The genome sequence of the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa.
Neurospora crassa is a central organism in the history of twentieth-century genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology. Here, we report a high-quality draft sequence of the N. crassa genome. The approximately 40-megabase genome encodes about 10,000 protein-coding genes--more than twice as many as in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and only about 25% fewer than in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster. Analysis of the gene set yields insights into unexpected aspects of Neurospora biology including the identification of genes potentially associated with red light photobiology, genes implicated in secondary metabolism, and important differences in Ca2+ signalling as compared with plants and animals. Neurospora possesses the widest array of genome defence mechanisms known for any eukaryotic organism, including a process unique to fungi called repeat-induced point mutation (RIP). Genome analysis suggests that RIP has had a profound impact on genome evolution, greatly slowing the creation of new genes through genomic duplication and resulting in a genome with an unusually low proportion of closely related genes.
Galagan
James E
JE
Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research, 320 Charles Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141, USA. jgalag@mit.edu
Calvo
Sarah E
SE
Borkovich
Katherine A
KA
Selker
Eric U
EU
Read
Nick D
ND
Jaffe
David
D
FitzHugh
William
W
Ma
Li-Jun
LJ
Smirnov
Serge
S
Purcell
Seth
S
Rehman
Bushra
B
Elkins
Timothy
T
Engels
Reinhard
R
Wang
Shunguang
S
Nielsen
Cydney B
CB
Butler
Jonathan
J
Endrizzi
Matthew
M
Qui
Dayong
D
Ianakiev
Peter
P
Bell-Pedersen
Deborah
D
Nelson
Mary Anne
MA
Werner-Washburne
Margaret
M
Selitrennikoff
Claude P
CP
Kinsey
John A
JA
Braun
Edward L
EL
Zelter
Alex
A
Schulte
Ulrich
U
Kothe
Gregory O
GO
Jedd
Gregory
G
Mewes
Werner
W
Staben
Chuck
C
Marcotte
Edward
E
Greenberg
David
D
Roy
Alice
A
Foley
Karen
K
Naylor
Jerome
J
Stange-Thomann
Nicole
N
Barrett
Robert
R
Gnerre
Sante
S
Kamal
Michael
M
Kamvysselis
Manolis
M
Mauceli
Evan
E
Bielke
Cord
C
Rudd
Stephen
S
Frishman
Dmitrij
D
Krystofova
Svetlana
S
Rasmussen
Carolyn
C
Metzenberg
Robert L
RL
Perkins
David D
DD
Kroken
Scott
S
Cogoni
Carlo
C
Macino
Giuseppe
G
Catcheside
David
D
Li
Weixi
W
Pratt
Robert J
RJ
Osmani
Stephen A
SA
DeSouza
Colin P C
CP
Glass
Louise
L
Orbach
Marc J
MJ
Berglund
J Andrew
JA
Voelker
Rodger
R
Yarden
Oded
O
Plamann
Michael
M
Seiler
Stephan
S
Dunlap
Jay
J
Radford
Alan
A
Aramayo
Rodolfo
R
Natvig
Donald O
DO
Alex
Lisa A
LA
Mannhaupt
Gertrud
G
Ebbole
Daniel J
DJ
Freitag
Michael
M
Paulsen
Ian
I
Sachs
Matthew S
MS
Lander
Eric S
ES
Nusbaum
Chad
C
Birren
Bruce
B
D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004224:Diterpenes / Q000378:metabolism; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020440:Gene Duplication; D005800:Genes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000235:genetics; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics; D016296:Mutagenesis / Q000235:genetics; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D034622:RNA Interference; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics
D004224:Diterpenes; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins