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Shared signatures of parasitism and phylogenomics unite Cryptomycota and microsporidia

Timothy Y James1, Adrian Pelin, Linda Bonen

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. tyjames@umich.edu

Current Biology : CB
|August 13, 2013
PubMed

Insights

The first Cryptomycotan genome reveals that Cryptomycota and microsporidia share a parasitic ancestor. This finding reclassifies fungi and offers insights into early fungal evolution and parasitic strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Fungi digest externally and absorb nutrients through a chitinous cell wall.
  • Cryptomycota, proposed as intermediate fungal forms, lack chitinous cell walls during feeding and are known from environmental DNA.
  • Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites with reduced genomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To sequence the first Cryptomycotan genome (Rozella allomycis).
  • To phylogenomically unite Cryptomycota with microsporidia.
  • To investigate the evolutionary relationship and shared traits between Cryptomycota and microsporidia.

Main Methods:

  • Genome sequencing of Rozella allomycis.
  • Phylogenomic analysis to determine evolutionary relationships.
  • Comparative genomics to identify shared genomic traits.

Main Results:

  • The Rozella allomycis genome was sequenced, uniting Cryptomycota and microsporidia.
  • A common endoparasitic ancestor for Cryptomycota and microsporidia was proposed.
  • Shared genomic elements, including a nucleotide transporter for host ATP acquisition, were identified.
  • Rozella exhibits a degenerate mitochondrion but compensates with nuclear genes for alternative respiration.
  • The Rozella proteome shows expansion in host-effector and signal-transduction proteins, unlike microsporidia.

Conclusions:

  • Cryptomycota and microsporidia form a unified clade originating from a common endoparasitic ancestor.
  • The chitinous cell wall plays a role in the infection process for this clade.
  • Rozella allomycis provides a model for understanding early fungal parasitism and genome evolution.

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