Abstract Detail

Botany 2021 and ASPB Special Symposium

Mondron, Kyle [4], Stairs, Brandon [4], Schadt, Christopher [1], Busby, Posy [4], Stajich, Jason [2], Bonito, Gregory [3], Spatafora, Joey [4], Pawlowksa, Teresa [4], Uehling, Jessie [4].

Bacterial endosymbionts of Mucoromycota fungi; lessons from evolutionary, functional, and computational genomics.

We have implemented a systems biology genomic approaches to understand mechanisms of fungal endosymbiont interactions and the resulting evolutionary patterns. Intrahyphal endosymbiotic bacteria related to the Burkholderiales and  Mollicutes  are frequently associated with Mucoromycota fungi. Fungal endosymbionts share genomic hallmarks of adaptation to living in the eukaryotic intracellular environment such as genome contraction reflective of host dependence. While comparative genomics of fungal physiology with and without endobacteria have enabled insights into host-endosymbiont interaction mechanisms, these studies have been undertaken in just a few model systems. Endosymbiont ubiquity and diversity are largely unknown, and the effects of fungal endosymbiont interactions on fungal population diversity remain undocumented. To fill these knowledge gaps, we are characterizing Mucoromycota isolates and their endosymbiotic bacteria from soils on varying geographical scales using genome sequencing and comparative genomics. Further, we are re-analyzing hundreds of raw fungal genomic data sets using novel computational pipelines to clarify how frequent and diverse fungal endosymbiont symbioses are. We have found that ~30% of of Mucoromycota fungi screened harbor endosymbionts and that these bacteria share common features including shared evolutionary history and functional capacity. This talk will detail the molecular functioning, abundance, and diversity of Mucoromycota endosymbionts and provide insights into how these poly-microbial symbioses influence each other's evolutionary trajectories.  

1 - Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Biosciences Division, 1 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830
2 - University of California - Riverside, Dept. Microbiology and Plant Pathology, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA
3 - Michigan State University, Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, 1066 Bogue St, Rm A286, East Lansing, MI, 48824
4 - Oregon State University, Botany and Plant Pathology, 4575 SW Research Way, Corvallis, OR, 97333, USA

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Special Sessions
Session: SY4, Botany 2021 and ASPB Special Symposium
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Wednesday, July 21st, 2021
Time: 1:30 PM(EDT)
Number: SY4006
Abstract ID:1282
Candidate for Awards:None