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.
The Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141, USA.
Li-Jun
LJ
Ma
H Charlotte
HC
van der Does
Katherine A
KA
Borkovich
Jeffrey J
JJ
Coleman
Marie-Josée
MJ
Daboussi
Antonio
A
Di Pietro
Marie
M
Dufresne
Michael
M
Freitag
Manfred
M
Grabherr
Bernard
B
Henrissat
Petra M
PM
Houterman
Seogchan
S
Kang
Won-Bo
WB
Shim
Charles
C
Woloshuk
Xiaohui
X
Xie
Jin-Rong
JR
Xu
John
J
Antoniw
Scott E
SE
Baker
Burton H
BH
Bluhm
Andrew
A
Breakspear
Daren W
DW
Brown
Robert A E
RA
Butchko
Sinead
S
Chapman
Richard
R
Coulson
Pedro M
PM
Coutinho
Etienne G J
EG
Danchin
Andrew
A
Diener
Liane R
LR
Gale
Donald M
DM
Gardiner
Stephen
S
Goff
Kim E
KE
Hammond-Kosack
Karen
K
Hilburn
Aurélie
A
Hua-Van
Wilfried
W
Jonkers
Kemal
K
Kazan
Chinnappa D
CD
Kodira
Michael
M
Koehrsen
Lokesh
L
Kumar
Yong-Hwan
YH
Lee
Liande
L
Li
John M
JM
Manners
Diego
D
Miranda-Saavedra
Mala
M
Mukherjee
Gyungsoon
G
Park
Jongsun
J
Park
Sook-Young
SY
Park
Robert H
RH
Proctor
Aviv
A
Regev
M Carmen
MC
Ruiz-Roldan
Divya
D
Sain
Sharadha
S
Sakthikumar
Sean
S
Sykes
David C
DC
Schwartz
B Gillian
BG
Turgeon
Ilan
I
Wapinski
Olen
O
Yoder
Sarah
S
Young
Qiandong
Q
Zeng
Shiguo
S
Zhou
James
J
Galagan
Christina A
CA
Cuomo
H Corby
HC
Kistler
Martijn
M
Rep
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