Comparative Genomics Analyses of Lifestyle Transitions at the Origin of an Invasive Fungal Pathogen in the Genus Cryphonectria.

ABSTRACT: Emerging fungal pathogens are a threat to forest and agroecosystems, as well as animal and human health. How pathogens evolve from nonpathogenic ancestors is still poorly understood, making the prediction of future outbreaks challenging. Most pathogens have evolved lifestyle adaptations, which were enabled by specific changes in the gene content of the species. Hence, understanding transitions in the functions encoded by genomes gives valuable insight into the evolution of pathogenicity. Here, we studied lifestyle evolution in the genus Cryphonectria, including the prominent invasive pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica, the causal agent of chestnut blight on Castanea species. We assembled and compared the genomes of pathogenic and putatively nonpathogenic Cryphonectri

SUBMITTER: Stauber L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7565894 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature