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Wood MJ, Kortsinoglou AM, Bull JC, Eastwood DC, Kouvelis VN, Bourdon PA, Loveridge EJ, Mathias S, Meyrick A, Midthassel A, Myrta A, Butt T. Evaluation of Metarhizium brunneum- and Metarhizium-Derived VOCs as Dual-Active Biostimulants and Pest Repellents in a Wireworm-Infested Potato Field. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:599. [PMID: 37367536 DOI: 10.3390/jof9060599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Wireworm, the larval stages of click beetles, are a serious pest of tubers, brassicas and other important commercial crops throughout the northern hemisphere. No effective control agent has been developed specifically for them, and many of the pesticides marketed as having secondary application against them have been withdrawn from EU and Asian markets. Metarhizium brunneum, an effective entomopathogenic fungus, and its derived volatile metabolites are known to be effective plant biostimulants and plant protectants, although field efficacy has yet to be validated. Field validation of a combined M. brunneum and derived VOC treatments was conducted in Wales, UK, to assess the effects of each as a wireworm control agent and biostimulant. Plots were treated with Tri-Soil (Trichoderma atroviridae), M. brunneum, 1-octen-3-ol or 3-octanone, or combinations thereof. Treatments were applied subsurface during potato seeding (n = 52), and potatoes were harvested at the end of the growing season. Each potato was weighed individually and scored for levels of wireworm damage. Applications of both the VOCs and the M. brunneum individually were found to significantly decrease wireworm burden (p < 0.001). Combinations of M. brunneum and 3-octanone were also found to significantly decrease wireworm damage (p < 0.001), while no effect on yield was reported, resulting in an increased saleable mass over controls (p < 0.001). Herein, we present a novel 'stimulate and deter' wireworm control strategy that can be used to significantly enhance saleable potato yields and control wireworm populations, even under high pest pressure densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martyn J Wood
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, 73100 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Alexandra M Kortsinoglou
- Department of Biology, Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
| | - James C Bull
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Daniel C Eastwood
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Vassili N Kouvelis
- Department of Biology, Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
| | - Pierre A Bourdon
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - E Joel Loveridge
- Department of Chemistry, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | | | | | - Audun Midthassel
- Certis Belchim BV, R & D Department, 3521 AZ Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Arben Myrta
- Certis Belchim BV, R & D Department, 3521 AZ Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Tariq Butt
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
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Wood MJ, Kortsinoglou AM, Khoja S, Kouvelis VN, Myrta A, Midthassel A, Loveridge EJ, Butt TM. Metarhizium brunneum (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and Its Derived Volatile Organic Compounds as Biostimulants of Commercially Valuable Angiosperms and Gymnosperms. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8101052. [PMID: 36294617 PMCID: PMC9604653 DOI: 10.3390/jof8101052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Metarhizium brunneum is a highly effective entomopathogenic fungus that also functions as a plant biostimulant. It can act as both an endophyte and rhizosphere colonizer; however, the mechanisms driving biostimulation are multifactorial. In this work, oilseed rape (Brassica napus) seeds were grown in composts treated with different concentrations of M. brunneum strains ARSEF 4556 or V275, or the M. brunneum-derived volatile organic compounds 1-octen-3-ol and 3-octanone. Biostimulation efficacy was found to be strongly dose dependent. Concentrations of 1 × 106 conidia g−1 compost were found to be most effective for the M. brunneum, whereas dosages of 1 µL 100 g−1 compost were found to be efficacious for the volatiles. These optimized doses were assessed individually and in combined formulations with a hydrogel against oilseed rape (Brassica napus), sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), maize (Zea mays) and strawberry (Fragaria annanassa). Both volatile compounds were highly effective biostimulants and were found to increase in biostimulatory efficiency when combined with M. brunneum conidia. Hydrogels were not found to interact with the growth process and may offer avenues for novel formulation technologies. This study demonstrates that Metarhizium-derived volatile organic compounds are actively involved in plant growth promotion and have potential for use in novel formulations to increase the growth of a wide range of commercially relevant crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martyn J. Wood
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- Correspondence: (M.J.W.); (T.M.B.); Tel.: +441-792-295374 (M.J.W.)
| | - Alexandra M. Kortsinoglou
- Department of Biology, Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
| | - Salim Khoja
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Vassili N. Kouvelis
- Department of Biology, Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece
| | - Arben Myrta
- CERTIS BELCHIM BV, R&D Department, 3521 AZ Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Audun Midthassel
- CERTIS BELCHIM BV, R&D Department, 3521 AZ Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - E. Joel Loveridge
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Tariq M. Butt
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- Correspondence: (M.J.W.); (T.M.B.); Tel.: +441-792-295374 (M.J.W.)
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Christinaki AC, Kanellopoulos SG, Kortsinoglou AM, Andrikopoulos MΑ, Theelen B, Boekhout T, Kouvelis VN. Mitogenomics and mitochondrial gene phylogeny decipher the evolution of Saccharomycotina yeasts. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6586520. [PMID: 35576568 PMCID: PMC9154068 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Saccharomycotina yeasts belong to diverse clades within the kingdom of fungi and are important to human everyday life. This work investigates the evolutionary relationships among these yeasts from a mitochondrial (mt) genomic perspective. A comparative study of 155 yeast mt genomes representing all major phylogenetic lineages of Saccharomycotina was performed, including genome size and content variability, intron and intergenic regions’ diversity, genetic code alterations, and syntenic variation. Findings from this study suggest that mt genome size diversity is the result of a ceaseless random process, mainly based on genetic recombination and intron mobility. Gene order analysis revealed conserved syntenic units and many occurring rearrangements, which can be correlated with major evolutionary events as shown by the phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated mt protein matrix. For the first time, molecular dating indicated a slower mt genome divergence rate in the early stages of yeast evolution, in contrast with a faster rate in the late evolutionary stages, compared to their nuclear time divergence. Genetic code reassignments of mt genomes are a perpetual process happening in many different parallel evolutionary steps throughout the evolution of Saccharomycotina. Overall, this work shows that phylogenetic studies based on the mt genome of yeasts highlight major evolutionary events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia C Christinaki
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Athens, Greece
| | - Spyros G Kanellopoulos
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Athens, Greece
| | - Alexandra M Kortsinoglou
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Athens, Greece
| | - Marios Α Andrikopoulos
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Athens, Greece
| | - Bart Theelen
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Teun Boekhout
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,University of Amsterdam, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Vassili N Kouvelis
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Athens, Greece
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Saud Z, Kortsinoglou AM, Kouvelis VN, Butt TM. Telomere length de novo assembly of all 7 chromosomes and mitogenome sequencing of the model entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium brunneum, by means of a novel assembly pipeline. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:87. [PMID: 33509090 PMCID: PMC7842015 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07390-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background More accurate and complete reference genomes have improved understanding of gene function, biology, and evolutionary mechanisms. Hybrid genome assembly approaches leverage benefits of both long, relatively error-prone reads from third-generation sequencing technologies and short, accurate reads from second-generation sequencing technologies, to produce more accurate and contiguous de novo genome assemblies in comparison to using either technology independently. In this study, we present a novel hybrid assembly pipeline that allowed for both mitogenome de novo assembly and telomere length de novo assembly of all 7 chromosomes of the model entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium brunneum. Results The improved assembly allowed for better ab initio gene prediction and a more BUSCO complete proteome set has been generated in comparison to the eight current NCBI reference Metarhizium spp. genomes. Remarkably, we note that including the mitogenome in ab initio gene prediction training improved overall gene prediction. The assembly was further validated by comparing contig assembly agreement across various assemblers, assessing the assembly performance of each tool. Genomic synteny and orthologous protein clusters were compared between Metarhizium brunneum and three other Hypocreales species with complete genomes, identifying core proteins, and listing orthologous protein clusters shared uniquely between the two entomopathogenic fungal species, so as to further facilitate the understanding of molecular mechanisms underpinning fungal-insect pathogenesis. Conclusions The novel assembly pipeline may be used for other haploid fungal species, facilitating the need to produce high-quality reference fungal genomes, leading to better understanding of fungal genomic evolution, chromosome structuring and gene regulation. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07390-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zack Saud
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8PP, UK.
| | - Alexandra M Kortsinoglou
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 15701, Athens, Greece
| | - Vassili N Kouvelis
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 15701, Athens, Greece
| | - Tariq M Butt
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8PP, UK.
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Kortsinoglou AM, Saud Z, Eastwood DC, Butt TM, Kouvelis VN. The mitochondrial genome contribution to the phylogeny and identification of Metarhizium species and strains. Fungal Biol 2020; 124:845-853. [PMID: 32948272 DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2020.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The genus Metarhizium is composed of entomopathogenic fungal biological control agents (BCAs) used for invertebrate pest control. The phylogenetic relationships of species within this genus are still under scrutiny as several cryptic species can be found. In this work, the mitochondrial (mt) genome of Metarhizium brunneum ARSEF 4556 was fully sequenced and a comparative genome analysis was conducted with 7 other available mt genomes, belonging to 5 Metarhizium species: M. anisopliae, M. brunneum, M. robertsii, M. guizhouense and M. majus. Results showed that Metarhizium demonstrates greater conserved stability than other fungal mt genomes. Furthermore, this analysis located 7 diverse regions in both intergenic domains and gene fragments which were ideal for species/strain discrimination. The sequencing of these regions revealed several SNPs among 38 strains tested, 11 of which were uncharacterized. Single gene phylogenies presented variable results which may be used further for intra-species discrimination. Phylogenetic trees based on the concatenation of mt domains and the nuclear ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region showed discrimination of the species studied and allowed the identification of uncharacterized strains. These were mostly placed within species M. anisopliae and M. brunneum. Five strains clustered together in a clade related to M. brunneum, suggesting that they comprise a cryptic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Kortsinoglou
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 15701, Athens, Greece.
| | - Zack Saud
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, United Kingdom.
| | - Dan C Eastwood
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, United Kingdom.
| | - Tariq M Butt
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales, United Kingdom.
| | - Vassili N Kouvelis
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 15701, Athens, Greece.
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Kortsinoglou AM, Korovesi AG, Theelen B, Hagen F, Boekhout T, Kouvelis VN. The mitochondrial intergenic regions nad1-cob and cob-rps3 as molecular identification tools for pathogenic members of the genus Cryptococcus. FEMS Yeast Res 2020; 19:5610221. [PMID: 31665278 DOI: 10.1093/femsyr/foz077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptococcus spp. are fungal species belonging to Tremellomycetes, Agaricomycotina, Basidiomycota, and several members are responsible for cryptococcosis, one of the most ubiquitous human mycoses. Affecting mainly immunosuppressed patients, but also immunocompetent ones, the members of this genus present a high level of genetic diversity. In this study, two mitochondrial intergenic regions, i.e. nad1-cob and cob-rps3, were tested for the intra- or interspecies discrimination and identification of strains and species of the genus Cryptococcus. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on individual and concatenated sequences from representative pathogenic strains of the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii complex, representing serotypes and AFLP genotypes of all newly introduced species of this complex. Using both intergenic regions, as well as the concatenated dataset, the strains clustered in accordance with the new taxonomy. These results suggest that identification of Cryptococcus strains is possible by employing these mitochondrial intergenic regions using PCR amplification as a quick and effective method to elucidate genotypic and taxonomic differences. Thus, these regions may be applicable to a broad range of clinical studies, leading to a rapid recognition of the clinical profiles of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Kortsinoglou
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Athens 15701, Greece
| | - Artemis G Korovesi
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Athens 15701, Greece
| | - Bart Theelen
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ferry Hagen
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Teun Boekhout
- Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Vassili N Kouvelis
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, Athens 15701, Greece
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