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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #213148
Title: Comparative Verticillium genomics

Author
item Klosterman, Steven
item SUBBARAO, KRISHNA - UC, DAVIS
item DOBINSON, KATHERINE - AGRI-FOOD, CANADA
item VERONESE, PAOLA - NORTH CAROLINE STATE UNIV
item KANG, SEOGCHAN - PENN STATE UNIV.
item GOLD, SCOTT - UNIV. GEORGIA
item MA, LI-JUN - INST. MIT & HARVARD

Submitted to: Fungal Genetics Newsletter
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2006
Publication Date: 3/20/2007
Citation: Klosterman, S.J., Subbarao, K.V., Dobinson, K.F., Veronese, P., Kang, S., Gold, S.E., Ma, L. 2007. Comparative Verticillium genomics. Fungal Genetics Newsletter. 54(Suppl) pg. 75.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The genus Verticillium contains several phytopathogenic species, the most important being V. dahliae, V. albo-atrum, and V. longisporum. The soil-borne habitat of these species, and their capacity to infect a variety of crops, make them chronic economic problems in crop production. Verticillium wilt causes billions of dollars in annual losses worldwide. A comparative genomic approach has been initiated to study the evolutionary processes and genetic mechanisms that underpin the pathogenic development of Verticillium spp. For this purpose, we will generate a 7X genome assembly of V. dahliae and a 4X genome assembly of V. albo-atrum, two species that have distinct phenotypic variation and host ranges. Both of these assemblies, coupled with gene annotation, will provide the tools for comparative analyses to improve annotation, identify SNPs and chromosome structure changes, and create sets of conserved and species-specific genes among these two soilborne pathogens. In addition, 0.5X Fosmid sequence reads of V. longisporum will enable the assessment of whether the diploidization of V. longisporum arose as a result of inter- or intraspecific hybridization events. The synergistic power of comparative genomics will speed Verticillium research toward a greater understanding of pathogenicity. This knowledge will enable new methods for improving disease detection and management.