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Díaz-Escandón D, Tagirdzhanova G, Vanderpool D, Allen CCG, Aptroot A, Češka O, Hawksworth DL, Huereca A, Knudsen K, Kocourková J, Lücking R, Resl P, Spribille T. Genome-level analyses resolve an ancient lineage of symbiotic ascomycetes. Curr Biol 2022; 32:5209-5218.e5. [PMID: 36423639 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [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: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Ascomycota account for about two-thirds of named fungal species.1 Over 98% of known Ascomycota belong to the Pezizomycotina, including many economically important species as well as diverse pathogens, decomposers, and mutualistic symbionts.2 Our understanding of Pezizomycotina evolution has until now been based on sampling traditionally well-defined taxonomic classes.3,4,5 However, considerable diversity exists in undersampled and uncultured, putatively early-diverging lineages, and the effect of these on evolutionary models has seldom been tested. We obtained genomes from 30 putative early-diverging lineages not included in recent phylogenomic analyses and analyzed these together with 451 genomes covering all available ascomycete genera. We show that 22 of these lineages, collectively representing over 600 species, trace back to a single origin that diverged from the common ancestor of Eurotiomycetes and Lecanoromycetes over 300 million years BP. The new clade, which we recognize as a more broadly defined Lichinomycetes, includes lichen and insect symbionts, endophytes, and putative mycorrhizae and encompasses a range of morphologies so disparate that they have recently been placed in six different taxonomic classes. To test for shared hidden features within this group, we analyzed genome content and compared gene repertoires to related groups in Ascomycota. Regardless of their lifestyle, Lichinomycetes have smaller genomes than most filamentous Ascomycota, with reduced arsenals of carbohydrate-degrading enzymes and secondary metabolite gene clusters. Our expanded genome sample resolves the relationships of numerous "orphan" ascomycetes and establishes the independent evolutionary origins of multiple mutualistic lifestyles within a single, morphologically hyperdiverse clade of fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Díaz-Escandón
- Department of Biological Sciences CW405, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Gulnara Tagirdzhanova
- Department of Biological Sciences CW405, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Dan Vanderpool
- National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 800 E Beckwith, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Carmen C G Allen
- Department of Biological Sciences CW405, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - André Aptroot
- Laboratório de Botânica / Liquenologia, Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Avenida Costa e Silva s/n Bairro Universitário, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul CEP 79070-900, Brazil
| | | | - David L Hawksworth
- Comparative Fungal Biology, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey TW9 3DS, UK; Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin Province 130118, China
| | - Alejandro Huereca
- Department of Biological Sciences CW405, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - Kerry Knudsen
- Czech University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Ecology, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Kocourková
- Czech University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Ecology, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Robert Lücking
- Botanischer Garten, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 6-8, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Philipp Resl
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Toby Spribille
- Department of Biological Sciences CW405, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
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