Rapid sequence evolution driven by transposable elements at a virulence locus in a fungal wheat pathogen.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plant pathogens cause substantial crop losses in agriculture production and threaten food security. Plants evolved the ability to recognize virulence factors and pathogens have repeatedly escaped recognition due rapid evolutionary change at pathogen virulence loci (i.e. effector genes). The presence of transposable elements (TEs) in close physical proximity of effector genes can have important consequences for gene regulation and sequence evolution. Species-wide investigations of effector gene loci remain rare hindering our ability to predict pathogen evolvability.

Results

Here, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on a highly polymorphic mapping population of 120 isolates of Zymoseptoria tritici, the most damaging pathogen of wheat in Europe. We id

SUBMITTER: Singh NK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8157644 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature