title: Genomic adaptations of the halophilic Dead Sea filamentous fungus Eurotium rubrum.
abstract: The Dead Sea is one of the most hypersaline habitats on Earth. The fungus Eurotium rubrum (Eurotiomycetes) is among the few species able to survive there. Here we highlight its adaptive strategies, based on genome analysis and transcriptome profiling. The 26.2 Mb genome of E. rubrum shows, for example, gains in gene families related to stress response and losses with regard to transport processes. Transcriptome analyses under different salt growth conditions revealed, among other things differentially expressed genes encoding ion and metabolite transporters. Our findings suggest that long-term adaptation to salinity requires cellular and metabolic responses that differ from short-term osmotic stress signalling. The transcriptional response indicates that halophilic E. rubrum actively counteracts the salinity stress. Many of its genes encode for proteins with a significantly higher proportion of acidic amino acid residues. This trait is characteristic of the halophilic prokaryotes as well, supporting the theory of convergent evolution under extreme hypersaline stress.
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Hushi Avenue Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel [2].
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kis-Papo
authors.affiliation: 1] DNA-Analytics and Ecoinformatics, Division of Biology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany [2].
authors.forename: Alfons R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Weig
authors.affiliation: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.affiliation: Department of Mycology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peršoh
authors.affiliation: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Asaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salamov
authors.affiliation: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lipzen
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Hushi Avenue Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel [2] M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, ul. Terershchenkivska 2 01601, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Solomon P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Wasser
authors.affiliation: 1] DNA-Analytics and Ecoinformatics, Division of Biology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany [2] Department of Mycology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rambold
authors.affiliation: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Igor V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Grigoriev
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, 199 Aba-Hushi Avenue Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel.
authors.forename: Eviatar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nevo
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000235:genetics*; D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics*; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D055325:Eurotium / Q000235:genetics*; D005658:Fungi / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D007557:Israel; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D009997:Osmotic Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics; D054712:Salinity; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D022661:RNA, Untranslated