title: Combating a Global Threat to a Clonal Crop: Banana Black Sigatoka Pathogen Pseudocercospora fijiensis (Synonym Mycosphaerella fijiensis) Genomes Reveal Clues for Disease Control.
abstract: Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease, caused by the Dothideomycete fungus Pseudocercospora fijiensis (previously: Mycosphaerella fijiensis), is the most significant foliar disease of banana worldwide. Due to the lack of effective host resistance, management of this disease requires frequent fungicide applications, which greatly increase the economic and environmental costs to produce banana. Weekly applications in most banana plantations lead to rapid evolution of fungicide-resistant strains within populations causing disease-control failures throughout the world. Given its extremely high economic importance, two strains of P. fijiensis were sequenced and assembled with the aid of a new genetic linkage map. The 74-Mb genome of P. fijiensis is massively expanded by LTR retrotransposons, making it the largest genome within the Dothideomycetes. Melting-curve assays suggest that the genomes of two closely related members of the Sigatoka disease complex, P. eumusae and P. musae, also are expanded. Electrophoretic karyotyping and analyses of molecular markers in P. fijiensis field populations showed chromosome-length polymorphisms and high genetic diversity. Genetic differentiation was also detected using neutral markers, suggesting strong selection with limited gene flow at the studied geographic scale. Frequencies of fungicide resistance in fungicide-treated plantations were much higher than those in untreated wild-type P. fijiensis populations. A homologue of the Cladosporium fulvum Avr4 effector, PfAvr4, was identified in the P. fijiensis genome. Infiltration of the purified PfAVR4 protein into leaves of the resistant banana variety Calcutta 4 resulted in a hypersensitive-like response. This result suggests that Calcutta 4 could carry an unknown resistance gene recognizing PfAVR4. Besides adding to our understanding of the overall Dothideomycete genome structures, the P. fijiensis genome will aid in developing fungicide treatment schedules to combat this pathogen and in improving the efficiency of banana breeding programs.
authors: Escuela de Biociencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia.|Plant Biotechnology Unit, Corporación Para Investigaciones Biológicas, Medellín, Colombia.
authors: Rafael E
authors: RE
authors: Arango Isaza
authors: Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Caucasella
authors: 0000-0003-4376-1777
authors: C
authors: Diaz-Trujillo
authors: Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
authors: Braham
authors: B
authors: Dhillon
authors: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, California, United States of America.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Aerts
authors: CIRAD, UMR BGPI, Montpellier, France.
authors: Jean
authors: J
authors: Carlier
authors: USDA-Agricultural Research Service, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
authors: Charles F
authors: CF
authors: Crane
authors: Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Tristan
authors: 0000-0003-0385-0089
authors: T
authors: V de Jong
authors: Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Ineke
authors: I
authors: de Vries
authors: Syngenta Biotechnology Inc., Research Triangle Park, United States of America.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Dietrich
authors: National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, United States of America.
authors: Andrew D
authors: AD
authors: Farmer
authors: Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura, Cruz das Almas, BA, Brazil.
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Fortes Fereira
authors: University of Lavras, Lavras, Brazil.
authors: Suzana
authors: S
authors: Garcia
authors: National Banana Corporation of Costa Rica (CORBANA), La Rita de Pococí, Limón, Costa Rica.
authors: Mauricio
authors: M
authors: Guzman
authors: Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.|Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Québec, QC, Canada.
authors: Richard C
authors: RC
authors: Hamelin
authors: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, California, United States of America.
authors: Erika A
authors: EA
authors: Lindquist
authors: Department of Genetics, Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran.
authors: Rahim
authors: R
authors: Mehrabi
authors: National Banana Corporation of Costa Rica (CORBANA), La Rita de Pococí, Limón, Costa Rica.
authors: Olman
authors: O
authors: Quiros
authors: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, California, United States of America.
authors: Jeremy
authors: J
authors: Schmutz
authors: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, California, United States of America.
authors: Harris
authors: 0000-0002-4117-4571
authors: H
authors: Shapiro
authors: General Bioinformatics at Syngenta Crop protection Jeallots Hill International Research Centre, Bracknell Berkshire, United Kingdom.
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Reynolds
authors: Syngenta Crop Protection, Münchwilen AG, Stein, Switzerland.
authors: Gabriel
authors: G
authors: Scalliet
authors: Embrapa-LABEX Europe, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Manoel
authors: M
authors: Souza
authors: University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States of America.
authors: Ioannis
authors: I
authors: Stergiopoulos
authors: Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Theo A J
authors: TA
authors: Van der Lee
authors: Wageningen University, Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Pierre J G M
authors: PJ
authors: De Wit
authors: CIRAD, UMR BGPI, Montpellier, France.
authors: Marie-Françoise
authors: MF
authors: Zapater
authors: CBS-KNAW Fungal Diversity Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors: Lute-Harm
authors: LH
authors: Zwiers
authors: US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, California, United States of America.
authors: Igor V
authors: IV
authors: Grigoriev
authors: USDA-Agricultural Research Service, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America.
authors: Stephen B
authors: SB
authors: Goodwin
authors: Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Wageningen University, Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors: Gert H J
authors: GH
authors: Kema
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001947:Breeding; D015825:Chromosomes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016681:Genome, Fungal; D005838:Genotype; D028521:Musa / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D018626:Retroelements / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018626:Retroelements