Dataset Information

Horizontal gene transfer and gene dosage drives adaptation to wood colonization in a tree pathogen.

ABSTRACT: Some of the most damaging tree pathogens can attack woody stems, causing lesions (cankers) that may be lethal. To identify the genomic determinants of wood colonization leading to canker formation, we sequenced the genomes of the poplar canker pathogen, Mycosphaerella populorum, and the closely related poplar leaf pathogen, M. populicola. A secondary metabolite cluster unique to M. populorum is fully activated following induction by poplar wood and leaves. In addition, genes encoding hemicellulose-degrading enzymes, peptidases, and metabolite transporters were more abundant and were up-regulated in M. populorum growing on poplar wood-chip medium compared with M. populicola. The secondary gene cluster and several of the carbohydrate degradation genes have the signature of horizontal transfer from ascomycete fungi associated with wood decay and from prokaryotes. Acquisition and maintenance of the gene battery necessary for growth in woody tissues and gene dosage resulting in gene expression reconfiguration appear to be responsible for the adaptation of M. populorum to infect, colonize, and cause mortality on poplar woody stems.

SUBMITTER: Dhillon B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4371944 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Horizontal gene transfer and gene dosage drives adaptation to wood colonization in a tree pathogen.

Dhillon Braham B Feau Nicolas N Aerts Andrea L AL Beauseigle Stéphanie S Bernier Louis L Copeland Alex A Foster Adam A Gill Navdeep N Henrissat Bernard B Herath Padmini P LaButti Kurt M KM Levasseur Anthony A Lindquist Erika A EA Majoor Eline E Ohm Robin A RA Pangilinan Jasmyn L JL Pribowo Amadeus A Saddler John N JN Sakalidis Monique L ML de Vries Ronald P RP Grigoriev Igor V IV Goodwin Stephen B SB Tanguay Philippe P Hamelin Richard C RC

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20150302 11

Some of the most damaging tree pathogens can attack woody stems, causing lesions (cankers) that may be lethal. To identify the genomic determinants of wood colonization leading to canker formation, we sequenced the genomes of the poplar canker pathogen, Mycosphaerella populorum, and the closely related poplar leaf pathogen, M. populicola. A secondary metabolite cluster unique to M. populorum is fully activated following induction by poplar wood and leaves. In addition, genes encoding hemicellulo ...[more]

PMID: 25733908

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Project description:BackgroundInvasive bacteria are known to have captured and adapted eukaryotic host genes. They also readily acquire colonizing genes from other bacteria by horizontal gene transfer. Closely related species such as Helicobacter pylori and Helicobacter hepaticus, which exploit different host tissues, share almost none of their colonization genes. The protease inhibitor alpha2-macroglobulin provides a major metazoan defense against invasive bacteria, trapping attacking proteases required by parasites for successful invasion.ResultsDatabase searches with metazoan alpha2-macroglobulin sequences revealed homologous sequences in bacterial proteomes. The bacterial alpha2-macroglobulin phylogenetic distribution is patchy and violates the vertical descent model. Bacterial alpha2-macroglobulin genes are found in diverse clades, including purple bacteria (proteobacteria), fusobacteria, spirochetes, bacteroidetes, deinococcids, cyanobacteria, planctomycetes and thermotogae. Most bacterial species with bacterial alpha2-macroglobulin genes exploit higher eukaryotes (multicellular plants and animals) as hosts. Both pathogenically invasive and saprophytically colonizing species possess bacterial alpha2-macroglobulins, indicating that bacterial alpha2-macroglobulin is a colonization rather than a virulence factor.ConclusionsMetazoan alpha2-macroglobulins inhibit proteases of pathogens. The bacterial homologs may function in reverse to block host antimicrobial defenses. Alpha2-macroglobulin was probably acquired one or more times from metazoan hosts and has then spread widely through other colonizing bacterial species by more than 10 independent horizontal gene transfers. yfhM-like bacterial alpha2-macroglobulin genes are often found tightly linked with pbpC, encoding an atypical peptidoglycan transglycosylase, PBP1C, that does not function in vegetative peptidoglycan synthesis. We suggest that YfhM and PBP1C are coupled together as a periplasmic defense and repair system. Bacterial alpha2-macroglobulins might provide useful targets for enhancing vaccine efficacy in combating infections.

Dataset Information

Horizontal gene transfer and gene dosage drives adaptation to wood colonization in a tree pathogen.

Publications

Horizontal gene transfer and gene dosage drives adaptation to wood colonization in a tree pathogen.

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