Comparative Genomics Reveals the Core Gene Toolbox for the Fungus-Insect Symbiosis

MBio
Yan WangJean-Marc Moncalvo

Abstract

Modern genomics has shed light on many entomopathogenic fungi and expanded our knowledge widely; however, little is known about the genomic features of the insect-commensal fungi. Harpellales are obligate commensals living in the digestive tracts of disease-bearing insects (black flies, midges, and mosquitoes). In this study, we produced and annotated whole-genome sequences of nine Harpellales taxa and conducted the first comparative analyses to infer the genomic diversity within the members of the Harpellales. The genomes of the insect gut fungi feature low (26% to 37%) GC content and large genome size variations (25 to 102 Mb). Further comparisons with insect-pathogenic fungi (from both Ascomycota and Zoopagomycota), as well as with free-living relatives (as negative controls), helped to identify a gene toolbox that is essential to the fungus-insect symbiosis. The results not only narrow the genomic scope of fungus-insect interactions from several thousands to eight core players but also distinguish host invasion strategies employed by insect pathogens and commensals. The genomic content suggests that insect commensal fungi rely mostly on adhesion protein anchors that target digestive system, while entomopathogenic fungi have...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 12, 2019·Nature Microbiology·Marco MariottiVadim N Gladyshev

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Datasets Mentioned

BETA
PRJNA329411
MBFR00000000

Methods Mentioned

BETA
ubiquitination

Software Mentioned

GATK
trimAl
GeneMark
SAMtools Tools
FISCoG
BLASTP
MUSCLE
BLAST
SignalP
Merops

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