we sequenced and assembled 5 high-quality M. roreri genomes out of a collection of 99 isolates collected throughout the pathogen's range. We obtained chromosome-scale assemblies composed of 11 scaffolds. We used short-read technology to sequence the genomes of 22 similarly chosen isolates. Alignments among the 5 reference assemblies revealed inversions, translocations, and duplications between and within scaffolds. Isolates at the front of the pathogens' expanding range tend to share lineage-specific structural variants, as confirmed by short-read sequencing. We identified, for the first time, 3 new mating type A locus alleles (5 in total) and 1 new potential mating type B locus allele (3 in total). Currently, only 2 mating type combinations, A1B1 and A2B2, are known to exist outside of Colombia. A systematic survey of the M. roreri transcriptome across 2 isolates identified an expanded candidate effector pool and provided evidence that effector candidate genes unique to the Moniliophthoras are preferentially expressed during the biotrophic phase of disease. Notably, M. roreri isolates in Costa Rica carry a chromosome segment duplication that has doubled the associated gene complement and includes secreted proteins and candidate effectors. Clonal reproduction of the haploid M. roreri genome has allowed lineages with unique genome structures and compositions to dominate as it expands its range, displaying a significant founder effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Minio
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California Davis, Davis 95616, CA, USA
- Genome Center, University of California Davis, 95616 Davis, CA, USA
| | - Rosa Figueroa-Balderas
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California Davis, Davis 95616, CA, USA
| | - Stephen P Cohen
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, USDA/ARS, Beltsville 20705, MD, USA
| | - Shahin S Ali
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, USDA/ARS, Beltsville 20705, MD, USA
| | - Denny Carriel
- Mars La Chola (MLCH), Mars Inc., Guayaquil 090103, Ecuador
| | - Dahyana Britto
- Mars Center for Cocoa Science, Mars Inc., Fazenda Almirante, Caixa Postal 55, Itajuípe, BA, CEP 45630-000, Brazil
| | - Conrad Stack
- Mars Digital Technologies, Mars Inc., Chicago 60642, IL, USA
| | - Indrani K Baruah
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, USDA/ARS, Beltsville 20705, MD, USA
| | | | - Dario Cantu
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California Davis, Davis 95616, CA, USA
| | - Bryan A Bailey
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, USDA/ARS, Beltsville 20705, MD, USA
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Mandal K, Dutta S, Upadhyay A, Panda A, Tripathy S. Comparative Genome Analysis Across 128 Phytophthora Isolates Reveal Species-Specific Microsatellite Distribution and Localized Evolution of Compartmentalized Genomes. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:806398. [PMID: 35369471 PMCID: PMC8967354 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.806398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Phytophthora sp. are invasive groups of pathogens belonging to class Oomycetes. In order to contain and control them, a deep knowledge of their biology and infection strategy is imperative. With the availability of large-scale sequencing data, it has been possible to look directly into their genetic material and understand the strategies adopted by them for becoming successful pathogens. Here, we have studied the genomes of 128 Phytophthora species available publicly with reasonable quality. Our analysis reveals that the simple sequence repeats (SSRs) of all Phytophthora sp. follow distinct isolate specific patterns. We further show that TG/CA dinucleotide repeats are far more abundant in Phytophthora sp. than other classes of repeats. In case of tri- and tetranucleotide SSRs also, TG/CA-containing motifs always dominate over others. The GC content of the SSRs are stable without much variation across the isolates of Phytophthora. Telomeric repeats of Phytophthora follow a pattern of (TTTAGGG)n or (TTAGGGT)n rather than the canonical (TTAGGG)n. RxLR (arginine-any amino acid-leucine-arginine) motifs containing effectors diverge rapidly in Phytophthora and do not show any core common group. The RxLR effectors of some Phytophthora isolates have a tendency to form clusters with RxLRs from other species than within the same species. An analysis of the flanking intergenic distance clearly indicates a two-speed genome organization for all the Phytophthora isolates. Apart from effectors and the transposons, a large number of other virulence genes such as carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), transcriptional regulators, signal transduction genes, ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC), and ubiquitins are also present in the repeat-rich compartments. This indicates a rapid co-evolution of this powerful arsenal for successful pathogenicity. Whole genome duplication studies indicate that the pattern followed is more specific to a geographic location. To conclude, the large-scale genomic studies of Phytophthora have thrown light on their adaptive evolution, which is largely guided by the localized host-mediated selection pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kajal Mandal
- Computational Genomics Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Subhajeet Dutta
- Computational Genomics Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
| | - Aditya Upadhyay
- Computational Genomics Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Arijit Panda
- Department of Quantitative Health Science, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Sucheta Tripathy
- Computational Genomics Laboratory, Department of Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
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Baruah IK, Ali SS, Shao J, Lary D, Bailey BA. Changes in Gene Expression in Leaves of Cacao Genotypes Resistant and Susceptible to Phytophthora palmivora Infection. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 12:780805. [PMID: 35211126 PMCID: PMC8861199 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.780805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Black pod rot, caused by Phytophthora palmivora, is a devastating disease of Theobroma cacao L. (cacao) leading to huge losses for farmers and limiting chocolate industry supplies. To understand resistance responses of cacao leaves to P. palmivora, Stage 2 leaves of genotypes Imperial College Selection 1 (ICS1), Colección Castro Naranjal 51 (CCN51), and Pound7 were inoculated with zoospores and monitored for symptoms up to 48 h. Pound7 consistently showed less necrosis than ICS1 and CCN51 48 h after inoculation. RNA-Seq was carried out on samples 24 h post inoculation. A total of 24,672 expressed cacao genes were identified, and 2,521 transcripts showed induction in at least one P. palmivora-treated genotype compared to controls. There were 115 genes induced in the P. palmivora-treated samples in all three genotypes. Many of the differentially expressed genes were components of KEGG pathways important in plant defense signal perception (the plant MAPK signaling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction, and plant pathogen interactions), and plant defense metabolite biosynthesis (phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, α-linolenic acid metabolism, ethylene biosynthesis, and terpenoid backbone biosynthesis). A search of putative cacao resistance genes within the cacao transcriptome identified 89 genes with prominent leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains, 170 protein kinases encoding genes, 210 genes with prominent NB-ARC domains, 305 lectin-related genes, and 97 cysteine-rich RK genes. We further analyzed the cacao leaf transcriptome in detail focusing on gene families-encoding proteins important in signal transduction (MAP kinases and transcription factors) and direct plant defense (Germin-like, ubiquitin-associated, lectin-related, pathogenesis-related, glutathione-S-transferases, and proteases). There was a massive reprogramming of defense gene processes in susceptible cacao leaf tissue after infection, which was restricted in the resistant genotype Pound7. Most genes induced in Pound7 were induced in ICS1/CCN51. The level of induction was not always proportional to the infection level, raising the possibility that genes are responding to infection more strongly in Pound7. There were also defense-associated genes constitutively differentially expressed at higher levels in specific genotypes, possibly providing a prepositioned defense. Many of the defense genes occur in blocks where members are constitutively expressed at different levels, and some members are induced by Ppal infection. With further study, the identified candidate genes and gene blocks may be useful as markers for breeding disease-resistant cacao genotypes against P. palmivora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrani K. Baruah
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Beltsville, MD, United States
| | - Shahin S. Ali
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Beltsville, MD, United States
- Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Jonathan Shao
- United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Northeast Area, Beltsville, MD, United States
| | - David Lary
- Department of Physics, University of Texas, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Bryan A. Bailey
- Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Beltsville, MD, United States
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Guo Y, Sakalidis ML, Torres-Londono GA, Hausbeck MK. Population Structure of a Worldwide Phytophthora palmivora Collection Suggests Lack of Host Specificity and Reduced Genetic Diversity in South America and the Caribbean. PLANT DISEASE 2021; 105:4031-4041. [PMID: 33983798 DOI: 10.1094/pdis-05-20-1055-re] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Phytophthora palmivora (Butler) is a highly destructive plant pathogen that infects tropical hosts worldwide, many of which are economically important crops. Despite the broad host range and wide distribution, the pathogen has displayed a considerable amount of variation in morphological characters, including virulence. However, the genetic variability at a global level, which is critical to understand the center of origin and the potential pathway(s) of introduction, was unclear. Here, we mapped the genetic variation of P. palmivora using isolates representing four regions, 15 countries, and 14 host species. We designed a large set of simple sequence repeat markers from the P. palmivora genome and picked 17 selectively neutral markers to screen 98 P. palmivora isolates. We found that P. palmivora populations from our collection generally did not cluster according to host; rather, some isolates from North America were generally distinct from all other populations. Isolates from South America and the Caribbean clustered and appeared to share ancestry with isolates from Asia. Populations from North America and Asia were the most genetically diverse, while the South American and Caribbean populations exhibited similar reduced genetic diversity. The isolates collected in various plantations in Colombia did not show host or geographic specificity. Our study brought a further understanding of this important plant pathogen, although the determination for hypothesized source of origin, spread, and evolution would need further sampling. The genomic resources developed in this study would facilitate further studies on P. palmivora diagnostics and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufang Guo
- Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
| | - Monique L Sakalidis
- Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
- Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
| | | | - Mary K Hausbeck
- Department of Plant Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
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Ayala-Usma DA, Cárdenas M, Guyot R, Mares MCD, Bernal A, Muñoz AR, Restrepo S. A whole genome duplication drives the genome evolution of Phytophthora betacei, a closely related species to Phytophthora infestans. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:795. [PMID: 34740326 PMCID: PMC8571832 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-08079-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pathogens of the genus Phytophthora are the etiological agents of many devastating diseases in several high-value crops and forestry species such as potato, tomato, cocoa, and oak, among many others. Phytophthora betacei is a recently described species that causes late blight almost exclusively in tree tomatoes, and it is closely related to Phytophthora infestans that causes the disease in potato crops and other Solanaceae. This study reports the assembly and annotation of the genomes of P. betacei P8084, the first of its species, and P. infestans RC1-10, a Colombian strain from the EC-1 lineage, using long-read SMRT sequencing technology. RESULTS Our results show that P. betacei has the largest sequenced genome size of the Phytophthora genus so far with 270 Mb. A moderate transposable element invasion and a whole genome duplication likely explain its genome size expansion when compared to P. infestans, whereas P. infestans RC1-10 has expanded its genome under the activity of transposable elements. The high diversity and abundance (in terms of copy number) of classified and unclassified transposable elements in P. infestans RC1-10 relative to P. betacei bears testimony of the power of long-read technologies to discover novel repetitive elements in the genomes of organisms. Our data also provides support for the phylogenetic placement of P. betacei as a standalone species and as a sister group of P. infestans. Finally, we found no evidence to support the idea that the genome of P. betacei P8084 follows the same gene-dense/gense-sparse architecture proposed for P. infestans and other filamentous plant pathogens. CONCLUSIONS This study provides the first genome-wide picture of P. betacei and expands the genomic resources available for P. infestans. This is a contribution towards the understanding of the genome biology and evolutionary history of Phytophthora species belonging to the subclade 1c.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Ayala-Usma
- Research Group in Computational Biology and Microbial Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Max Planck Tandem Group in Computational Biology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Laboratory of Mycology and Plant Pathology (LAMFU), Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Martha Cárdenas
- Laboratory of Mycology and Plant Pathology (LAMFU), Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Romain Guyot
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, CIRAD, Université de Montpellier, 34394, Montpellier, France
- Department of Electronics and Automation, Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, Manizales, Colombia
| | - Maryam Chaib De Mares
- Research Group in Computational Biology and Microbial Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Max Planck Tandem Group in Computational Biology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Adriana Bernal
- Laboratory of Molecular Interactions of Agricultural Microbes (LIMMA), Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Alejandro Reyes Muñoz
- Research Group in Computational Biology and Microbial Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
- Max Planck Tandem Group in Computational Biology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, MO, 63108, St Louis, USA.
| | - Silvia Restrepo
- Laboratory of Mycology and Plant Pathology (LAMFU), Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
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The Role of Fungi in the Cocoa Production Chain and the Challenge of Climate Change. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7030202. [PMID: 33802148 PMCID: PMC7999002 DOI: 10.3390/jof7030202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The role of fungi in cocoa crops is mainly associated with plant diseases and contamination of harvest with unwanted metabolites such as mycotoxins that can reach the final consumer. However, in recent years there has been interest in discovering other existing interactions in the environment that may be beneficial, such as antagonism, commensalism, and the production of specific enzymes, among others. Scope and approach: This review summarizes the different fungi species involved in cocoa production and the cocoa supply chain. In particular, it examines the presence of fungal species during cultivation, harvest, fermentation, drying, and storage, emphasizing the factors that possibly influence their prevalence in the different stages of production and the health risks associated with the production of mycotoxins in the light of recent literature. Key findings and conclusion: Fungi associated with the cocoa production chain have many different roles. They have evolved in a varied range of ecosystems in close association with plants and various habitats, affecting nearly all the cocoa chain steps. Reports of the isolation of 60 genera of fungi were found, of which only 19 were involved in several stages. Although endophytic fungi can help control some diseases caused by pathogenic fungi, climate change, with increased rain and temperatures, together with intensified exchanges, can favour most of these fungal infections, and the presence of highly aggressive new fungal genotypes increasing the concern of mycotoxin production. For this reason, mitigation strategies need to be determined to prevent the spread of disease-causing fungi and preserve beneficial ones.
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Díaz-Valderrama JR, Leiva-Espinoza ST, Aime MC. The History of Cacao and Its Diseases in the Americas. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 2020; 110:1604-1619. [PMID: 32820671 DOI: 10.1094/phyto-05-20-0178-rvw] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cacao is a commodity crop from the tropics cultivated by about 6 million smallholder farmers. The tree, Theobroma cacao, originated in the Upper Amazon where it was domesticated ca. 5450 to 5300 B.P. From this center of origin, cacao was dispersed and cultivated in Mesoamerica as early as 3800 to 3000 B.P. After the European conquest of the Americas (the 1500s), cacao cultivation intensified in several loci, primarily Mesoamerica, Trinidad, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It was during the colonial period that cacao diseases began emerging as threats to production. One early example is the collapse of the cacao industry in Trinidad in the 1720s, attributed to an unknown disease referred to as the "blast". Trinidad would resurface as a production center due to the discovery of the Trinitario genetic group, which is still widely used in breeding programs around the world. However, a resurgence of diseases like frosty pod rot during the republican period (the late 1800s and early 1900s) had profound impacts on other centers of Latin American production, especially in Venezuela and Ecuador, shifting the focus of cacao production southward, to Bahia, Brazil. Production in Bahia was, in turn, dramatically curtailed by the introduction of witches' broom disease in the late 1980s. Today, most of the world's cacao production occurs in West Africa and parts of Asia, where the primary Latin American diseases have not yet spread. In this review, we discuss the history of cacao cultivation in the Americas and how that history has been shaped by the emergence of diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge R Díaz-Valderrama
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, U.S.A
| | - Santos T Leiva-Espinoza
- Instituto de Investigación para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Ceja de Selva, Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza de Amazonas, Chachapoyas, Amazonas, Perú
| | - M Catherine Aime
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, U.S.A
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Perrine-Walker F. Phytophthora palmivora-Cocoa Interaction. J Fungi (Basel) 2020; 6:jof6030167. [PMID: 32916858 PMCID: PMC7558484 DOI: 10.3390/jof6030167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Phytophthora palmivora (Butler) is an hemibiotrophic oomycete capable of infecting over 200 plant species including one of the most economically important crops, Theobroma cacao L. commonly known as cocoa. It infects many parts of the cocoa plant including the pods, causing black pod rot disease. This review will focus on P. palmivora’s ability to infect a plant host to cause disease. We highlight some current findings in other Phytophthora sp. plant model systems demonstrating how the germ tube, the appressorium and the haustorium enable the plant pathogen to penetrate a plant cell and how they contribute to the disease development in planta. This review explores the molecular exchange between the oomycete and the plant host, and the role of plant immunity during the development of such structures, to understand the infection of cocoa pods by P. palmivora isolates from Papua New Guinea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francine Perrine-Walker
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, LEES Building (F22), Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia;
- The University of Sydney Institute of Agriculture, 1 Central Avenue, Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh, NSW 2015, Australia
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