Plant-Symbiotic Fungi as Chemical Engineers: Multi-Genome Analysis of the Clavicipitaceae Reveals Dynamics of Alkaloid Loci
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Date
2013-02-28Author
Christopher L. Schardl
Carolyn A. Young
Uljana Hesse
Stefan G. Amyotte
Kalina Andreeva
Patrick J. Calie
Damien J. Fleetwood
David C. Haws
Neil Moore
Birgitt Oeser
Daniel G. Panaccione
Kathryn K. Schweri
Christine R. Voisey
Mark L. Farman
Jerzy W. Jaromczyk
Bruce A. Roe
Donal M. O'Sullivan
Barry Scott
Paul Tudzynski
Zhiqiang An
Elissaveta G. Arnaoudova
Charles T. Bullock
Nikki D. Charlton
Li Chen
Murray Cox
Randy D. Dinkins
Simona Florea
Anthony E. Glenn
Anna Gordon
Ulrich Güldener
Daniel R. Harris
Walter Hollin
Jolanta Jaromczyk
Richard D. Johnson
Anar K. Khan
Eckhard Leistner
Adrian Leuchtmann
Chunjie Li
JinGe Liu
Jinze Liu
Miao Liu
Wade Mace
Caroline Machado
Padmaja Nagabhyru
Juan Pan
Jan Schmid
Koya Sugawara
Ulrike Steiner
Johanna E. Takach
Eiji Tanaka
Jennifer S. Webb
Ella V. Wilson
Jennifer L. Wiseman
Ruriko Yoshida
Zheng Zeng
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Author Summary The fungal family, Clavicipitaceae, includes “ergot” fungi that parasitize ears of cereals and have historically caused mass poisonings, as well as “epichloae,” which are symbionts of grasses. Many epichloae are mutualistic symbionts, but some are pathogenic, and others have both mutualistic and pathogenic characteristics. Most Clavicipitaceae produce “alkaloids,” small molecules that deter insects, livestock, and wildlife from feeding on the fungus or plant. Epichloae protect their hosts with diverse alkaloids belonging to four chemical classes. After sequencing the entire DNA contents (“genomes”) of ten epichloae, three ergot fungi, and two relatives, we compared their “clusters” of genes for alkaloid biosynthesis. In the epichloae, these clusters contained extraordinarily large blocks of highly repetitive DNA, which promote gene losses, mutations, and even the evolution of new genes. These repeat blocks account for the exceptionally high alkaloid diversity in the epichloae and may relate to the ecological diversity of these symbiotic fungi.
Citation
Schardl CL, Young CA, Hesse U, Amyotte SG, Andreeva K, Calie PJ, et al. (2013) Plant-Symbiotic Fungi as Chemical Engineers: Multi-Genome Analysis of the Clavicipitaceae Reveals Dynamics of Alkaloid Loci. PLoS Genet 9(2): e1003323. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1003323