A unique chromatin profile defines adaptive genomic regions in a fungal plant pathogen.

ABSTRACT: Genomes store information at scales beyond the linear nucleotide sequence, which impacts genome function at the level of an individual, while influences on populations and long-term genome function remains unclear. Here, we addressed how physical and chemical DNA characteristics influence genome evolution in the plant pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae. We identified incomplete DNA methylation of repetitive elements, associated with specific genomic compartments originally defined as Lineage-Specific (LS) regions that contain genes involved in host adaptation. Further chromatin characterization revealed associations with features such as H3 Lys-27 methylated histones (H3K27me3) and accessible DNA. Machine learning trained on chromatin data identified twice as much LS DNA as prev

SUBMITTER: Cook DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7781603 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature