Evolution of RXLR-class effectors in the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum.

ABSTRACT: Phytophthora plant pathogens contain many hundreds of effectors potentially involved in infection of host plants. Comparative genomic analyses have shown that these effectors evolve rapidly and have been subject to recent expansions. We examined the recent sequence evolution of RXLR-class effector gene families in the sudden oak death pathogen, P. ramorum. We found that P. ramorum RXLR effectors have taken multiple evolutionary paths, including loss or gain of repeated domains, recombination or gene conversion among paralogs, and selection on point mutations. Sequencing of homologs from two subfamilies in P. ramorum's closest known relatives revealed repeated gene duplication and divergence since speciation with P. lateralis. One family showed strong signatures of recombination while the o

SUBMITTER: Goss EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3820680 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature