Genome Expansion and Gene Loss in Powdery Mildew Fungi Reveal Tradeoffs in Extreme Parasitism

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 330; no. 6010; pp. 1543 - 1546
• Main Authors: Spanu, Pietro D, Abbott, James C, Amselem, Joelle, Burgis, Timothy A, Soanes, Darren M, Stüber, Kurt, Loren van Themaat, Emiel Ver, Brown, James K.M, Butcher, Sarah A, Gurr, Sarah J, Lebrun, Marc-Henri, Ridout, Christopher J, Schulze-Lefert, Paul, Talbot, Nicholas J, Ahmadinejad, Nahal, Ametz, Christian, Barton, Geraint R, Benjdia, Mariam, Bidzinski, Przemyslaw, Bindschedler, Laurence V, Both, Maike, Brewer, Marin T, Cadle-Davidson, Lance, Cadle-Davidson, Molly M, Collemare, Jerome, Cramer, Rainer, Frenkel, Omer, Godfrey, Dale, Harriman, James, Hoede, Claire, King, Brian C, Klages, Sven, Kleemann, Jochen, Knoll, Daniela, Koti, Prasanna S, Kreplak, Jonathan, López-Ruiz, Francisco J, Lu, Xunli, Maekawa, Takaki, Mahanil, Siraprapa, Micali, Cristina, Milgroom, Michael G, Montana, Giovanni, Noir, Sandra, O'Connell, Richard J, Oberhaensli, Simone, Parlange, Francis, Pedersen, Carsten, Quesneville, Hadi, Reinhardt, Richard, Rott, Matthias, Sacristán, Soledad, Schmidt, Sarah M, Schön, Moritz, Skamnioti, Pari, Sommer, Hans, Stephens, Amber, Takahara, Hiroyuki, Thordal-Christensen, Hans, Vigouroux, Marielle, Wessling, Ralf, Wicker, Thomas, Panstruga, Ralph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 10.12.2010; The American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Ascomycota; Ascomycota - genetics; Ascomycota - growth & development; Ascomycota - metabolism; Ascomycota - pathogenicity; Biological and medical sciences; Blumeria graminis; Carbohydrate Metabolism; Carrier Proteins - genetics; Carrier Proteins - metabolism; Cellular Biology; Enzymes; Enzymes - genetics; Enzymes - metabolism; Evolution, Molecular; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungal plant pathogens; Fungal Proteins - chemistry; Fungal Proteins - genetics; Fungal Proteins - metabolism; Fungi; Gene Deletion; Genes; Genes, Fungal; Genome, Fungal; Genomes; Hordeum - microbiology; Hordeum vulgare; Host-Pathogen Interactions - genetics; Life Sciences; Metabolic Networks and Pathways - genetics; Mildews; Molecular Sequence Annotation; Parasite hosts; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Plant cells; Plant Diseases - microbiology; plant-pathogens; Plants; proteins; Retroelements; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Species Specificity; Virulence; Ascomycota; Monocotyledones; Genome organization; Hordeum vulgare; Mycosis; Plant pathogen; Growth; Cereal crop; Fungi; Infection; Molecular parameter; Reproduction; Gene; Gramineae; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Erysiphe graminis f. hordei; Parasitism; Cell; PLANT-PATHOGENS; VIRULENCE; PROTEINS
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1194573

Powdery mildews are phytopathogens whose growth and reproduction are entirely dependent on living plant cells. The molecular basis of this life-style, obligate biotrophy, remains unknown. We present the genome analysis of barley powdery mildew, Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (Blumeria), as well as a comparison with the analysis of two powdery mildews pathogenic on dicotyledonous plants. These genomes display massive retrotransposon proliferation, genome-size expansion, and gene losses. The missing genes encode enzymes of primary and secondary metabolism, carbohydrate-active enzymes, and transporters, probably reflecting their redundancy in an exclusively biotrophic life-style. Among the 248 candidate effectors of pathogenesis identified in the Blumeria genome, very few (less than 10) define a core set conserved in all three mildews, suggesting that most effectors represent species-specific adaptations.