title: Genome organization and evolution of the AVR-Pita avirulence gene family in the Magnaporthe grisea species complex.
abstract: The avirulence (AVR) gene AVR-Pita in Magnaporthe oryzae prevents the fungus from infecting rice cultivars containing the resistance gene Pi-ta. A survey of isolates of the M. grisea species complex from diverse hosts showed that AVR-Pita is a member of a gene family, which led us to rename it to AVR-Pita1. Avirulence function, distribution, and genomic context of two other members, named AVR-Pita2 and AVR-Pita3, were characterized. AVR-Pita2, but not AVR-Pita3, was functional as an AVR gene corresponding to Pi-ta. The AVR-Pita1 and AVR-Pita2 genes were present in isolates of both M. oryzae and M. grisea, whereas the AVR-Pita3 gene was present only in isolates of M. oryzae. Orthologues of members of the AVR-Pita family could not be found in any fungal species sequenced to date, suggesting that the gene family may be unique to the M. grisea species complex. The genomic context of its members was analyzed in eight strains. The AVR-Pita1 and AVR-Pita2 genes in some isolates appeared to be located near telomeres and flanked by diverse repetitive DNA elements, suggesting that frequent deletion or amplification of these genes within the M. grisea species complex might have resulted from recombination mediated by repetitive DNA elements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Chang Hyun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Khang
authors.forename: Sook-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yong-Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Valent
authors.forename: Seogchan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D005800:Genes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D016681:Genome, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D020082:Magnaporthe / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005656:Fungal Proteins