Using structural variants to understand the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of fungal plant pathogens

Deletions, duplications, insertions, inversions and translocations are commonly referred to as structural variants (SVs). Fungal plant pathogens have compact genomes, facilitating the generation of accurate maps of SVs for these species in recent studies. Structural variants have been found to constitute a significant proportion of the standing genetic variation in fungal plant pathogen populations, potentially leading to the generation of accessory genes, regions or chromosomes enriched in pathogenicity factors. Structural variants are involved in the rapid adaptation and ecological traits of pathogens, including host specialization and mating. Long-read sequencing techniques coupled with theoretical and experimental approaches have considerable potential for elucidating the phenotypic effects of SVs and deciphering the evolutionary and genomic mechanisms underlying the formation of SVs in fungal plant pathogens.