Location: Cereal Disease Lab
Title: The genome of opportunistic fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum carries a unique set of lineage-specific chromosomesAuthor
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ZHANG, YONG - University Of Massachusetts |
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YANG, HE - University Of Massachusetts |
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TURRA, DAVID - Universidad De Cordoba |
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ZHOU, SHIGUO - University Of Wisconsin |
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AYHAN, DILAY - University Of Massachusetts |
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DELULIO, GREGORY - University Of Massachusetts |
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GUO, LI - University Of Massachusetts |
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Broz, Karen |
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WIEDERHOLD, NATHAN - University Of Texas |
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COLEMAN, JEFFREY - Auburn University |
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O Donnell, Kerry |
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YOUNGSTER, ILAN - Boston Children'S Hospital |
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MCADAM, ALEXANDER - Boston Children'S Hospital |
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SAVINOV, SERGEY - University Of Massachusetts |
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SHEA, TERRANCE - Broad Institute Of Mit/harvard |
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YOUNG, SARAH - Broad Institute Of Mit/harvard |
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ZENG, QIANDONG - Broad Institute Of Mit/harvard |
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REP, MARTIJN - University Of Amsterdam |
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PEARLMAN, ERIC - University Of California |
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SCHWARTZ, DAVID - University Of Wisconsin |
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DI PIETRO, ANTONIO - Universidad De Cordoba |
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Kistler, Harold |
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MA, LI-JUN - University Of Massachusetts |
Submitted to: Communications Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2020 Publication Date: 1/31/2020 Citation: Zhang, Y., Yang, H., Turra, D., Zhou, S., Ayhan, D.H., Delulio, G.A., Guo, L., Broz, K.L., Wiederhold, N., Coleman, J.J., O Donnell, K., Youngster, I., McAdam, A.J., Savinov, S., Shea, T., Young, S., Zeng, Q., Rep, M., Pearlman, E., Schwartz, D.C., Di Pietro, A., Kistler, H.C., Ma, L. 2020. The genome of opportunistic fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum carries a unique set of lineage-specific chromosomes. Communications Biology. 3:50. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-0770-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-0770-2 Interpretive Summary: Opportunistic fungi are important causes of death in immunocompromised individuals. Due to the limited availability of effective treatments against eukaryotic pathogens and persistent pathogen resistance to current antifungal agents, infections caused by opportunistic fungi pose an increasing threat to public health. Fusarium oxysporum is one of the causal agents of fusariosis, the second most common opportunistic infection caused by filamentous fungi after aspergillosis. Fusariosis infections have high mortality rates among immunocompromised patients. In addition to having multiple clinical manifestations, F.oxysporum isolates also cause devastating plant vascular wilt diseases. Our studies of plant pathogenic F. oxysporum genomes revealed that horizontally transferred supernumerary (SP) chromosomes convey host-specific pathogenicity. This study describes the genome of an F. oxysporum clinical isolate collected from the blood of an infected patient and reveals for the first time four unique SP chromosomes that are distinct from any SP chromosomes found in plant pathogens. Functional annotation confirmed that these SP chromosomes contribute to pathogen adaptation to human body conditions and may cause human diseases. Our understanding of pathogen adaptability, especially in establishing cross-kingdom virulence, may be used to develop novel antifungal therapies. Technical Abstract: Fusarium oxysporum is a cross-kingdom fungal pathogen that infects plants and humans. Horizontally transferred lineage-specific (LS) chromosomes were reported to determine hostspecific pathogenicity among phytopathogenic F. oxysporum. However, the existence and functional importance of LS chromosomes among human pathogenic isolates are unknown. Here we report four unique LS chromosomes in a human pathogenic strain NRRL 32931, isolated from a leukemia patient. These LS chromosomes were devoid of housekeeping genes, but were significantly enriched in genes encoding metal ion transporters and cation transporters. Homologs of NRRL 32931 LS genes, including a homolog of ceruloplasmin and the genes that contribute to the expansion of the alkaline pH-responsive transcription factor PacC/Rim1p, were also present in the genome of NRRL 47514, a strain associated with Fusarium keratitis outbreak. This study provides the first evidence, to our knowledge, for genomic compartmentalization in two human pathogenic fungal genomes and suggests an important role of LS chromosomes in niche adaptation. |