Genomes of Ashbya fungi isolated from insects reveal four mating-type loci, numerous translocations, lack of transposons, and distinct gene duplications.

ABSTRACT: The filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii is a cotton pathogen transmitted by insects. It is readily grown and manipulated in the laboratory and is commercially exploited as a natural overproducer of vitamin B2. Our previous genome analysis of A. gossypii isolate ATCC10895, collected in Trinidad nearly 100 years ago, revealed extensive synteny with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, leading us to use it as a model organism to understand the evolution of filamentous growth. To further develop Ashbya as a model system, we have investigated the ecological niche of A. gossypii and isolated additional strains and a sibling species, both useful in comparative analysis. We isolated fungi morphologically similar to A. gossypii from different plant-feeding insects of the suborder Heteroptera, genera

SUBMITTER: Dietrich FS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3737163 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature