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Genetic Manipulation of the Plant Pathogen Ustilago maydis to Study Fungal Biology and Plant Microbe Interactions
Published on: September 30, 2016
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Extensive horizontal gene transfers between plant pathogenic fungi
Huan Qiu1, Guohong Cai2, Jing Luo3
1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, Foran Hall, 59 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901, USA. huan.qiu.bio@gmail.com.
BMC Biology
|May 25, 2016
Summary
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is more widespread in fungi than previously thought, with over 90 genes transferred between plant pathogens. This finding challenges existing notions and highlights HGT
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Evolutionary Biology
- Mycology
Background:
- Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is crucial for lineage adaptation but its extent in eukaryotes is debated.
- Intracellular gene transfer from endosymbionts to host genomes is a known HGT form, typically involving numerous genes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the scale and impact of HGT in fungal evolution.
- To analyze genomic data of Magnaporthiopsis incrustans to identify HGT events.
Main Methods:
- Employed a conservative phylogenomic approach.
- Analyzed genomic data from Magnaporthiopsis incrustans and related fungal lineages.
- Identified shared HGT-derived gene markers between Magnaporthales and Colletotrichum.
Main Results:
- Identified over 90 putatively transferred genes between Magnaporthales and Colletotrichum, including 33 highly supported candidates.
- Observed that HGT events are often physically linked in the genome.
- Found a two-fold enrichment of transferred genes involved in plant cell wall degradation.
Conclusions:
- Challenges the view that HGT plays a minor role in fungal evolution.
- Suggests HGT is implicated in the evolution of plant pathogenesis in the studied fungi.
- Proposes that expanding genomic databases and new analytical methods will reveal more HGT across life.
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