Specific adaptation of Ustilaginoidea virens in occupying host florets revealed by comparative and functional genomics.
Ustilaginoidea virens (Cooke) Takah is an ascomycetous fungus that causes rice false smut, a devastating emerging disease worldwide. Here we report a 39.4 Mb draft genome sequence of U. virens that encodes 8,426 predicted genes. The genome has ~25% repetitive sequences that have been affected by repeat-induced point mutations. Evolutionarily, U. virens is close to the entomopathogenic Metarhizium spp., suggesting potential host jumping across kingdoms. U. virens possesses reduced gene inventories for polysaccharide degradation, nutrient uptake and secondary metabolism, which may result from adaptations to the specific floret infection and biotrophic lifestyles. Consistent with their potential roles in pathogenicity, genes for secreted proteins and secondary metabolism and the pathogen-host interaction database genes are highly enriched in the transcriptome during early infection. We further show that 18 candidate effectors can suppress plant hypersensitive responses. Together, our analyses offer new insights into molecular mechanisms of evolution, biotrophy and pathogenesis of U. virens.
1] Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China [2].
Yong
Y
Zhang
1] Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China [2].
Kang
K
Zhang
1] Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China [2].
Anfei
A
Fang
Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Yanqing
Y
Han
1] Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China [2] State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Jun
J
Yang
1] Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China [2] State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Minfeng
M
Xue
State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China.
Jiandong
J
Bao
Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Dongwei
D
Hu
1] State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control, Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China [2] International Rice Research Institute, Metro Manila 1301, Philippines.
Bo
B
Zhou
Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Xianyun
X
Sun
Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Shaojie
S
Li
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
Ming
M
Wen
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
Nan
N
Yao
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA.
Li-Jun
LJ
Ma
Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
Yongfeng
Y
Liu
College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural Unversity, Changsha 410128, China.
Min
M
Zhang
College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Fu
F
Huang
College of Plant Sciences and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Chaoxi
C
Luo
Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Ligang
L
Zhou
Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Jianqiang
J
Li
Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
Zhiyi
Z
Chen
Institute of Plant Protection, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang 110161, China.
Jiankun
J
Miao
Institute of Plant Protection, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang 110161, China.
Shu
S
Wang
Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Jinsheng
J
Lai
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN47907, USA.
Jin-Rong
JR
Xu
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Ontario, Guelph, Canada N1G 2W1.
Tom
T
Hsiang
1] Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China [2] State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
You-Liang
YL
Peng
Department of Plant Pathology and the Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory for Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Wenxian
W
Sun
D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016681:Genome, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics*; D052981:Metarhizium / Q000235:genetics; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology*; D014588:Ustilago / Q000235:genetics*