Patterns of variation at Ustilago maydis virulence clusters 2A and 19A largely reflect the demographic history of its populations.

ABSTRACT: The maintenance of an intimate interaction between plant-biotrophic fungi and their hosts over evolutionary times involves strong selection and adaptative evolution of virulence-related genes. The highly specialised maize pathogen Ustilago maydis is assigned with a high evolutionary capability to overcome host resistances due to its high rates of sexual recombination, large population sizes and long distance dispersal. Unlike most studied fungus-plant interactions, the U. maydis - Zea mays pathosystem lacks a typical gene-for-gene interaction. It exerts a large set of secreted fungal virulence factors that are mostly organised in gene clusters. Their contribution to virulence has been experimentally demonstrated but their genetic diversity within U. maydis remains poorly understood. Here,

SUBMITTER: Kellner R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4041787 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature