Telomere Roles in Fungal Genome Evolution and Adaptation

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Molecular Biology
• Mycology

Background:

• Telomeres protect chromosome ends from degradation and replication loss.
• Telomere instability in Pyricularia is linked to retrotransposons (MoTeRs) and genetic alterations.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate telomere dynamics in Pyricularia genome architecture.
• Characterize sequence polymorphisms at chromosome ends and internal telomeric regions.
• Explore the role of telomere failure in generating adaptive variation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of sequence polymorphisms at chromosome ends.
• Characterization of internalized MoTeR loci and interstitial telomere repeats.
• TERT knockout experiments to study telomere maintenance failure.

Main Results:

• Telomere dynamics significantly shape the Pyricularia genome.
• Telomere-adjacent sequences show frequent presence/absence polymorphism and internal exchanges.
• Compromised telomere function drives MoTeR relic and interstitial telomere polymorphism.
• Adaptive Telomere Failure observed, leading to rapid polymorphism accumulation.

Conclusions:

• Telomere maintenance is frequently compromised in Pyricularia.
• Telomere failure results in significant, potentially adaptive, genome polymorphism.
• This process may be a potent driver of Pyricularia evolution and host interaction adaptation.