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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359907
Research Project: Genomic and Metabolomic Approaches for Detection and Control of Fusarium, Fumonisins and Other Mycotoxins on Corn

Location: Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research

Title: Fusarium verticillioides Italian isolates are characterized by unique regions

Author
item GROTTOLI, ALESSANDRO - University Of Rome Sapienza
item FAINO, LUIGI - University Of Rome Sapienza
item BECCACCIOLI, MARZIA - University Of Rome Sapienza
item Brown, Daren
item BLANDINO, MASSIMO - University Of Torino
item SCALA, VALERIA - Centro Di Ricerca Difesa E Certificazione (CREA – DC)
item REVERBERI, MASSIMO - University Of Rome Sapienza

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/17/2018
Publication Date: 3/17/2018
Citation: Grottoli, A., Faino, L., Beccaccioli, M., Brown, D.W., Blandino, M., Scala, V., Reverberi, M. 2018. Fusarium verticillioides Italian isolates are characterized by unique regions. Meeting Abstract. [abstract].

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC) is one of the largest Fusarium complexes. Phylogenetic and molecular analyses show a close relationship between species of the FFSC despite distinct phenotypic traits like mycotoxin production, host-specificity and supernumerary chromosomes (SCs). SCs may differ among isolates in presence/absence, length and gene-abundance and often play an important in the biology of pathogenic fungi. In this study, bioinformatic and molecular biology analysis revealed the presence of additional “extra” genomic regions (EGRs), rather than SCs, in the genome of Italian F. verticillioides strain ITEM10027 which were not present in the F. verticillioides strain 7600 reference genome assembly. To assess the distribution of these EGRs within other Italian strains, we collected over 180 F. verticillioides isolates from maize kernels gathered between 2013 to 2016 in the North Italy Po valley. The genomes of twenty-four strains, chosen after an endpoint PCR approach identified presence/absence of EGRs, were sequenced by Illumina MiSeq. Over 500 putative genes were found in the EGRs with high identity to different Fusarium species, prevalently F. fujikuroi, and other Ascomycota fungal species. The patterns of gene presence/absence found among the 24 F. verticillioides strains show a high genetic heterogeneity. Interestingly, a Zea mays kernel infection assay with the 24 strains revealed three groups of disease severity. In order to better unravel the relative genomic organization of the ~500 genes identified in the Italian isolates, two F. verticillioides strains were re-sequenced using Oxford Nanopore Technology. The analysis revealed that about 80 (20 % of the total identified genes) genes were located in an EGC of ~700 kbp. These findings open new avenues of understanding of genome biology and evolution in F. verticillioides.