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bioRxiv · 10.1101/485037

The genome of the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae reveals extensive bacterial to fungal gene transfer

Shi, X.·van Koosten, M.·Depotter, J.·Thomma, B.·Seidl, M.
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Abstract

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) involves the transmission of genetic material between distinct evolutionary lineages and can be an important source of biological innovation. Reports of inter-kingdom HGT to eukaryotic microbial pathogens have accumulated over recent years. Verticillium dahliae is a notorious plant pathogen that causes vascular wilt disease on hundreds of plant species, resulting in high economic losses every year. Previously, the effector gene Ave1 and a glucosyltransferase-encoding gene were identified as virulence factor-encoding genes that were proposed to be horizontally acquired from a plant and a bacterial donor, respectively. However, to what extent HGT contributed to the overall genome composition of V. dahliae remained elusive. Here, we systematically searched for evidence of inter-kingdom HGT events in the genome of V. dahliae and provide evidence for extensive horizontal gene acquisition from bacterial origin.

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Shi, X., van Koosten, M., Depotter, J., Thomma, B., Seidl, M.. 2018-12-03. The genome of the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae reveals extensive bacterial to fungal gene transfer. https://doi.org/10.1101/485037

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