Fusarium graminearum Genome Reveals a Link Between Localized Polymorphism and Pathogen Specialization

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2007-09, Vol.317 (5843), p.1400-1402
• Main Authors: Cuomo, Christina A, Güldener, Ulrich, Xu, Jin-Rong, Trail, Frances, Turgeon, B. Gillian, Di Pietro, Antonio, Walton, Jonathan D, Ma, Li-Jun, Baker, Scott E, Rep, Martijn, Adam, Gerhard, Antoniw, John, Baldwin, Thomas, Calvo, Sarah, Chang, Yueh-Long, DeCaprio, David, Gale, Liane R, Gnerre, Sante, Goswami, Rubella S, Hammond-Kosack, Kim, Harris, Linda J, Hilburn, Karen, Kennell, John C, Kroken, Scott, Magnuson, Jon K, Mannhaupt, Gertrud, Mauceli, Evan, Mewes, Hans-Werner, Mitterbauer, Rudolf, Muehlbauer, Gary, Münsterkötter, Martin, Nelson, David, O'Donnell, Kerry, Ouellet, Thérèse, Qi, Weihong, Quesneville, Hadi, Roncero, M. Isabel G, Seong, Kye-Yong, Tetko, Igor V, Urban, Martin, Waalwijk, Cees, Ward, Todd J, Yao, Jiqiang, Birren, Bruce W, Kistler, H. Corby
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bioinformatics; Biological and medical sciences; Chromosomes; Computer Science; dna; DNA, Fungal; Enzymes; Evolution, Molecular; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungal plant pathogens; Fungi; Fusarium; Fusarium - genetics; Fusarium - physiology; Genes; Genes. Genome; Genome, Fungal; Genomes; Genomics; Hordeum; Hordeum - microbiology; Life Sciences; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; neurospora; Open reading frames; Pathogens; Pathology, epidemiology, host-fungus relationships. Damages, economic importance; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Plant Diseases; Plant Diseases - microbiology; Plants; Point Mutation; Polymorphism; Polymorphism, Genetic; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Quantitative Methods; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Telomeres; Variation, races, biotypes, parasitic specialization, genetics
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1143708

We sequenced and annotated the genome of the filamentous fungus Fusarium graminearum, a major pathogen of cultivated cereals. Very few repetitive sequences were detected, and the process of repeat-induced point mutation, in which duplicated sequences are subject to extensive mutation, may partially account for the reduced repeat content and apparent low number of paralogous (ancestrally duplicated) genes. A second strain of F. graminearum contained more than 10,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, which were frequently located near telomeres and within other discrete chromosomal segments. Many highly polymorphic regions contained sets of genes implicated in plant-fungus interactions and were unusually divergent, with higher rates of recombination. These regions of genome innovation may result from selection due to interactions of F. graminearum with its plant hosts.