Codon optimization underpins generalist parasitism in fungi

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Genomics
• Parasitology

Background:

• Host range is crucial for parasite emergence and disease spread.
• The evolutionary impact of host range on parasite genomes is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between host range and genome evolution in parasites.
• To determine if codon optimization plays a role in the adaptation of broad host range parasites.

Main Methods:

• Comparative genomic analysis of fungal parasites.
• Analysis of synonymous substitution patterns and protein length.
• Examination of codon optimization in relation to host range and virulence genes.

Main Results:

• Codon optimization is a key mechanism for genome adaptation in broad host range parasites.
• Longer proteins in generalist fungi are associated with increased selection for codon optimization.
• Virulence genes are enriched in codon-optimized genes of generalist but not specialist fungal pathogens.

Conclusions:

• Codon optimization is linked to a parasite's capacity to colonize multiple hosts.
• Genome evolution and translational regulation contribute to the persistence of generalist parasites.