title: Genomic perspectives on the evolution of fungal entomopathogenicity in Beauveria bassiana.
abstract: The ascomycete fungus Beauveria bassiana is a pathogen of hundreds of insect species and is commercially produced as an environmentally friendly mycoinsecticide. We sequenced the genome of B. bassiana and a phylogenomic analysis confirmed that ascomycete entomopathogenicity is polyphyletic, but also revealed convergent evolution to insect pathogenicity. We also found many species-specific virulence genes and gene family expansions and contractions that correlate with host ranges and pathogenic strategies. These include B. bassiana having many more bacterial-like toxins (suggesting an unsuspected potential for oral toxicity) and effector-type proteins. The genome also revealed that B. bassiana resembles the closely related Cordyceps militaris in being heterothallic, although its sexual stage is rarely observed. A high throughput RNA-seq transcriptomic analysis revealed that B. bassiana could sense and adapt to different environmental niches by activating well-defined gene sets. The information from this study will facilitate further development of B. bassiana as a cost-effective mycoinsecticide.
authors: Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors: Guohua
authors: G
authors: Xiao
authors: Sheng-Hua
authors: SH
authors: Ying
authors: Peng
authors: P
authors: Zheng
authors: Zheng-Liang
authors: ZL
authors: Wang
authors: Siwei
authors: S
authors: Zhang
authors: Xue-Qin
authors: XQ
authors: Xie
authors: Yanfang
authors: Y
authors: Shang
authors: Raymond J
authors: RJ
authors: St Leger
authors: Guo-Ping
authors: GP
authors: Zhao
authors: Chengshu
authors: C
authors: Wang
authors: Ming-Guang
authors: MG
authors: Feng
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D052982:Beauveria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D032661:Cordyceps / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D023061:Gene Order; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D023281:Genomics; D007313:Insecta / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D015398:Signal Transduction; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins