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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Cereal Disease Lab » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309566
Title: The genome of the of the generalist plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium avenaceum is enriched with genes involved in redox, signaling and secondary metabolism

Author
item LYSØE, ERIK - Bioforsk
item HARRIS, LINDA - Agri Food - Canada
item WALKOWIAK, SEAN - Agri Food - Canada
item SUBRAMANIAM, RAJAGOPAL - Agri Food - Canada
item DIVON, HEGE - Norwegian Veterinary Institute
item RIISER, EVEN - Bioforsk
item LLORENS, CARLOS - Pompeu Fabra University
item GABALDÓN, TONI - Pompeu Fabra University
item Kistler, Harold
item JONKERS, WILFRED - University Of Minnesota
item KOLSETH, ANNA-KARIN - Swedish University Of Agricultural Sciences
item NIELSEN, KRISTIAN - Technical University Of Denmark
item THRANE, ULF - Technical University Of Denmark
item FRANDSEN, RASMUS J.N. - Technical University Of Denmark

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/13/2014
Publication Date: 11/19/2014
Citation: Lysøe, E., Harris, L., Walkowiak, S., Subramaniam, R., Divon, H.H., Riiser, E.S., Llorens, C., Gabaldón, T., Kistler, H.C., Jonkers, W., Kolseth, A., Nielsen, K.F., Thrane, U., Frandsen, R. 2014. The genome of the of the generalist plant pathogenic fungus Fusarium avenaceum is enriched with genes involved in redox, signaling and secondary metabolism. PLoS One. 9(11):e112703.

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium avenaceum (Fa), a major pathogen of cultivated cereals, is responsible for significant agricultural losses worldwide. There is a growing interest in understanding the mechanisms by which genes in this harmful pathogen are turned on and off, especially if this regulation controls the ability of the fungi to cause disease or to allows toxins to contaminate food. The genome sequencing of three closely related Fa species were sequenced. Applying comparative genomics approach, we developed a computational process to systematically discover evolutionarily conserved portions of the genome that control when and where genes are positioned and when they are expressed. Factors which regulate gene expression of important traits potentially could be exploited for disease control measures. These disease management strategies may involve disruption of vital fungal developmental pathways. The primary users of the research in this publication will be other scientists engaged in research to improve disease management on small grain crops.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium avenaceum is a fungus commonly isolated from soil and with a wide range of host plants. We present here three genome sequences of F. avenaceum, one isolated from barley in Finland and two from spring and winter wheat in Canada. The physical sizes of the three genomes range from 41.6-43.2 MB, with 13,217-13,448 predicted protein-coding genes. Whole-genome analysis showed that the three genomes are highly syntenic, with > 95% gene orthologs. Comparative analysis to other sequenced Fusaria, show that F. avenaceum has very large potential for producing secondary metabolites, with between 68 and 73 key enzymes belonging to the polyketide, non-ribosomal peptide, terpene, alkaloid and indole-diterpene synthase classes. In addition to known metabolites from F. avenaceum, fuscofusarin, fusaristatin A and JM-47 were detected for first time from this species. Many protein families are expanded in F. avenaceum, such as transcription factors, and proteins involved in redox reactions and signal transduction, suggesting a diverse and cosmopolitan ecology.