2022 journal article
Comparative genomic analysis reveals contraction of gene families with putative roles in pathogenesis in the fungal boxwood pathogens Calonectria henricotiae and C. pseudonaviculata
BMC ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 22(1).
author keywords: Nectriaceae; Host range; Trophic lifestyle
MeSH headings : Buxus / microbiology; Ecosystem; Genomics; Hypocreales; Phylogeny; Plant Diseases / genetics
TL;DR:
The results provide novel insight into gene family evolution within C. henricotiae and C. pseudonaviculata and suggest gene family contraction may have contributed to limited host-range expansion of these pathogens within the plant family Buxaceae.
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open access via bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com (publisher PDF)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land
(OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: July 11, 2022
AbstractBackgroundBoxwood blight disease caused byCalonectria henricotiaeandC. pseudonaviculatais of ecological and economic significance in cultivated and native ecosystems worldwide. Prior research has focused on understanding the population genetic and genomic diversity ofC. henricotiaeandC. pseudonaviculata, but gene family evolution in the context of host adaptation, plant pathogenesis, and trophic lifestyle is poorly understood. This study applied bioinformatic and phylogenetic methods to examine gene family evolution inC. henricotiae,C. pseudonaviculataand 22 related fungi in the Nectriaceae that vary in pathogenic and saprobic (apathogenic) lifestyles.ResultsA total of 19,750 gene families were identified in the 24 genomes, of which 422 were rapidly evolving. Among the sixCalonectriaspecies,C. henricotiaeandC. pseudonaviculatawere the only species to experience high levels of rapid contraction of pathogenesis-related gene families (89% and 78%, respectively). In contrast, saprobic speciesCalonectria multiphialidicaandC. naviculata, two of the closest known relatives ofC. henricotiaeandC. pseudonaviculata, showed rapid expansion of pathogenesis-related gene families.ConclusionsOur results provide novel insight into gene family evolution withinC. henricotiaeandC. pseudonaviculataand suggest gene family contraction may have contributed to limited host-range expansion of these pathogens within the plant family Buxaceae.