Comparative genomics reveals mobile pathogenicity chromosomes in Fusarium.
Fusarium species are among the most important phytopathogenic and toxigenic fungi. To understand the molecular underpinnings of pathogenicity in the genus Fusarium, we compared the genomes of three phenotypically diverse species: Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Our analysis revealed lineage-specific (LS) genomic regions in F. oxysporum that include four entire chromosomes and account for more than one-quarter of the genome. LS regions are rich in transposons and genes with distinct evolutionary profiles but related to pathogenicity, indicative of horizontal acquisition. Experimentally, we demonstrate the transfer of two LS chromosomes between strains of F. oxysporum, converting a non-pathogenic strain into a pathogen. Transfer of LS chromosomes between otherwise genetically isolated strains explains the polyphyletic origin of host specificity and the emergence of new pathogenic lineages in F. oxysporum. These findings put the evolution of fungal pathogenicity into a new perspective.
Ma
Li-Jun
LJ
The Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141, USA.
van der Does
H Charlotte
HC
Borkovich
Katherine A
KA
Coleman
Jeffrey J
JJ
Daboussi
Marie-Josée
MJ
Di Pietro
Antonio
A
Dufresne
Marie
M
Freitag
Michael
M
Grabherr
Manfred
M
Henrissat
Bernard
B
Houterman
Petra M
PM
Kang
Seogchan
S
Shim
Won-Bo
WB
Woloshuk
Charles
C
Xie
Xiaohui
X
Xu
Jin-Rong
JR
Antoniw
John
J
Baker
Scott E
SE
Bluhm
Burton H
BH
Breakspear
Andrew
A
Brown
Daren W
DW
Butchko
Robert A E
RA
Chapman
Sinead
S
Coulson
Richard
R
Coutinho
Pedro M
PM
Danchin
Etienne G J
EG
Diener
Andrew
A
Gale
Liane R
LR
Gardiner
Donald M
DM
Goff
Stephen
S
Hammond-Kosack
Kim E
KE
Hilburn
Karen
K
Hua-Van
Aurélie
A
Jonkers
Wilfried
W
Kazan
Kemal
K
Kodira
Chinnappa D
CD
Koehrsen
Michael
M
Kumar
Lokesh
L
Lee
Yong-Hwan
YH
Li
Liande
L
Manners
John M
JM
Miranda-Saavedra
Diego
D
Mukherjee
Mala
M
Park
Gyungsoon
G
Park
Jongsun
J
Park
Sook-Young
SY
Proctor
Robert H
RH
Regev
Aviv
A
Ruiz-Roldan
M Carmen
MC
Sain
Divya
D
Sakthikumar
Sharadha
S
Sykes
Sean
S
Schwartz
David C
DC
Turgeon
B Gillian
BG
Wapinski
Ilan
I
Yoder
Olen
O
Young
Sarah
S
Zeng
Qiandong
Q
Zhou
Shiguo
S
Galagan
James
J
Cuomo
Christina A
CA
Kistler
H Corby
HC
Rep
Martijn
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D015825:Chromosomes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005670:Fusarium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D016681:Genome, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000235:genetics; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D020543:Proteome / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D026801:Synteny / Q000235:genetics; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D020543:Proteome