Complex Evolutionary Origins of Specialized Metabolite Gene Cluster Diversity among the Plant Pathogenic Fungi of the Fusarium graminearum Species Complex.

ABSTRACT: Fungal genomes encode highly organized gene clusters that underlie the production of specialized (or secondary) metabolites. Gene clusters encode key functions to exploit plant hosts or environmental niches. Promiscuous exchange among species and frequent reconfigurations make gene clusters some of the most dynamic elements of fungal genomes. Despite evidence for high diversity in gene cluster content among closely related strains, the microevolutionary processes driving gene cluster gain, loss, and neofunctionalization are largely unknown. We analyzed the Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC) composed of plant pathogens producing potent mycotoxins and causing Fusarium head blight on cereals. We de novo assembled genomes of previously uncharacterized FGSC members (two strains of F. a

SUBMITTER: Tralamazza SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6836718 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature