Dataset Information

The ash dieback invasion of Europe was founded by two genetically divergent individuals.

ABSTRACT: Accelerating international trade and climate change make pathogen spread an increasing concern. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, the causal agent of ash dieback, is a fungal pathogen that has been moving across continents and hosts from Asian to European ash. Most European common ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior) are highly susceptible to H.?fraxineus, although a minority (~5%) have partial resistance to dieback. Here, we assemble and annotate a H.?fraxineus draft genome, which approaches chromosome scale. Pathogen genetic diversity across Europe and in Japan, reveals a strong bottleneck in Europe, though a signal of adaptive diversity remains in key host interaction genes. We find that the European population was founded by two divergent haploid individuals. Divergence between these haplotypes represents the ancestral polymorphism within a large source population. Subsequent introduction from this source would greatly increase adaptive potential of the pathogen. Thus, further introgression of H.?fraxineus into Europe represents a potential threat and Europe-wide biological security measures are needed to manage this disease.

SUBMITTER: McMullan M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5969572 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The ash dieback invasion of Europe was founded by two genetically divergent individuals.

McMullan Mark M Rafiqi Maryam M Kaithakottil Gemy G Clavijo Bernardo J BJ Bilham Lorelei L Orton Elizabeth E Percival-Alwyn Lawrence L Ward Ben J BJ Edwards Anne A Saunders Diane G O DGO Garcia Accinelli Gonzalo G Wright Jonathan J Verweij Walter W Koutsovoulos Georgios G Yoshida Kentaro K Hosoya Tsuyoshi T Williamson Louisa L Jennings Philip P Ioos Renaud R Husson Claude C Hietala Ari M AM Vivian-Smith Adam A Solheim Halvor H MaClean Dan D Fosker Christine C Hall Neil N Brown James K M JKM Swarbreck David D Blaxter Mark M Downie J Allan JA Clark Matthew D MD

Nature ecology & evolution 20180423 6

Accelerating international trade and climate change make pathogen spread an increasing concern. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, the causal agent of ash dieback, is a fungal pathogen that has been moving across continents and hosts from Asian to European ash. Most European common ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior) are highly susceptible to H. fraxineus, although a minority (~5%) have partial resistance to dieback. Here, we assemble and annotate a H. fraxineus draft genome, which approaches chromosome scale. ...[more]

PMID: 29686237

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Project description:The European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is threatened by the introduced ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, the causal agent of ash dieback. Endophytic fungi are known to modulate their host's resistance against pathogens. To understand possible consequences of ash dieback on the endophytic mycobiome, F. excelsior leaves were collected in naturally regenerated forests and the fungal communities analyzed by classic culture and Illumina amplicon sequencing using a newly developed and validated fungal-specific primer. Collections were done in the area infested by ash dieback north of the Alps, and in the disease free area on the south side. Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) was additionally collected, as well as the flowering ash (F. ornus), which occurs naturally in the south and shows tolerance to ash dieback. Both cultivation and amplicon sequencing revealed characteristic endophytic fungal communities dominated by several strictly host specific Venturia species. On A. pseudoplatanus, a hitherto undescribed Venturia species was identified. Due to its dominance on F. excelsior, V. fraxini is unlikely to go extinct in case of reduced host densities. A majority of species was not strictly host specific and is therefore likely less affected by ash dieback in the future. Still, shifts in community structure and loss of genetic diversity cannot be excluded. The potentially endangered endophyte Hymenoscyphus albidus was rarely found. In addition to host specificity, species with preferences for leaf laminae or petioles were found. We also detected considerable geographical variation between sampling sites and clear differences between the two sides of the Alps for endophytes of F. excelsior, but not A. pseudoplatanus. Since sycamore maple is not affected by an epidemic, this could point toward an influence of ash dieback on ash communities, although firm conclusions are not possible because of host preferences and climatic differences. Furthermore, the mycobiota of F. excelsior trees with or without dieback symptoms were compared, but no clear differences were detected. Besides methodical refinement, our study provides comprehensive data on the ash mycobiome that we expect to be subject to changes caused by an emerging disease of the host tree.

Dataset Information

The ash dieback invasion of Europe was founded by two genetically divergent individuals.

Publications

The ash dieback invasion of Europe was founded by two genetically divergent individuals.

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