Project description:It has been well established that some Armillaria species are symbionts of Polyporus umbellatus, However, little is known about the evolutionary history of P. umbellatus-Armillaria associations. In this research, we used an analysis based on the strength of the phylogenetic signal to investigate P. umbellatus-Armillaria associations in 57 sclerotial samples across 11 provinces of China. We isolated Armillaria strains from the invasion cavity inside the sclerotia of P. umbellatus and then phylogenetically analyzed these Armillaria isolates. We also tested the effect of P. umbellatus and Armillaria phylogenies on the P. umbellatus-Armillaria associations. We isolated forty-seven Armillaria strains from 26?P. umbellatus sclerotial samples. All Armillaria isolates were classified into the 5 phylogenetic lineages found in China except for one singleton. Among the 5 phylogenetic lineages, one lineage (lineage 8) was recognized by delimitation of an uncertain phylogenetic lineage in previous study. Results of simple Mantel test implied that phylogenetically related P. umbellatus populations tend to interact with phylogenetically related Armillaria species. Phylogenetic network analyses revealed that the interaction between P. umbellatus and Armillaria is significantly influenced by the phylogenetic relationships between the Armillaria species.
Project description:Polyporus umbellatus, a species symbiotic with Armillaria mellea and it also exhibits substantial defence response to Armillaria mellea infection. There are no genomics resources databases for understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the infection stress of P. umbellatus. Therefore, we performed a large-scale transcriptome sequencing of this fungus with A. mellea infection using Illumina sequencing technology. The assembly of the clean reads resulted in 120,576 transcripts, including 38,444 unigenes. Additionally, we performed a gene expression profiling analysis upon infection treatment. The results indicated significant differences in the gene expression profiles between the control and the infection group. In total, 10933 genes were identified between the two groups. Based on the differentially expressed genes, a Gene Ontology annotation analysis showed many defence-relevant categories. Meanwhile, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis uncovered some important pathways. Furthermore, the expression patterns of 13 putative genes that are involved in defence response resulting from quantitative real-time PCR were consistent with their transcript abundance changes as identified by RNA-seq. The sequenced genes covered a considerable proportion of the P. umbellatus transcriptome, and the expression results may be useful to strengthen the knowledge on the defence response of this fungus defend against Armillaria mellea invasion.
Project description:This review considers current knowledge surrounding species boundaries of the Armillaria root-rot pathogens and their distribution. In addition, a phylogenetic tree using translation elongation factor subunit 1-alpha (tef-1?) from isolates across the globe are used to present a global phylogenetic framework for the genus. Defining species boundaries based on DNA sequence-inferred phylogenies has been a central focus of contemporary mycology. The results of such studies have in many cases resolved the biogeographic history of species, mechanisms involved in dispersal, the taxonomy of species and how certain phenotypic characteristics have evolved throughout lineage diversification. Such advances have also occurred in the case of Armillaria spp. that include important causal agents of tree root rots. This commenced with the first phylogeny for Armillaria that was based on IGS-1 (intergenic spacer region one) DNA sequence data, published in 1992. Since then phylogenies were produced using alternative loci, either as single gene phylogenies or based on concatenated data. Collectively these phylogenies revealed species clusters in Armillaria linked to their geographic distributions and importantly species complexes that warrant further research.
Project description:Species of the genus Wynnea are collected in association with a subterranean mass generally referred to as a sclerotium. This is one of the few genera of the Sarcoscyphaceae not associated with plant material - wood or leaves. The sclerotium is composed of hyphae of both Armillaria species and Wynnea species. To verify the existence of Armillaria species in the sclerotia of those Wynnea species not previously examined and to fully understand the structure and nature of the sclerotium, molecular data and morphological characters were analyzed. Using nuclear ITS rDNA sequences the Armillaria species co-occurring with Wynnea species were identified from all examined material. These Armillaria symbionts fall into two main Armillaria groups - the A. gallica-nabsnona-calvescens group and the A. mellea group. Divergent time estimates of the Armillaria and Wynnea lineages support a co-evolutionary relationship between these two fungi.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Armillaria is a globally distributed mushroom-forming genus composed primarily of plant pathogens. Species in this genus are prolific producers of rhizomorphs, or vegetative structures, which, when found, are often associated with infection. Because of their importance as plant pathogens, understanding the evolutionary origins of this genus and how it gained a worldwide distribution is of interest. The first gasteroid fungus with close affinities to Armillaria-Guyanagaster necrorhizus-was described from the Neotropical rainforests of Guyana. In this study, we conducted phylogenetic analyses to fully resolve the relationship of G. necrorhizus with Armillaria. Data sets containing Guyanagaster from two collecting localities, along with a global sampling of 21 Armillaria species-including newly collected specimens from Guyana and Africa-at six loci (28S, EF1?, RPB2, TUB, actin-1 and gpd) were used. Three loci-28S, EF1? and RPB2-were analyzed in a partitioned nucleotide data set to infer divergence dates and ancestral range estimations for well-supported, monophyletic lineages. RESULTS:The six-locus phylogenetic analysis resolves Guyanagaster as the earliest diverging lineage in the armillarioid clade. The next lineage to diverge is that composed of species in Armillaria subgenus Desarmillaria. This subgenus is elevated to genus level to accommodate the exannulate mushroom-forming armillarioid species. The final lineage to diverge is that composed of annulate mushroom-forming armillarioid species, in what is now Armillaria sensu stricto. The molecular clock analysis and ancestral range estimation suggest the most recent common ancestor to the armillarioid lineage arose 51 million years ago in Eurasia. A new species, Guyanagaster lucianii sp. nov. from Guyana, is described. CONCLUSIONS:The armillarioid lineage evolved in Eurasia during the height of tropical rainforest expansion about 51 million years ago, a time marked by a warm and wet global climate. Species of Guyanagaster and Desarmillaria represent extant taxa of these early diverging lineages. Desarmillaria represents an armillarioid lineage that was likely much more widespread in the past. Guyanagaster likely evolved from a gilled mushroom ancestor and could represent a highly specialized endemic in the Guiana Shield. Armillaria species represent those that evolved after the shift in climate from warm and tropical to cool and arid during the late Eocene. No species in either Desarmillaria or Guyanagaster are known to produce melanized rhizomorphs in nature, whereas almost all Armillaria species are known to produce them. The production of rhizomorphs is an adaptation to harsh environments, and could be a driver of diversification in Armillaria by conferring a competitive advantage to the species that produce them.
Project description:Armillaria species are devastating forest pathogens that are among the largest terrestrial organisms on Earth. They explore hosts and achieve immense colony sizes by rhizomorphs, root-like multicellular structures of clonal dispersal. To resolve the genetic bases of their unique biology, we sequenced and analyzed genomes of 4 Armillaria species and performed RNA-Seq on 7 invasive and reproductive developmental stages. Comparison with 22 basidiomycete fungi revealed a significant genome expansion in Armillaria, affecting several pathogenicity-related genes, lignocellulose degrading enzymes and lineage-specific genes involved in rhizomorph development. Rhizomorphs express an evolutionarily young transcriptome and share their morphogenetic machinery with fruiting bodies, providing genetic and regulatory insights into complex multicellularity in fungi. Our results suggest that the evolution of the unique dispersal and pathogenicity mechanisms of Armillaria has drawn upon ancestral genetic toolkits for wood-decay, morphogenesis and complex multicellularity. Overall design: 30 samples corresponding to 10 developmental stages were analyzed. Each developmental stage contains 3 biological replicates.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Species in the genus Armillaria (fungi, basidiomycota) are well-known as saprophytes and pathogens on plants. Many of them cause white-rot root disease in diverse woody plants worldwide. Mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are widely used in evolutionary and population studies, but despite the importance and wide distribution of Armillaria, the complete mitogenomes have not previously been reported for this genus. Meanwhile, the well-supported phylogeny of Armillaria species provides an excellent framework in which to study variation in mitogenomes and how they have evolved over time. RESULTS:Here we completely sequenced, assembled, and annotated the circular mitogenomes of four species: A. borealis, A. gallica, A. sinapina, and A. solidipes (116,443, 98,896, 103,563, and 122,167?bp, respectively). The variation in mitogenome size can be explained by variable numbers of mobile genetic elements, introns, and plasmid-related sequences. Most Armillaria introns contained open reading frames (ORFs) that are related to homing endonucleases of the LAGLIDADG and GIY-YIG families. Insertions of mobile elements were also evident as fragments of plasmid-related sequences in Armillaria mitogenomes. We also found several truncated gene duplications in all four mitogenomes. CONCLUSIONS:Our study showed that fungal mitogenomes have a high degree of variation in size, gene content, and genomic organization even among closely related species of Armillara. We suggest that mobile genetic elements invading introns and intergenic sequences in the Armillaria mitogenomes have played a significant role in shaping their genome structure. The mitogenome changes we describe here are consistent with widely accepted phylogenetic relationships among the four species.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Massive forest decline has been observed almost everywhere as a result of negative anthropogenic and climatic effects, which can interact with pests, fungi and other phytopathogens and aggravate their effects. Climatic changes can weaken trees and make fungi, such as Armillaria more destructive. Armillaria borealis (Marxm. & Korhonen) is a fungus from the Physalacriaceae family (Basidiomycota) widely distributed in Eurasia, including Siberia and the Far East. Species from this genus cause the root white rot disease that weakens and often kills woody plants. However, little is known about ecological behavior and genetics of A. borealis. According to field research data, A. borealis is less pathogenic than A. ostoyae, and its aggressive behavior is quite rare. Mainly A. borealis behaves as a secondary pathogen killing trees already weakened by other factors. However, changing environment might cause unpredictable effects in fungus behavior. RESULTS:The de novo genome assembly and annotation were performed for the A. borealis species for the first time and presented in this study. The A. borealis genome assembly contained ~?68 Mbp and was comparable with ~?60 and ~?79.5 Mbp for the A. ostoyae and A. mellea genomes, respectively. The N50 for contigs equaled 50,544?bp. Functional annotation analysis revealed 21,969 protein coding genes and provided data for further comparative analysis. Repetitive sequences were also identified. The main focus for further study and comparative analysis will be on the enzymes and regulatory factors associated with pathogenicity. CONCLUSIONS:Pathogenic fungi such as Armillaria are currently one of the main problems in forest conservation. A comprehensive study of these species and their pathogenicity is of great importance and needs good genomic resources. The assembled genome of A. borealis presented in this study is of sufficiently good quality for further detailed comparative study on the composition of enzymes in other Armillaria species. There is also a fundamental problem with the identification and classification of species of the Armillaria genus, where the study of repetitive sequences in the genomes of basidiomycetes and their comparative analysis will help us identify more accurately taxonomy of these species and reveal their evolutionary relationships.
Project description:Armillaria root disease is one of the most damaging timber and fruit tree diseases in the world. Despite its economic importance, many basic questions about the biology of the causal fungi, Armillaria spp., are unanswered. For example, Armillaria undergoes matings between diploid and haploid mycelia, which can result in a recombinant diploid without meiosis. Evidence of such somatic recombination in natural populations suggests that this reproductive mode may affect the pathogen's ecology. Investigations of the mechanisms and adaptive consequences of somatic recombination are, however, hampered by the lack of a method to reliably synthesize somatic recombinants. Here we report the first genetic transformation system for the genus Armillaria. We transformed A. mellea with selective markers for use in diploid-haploid matings to reliably synthesize somatic recombinants. This was accomplished with Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying pBGgHg, which carries the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene (hph). hph was integrated into transformants, as evidenced by serial transfer to selective media, PCR, reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), and Southern hybridization. Nuclear and mitochondrial markers were developed to genotype synthesized mycelia. In matings between a wild-type diploid and hygromycin-resistant haploids (transgenic), we identified recombinant, hygromycin-resistant diploids and, additionally, hygromycin-resistant triploids, all with the mitochondrial haplotype of the haploid partner. Our approach created no mycelium in which the haploid nucleus was replaced by the diploid nucleus, the typical outcome of diploid-haploid matings in Armillaria. This genetic transformation system, in combination with new markers to track chromosomal and cytoplasmic inheritance in A. mellea, will advance research aimed at characterizing the significance of somatic recombination in the ecology of this important fungus.
Project description:Armillaria sinapina, a fungal pathogen of primary timber species of North American forests, causes white root rot disease that ultimately kills the trees. A more detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying this illness will support future developments on disease resistance and management, as well as in the decomposition of cellulosic material for further use. In this study, RNA-Seq technology was used to compare the transcriptome profiles of A. sinapina fungal culture grown in yeast malt broth medium supplemented or not with betulin, a natural compound of the terpenoid group found in abundance in white birch bark. This was done to identify enzyme transcripts involved in the metabolism (redox reaction) of betulin into betulinic acid, a potent anticancer drug. De novo assembly and characterization of A. sinapina transcriptome was performed using Illumina technology. A total of 170,592,464 reads were generated, then 273,561 transcripts were characterized. Approximately, 53% of transcripts could be identified using public databases with several metabolic pathways represented. A total of 11 transcripts involved in terpenoid biosynthesis were identified. In addition, 25 gene transcripts that could play a significant role in lignin degradation were uncovered, as well as several redox enzymes of the cytochromes P450 family. To our knowledge, this research is the first transcriptomic study carried out on A. sinapina.