title: Comparative genomics of Taphrina fungi causing varying degrees of tumorous deformity in plants.
abstract: Taphrina fungi are biotrophic plant pathogens that cause plant deformity diseases. We sequenced the genomes of four Taphrina species-Taphrina wiesneri, T. deformans, T. flavorubra, and T. populina-which parasitize Prunus, Cerasus, and Populus hosts with varying severity of disease symptoms. High levels of gene synteny within Taphrina species were observed, and our comparative analysis further revealed that these fungi may utilize multiple strategies in coping with the host environment that are also found in some specialized dimorphic species. These include species-specific aneuploidy and clusters of highly diverged secreted proteins located at subtelomeres. We also identified species differences in plant hormone biosynthesis pathways, which may contribute to varying degree of disease symptoms. The genomes provide a rich resource for investigation into Taphrina biology and evolutionary studies across the basal ascomycetes clade.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Isheng J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hayato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masuya
authors.forename: Ryusei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Yuuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirooka
authors.forename: Rikiya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Endoh
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sahashi
authors.forename: Taisei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005800:Genes, Fungal / Q000502:physiology*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000382:microbiology*; D010941:Plant Tumors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins
keywords: Taphrina comparative genomics; divergence clusters; fungi aneuploidy