title: Sequencing the genome of Marssonina brunnea reveals fungus-poplar co-evolution.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The fungus Marssonina brunnea is a causal pathogen of Marssonina leaf spot that devastates poplar plantations by defoliating susceptible trees before normal fall leaf drop.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We sequence the genome of M. brunnea with a size of 52 Mb assembled into 89 scaffolds, representing the first sequenced Dermateaceae genome. By inoculating this fungus onto a poplar hybrid clone, we investigate how M. brunnea interacts and co-evolves with its host to colonize poplar leaves. While a handful of virulence genes in M. brunnea, mostly from the LysM family, are detected to up-regulate during infection, the poplar down-regulates its resistance genes, such as nucleotide binding site domains and leucine rich repeats, in response to infection. From 10,027 predicted proteins of M. brunnea in a comparison with those from poplar, we identify four poplar transferases that stimulate the host to resist M. brunnea. These transferas-encoding genes may have driven the co-evolution of M. brunnea and Populus during the process of infection and anti-infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results from the draft sequence of the M. brunnea genome provide evidence for genome-genome interactions that play an important role in poplar-pathogen co-evolution. This knowledge could help to design effective strategies for controlling Marssonina leaf spot in poplar.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Poplar Germplasm Enhancement and Variety Improvement, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: You-Zhi
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Bi-Yue
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sisi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Brona
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brejova
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vinar
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Ming-Xiu
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shou-Gong
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Min-Ren
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Rongling
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D032107:Populus / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D012331:RNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D012331:RNA, Fungal