Abstract Detail

Mycology

Rogers, Layne [1], Cubeta, Marc A. [1], LeBlanc, Nicholas [2].

Characterization of rapidly evolving gene family diversity among apathogenic and pathogenic species of Calonectria.

The fungal plant pathogens Calonectria henricotiae and C. pseudonaviculata are sister-species in the family Nectriaceae that cause boxwood blight disease on plants in the family Buxaceae. Due to the recent description of these pathogen species, little is known about their infection biology. The analysis of gene family evolution within pathogenic species and apathogenic relatives can identify genes that have a potential role in host infection. Predicted proteomes from 22 taxa in the Nectriaceae, including the two boxwood blight pathogens, and two species in the Stachybotryaceae were used to construct a time-calibrated phylogeny and identify rapidly evolving gene families using the Computational Analysis of gene Family Evolution program. Protein sequences from rapidly evolving gene families were annotated using the Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) database. Across the phylogeny, 422 gene families were rapidly evolving (p ≤ 0.01) where 191 of them were rapidly evolving within Calonectria species. Total rapidly evolving gene families among the six Calonectria species ranged from 20 in C. pseudoreteaudii to 74 in C. naviculata. Each species had more rapidly expanding than rapidly contracting gene families except for the boxwood blight pathogens, which had more rapidly contracting gene families. Of the 191 rapidly evolving gene families among Calonectria species, 34 were shared between either C. henricotiae or C. pseudonaviculata and one or more of the other four Calonectria species. Between C. henricotiae and C. pseudonaviculata, only three rapidly evolving gene families were shared. The most frequently observed COG categories for rapidly evolving gene families in the examined Calonectria species included unknown function (45 gene families); secondary metabolism, transport and catabolism (19 gene families); and carbohydrate transport and metabolism (11 gene families) with little variation between Calonectria species in the diversity of COG-categorized gene families within each species. By outlining differences in gene family evolution between the boxwood blight pathogens and other Calonectria species, future studies can use these data as a framework for guiding experimental validation of protein products putatively involved in pathogen-host interactions.

1 - North Carolina State University, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Center for Integrated Fungal Research, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
2 - United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultrual Research Servic, Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit, Salinas, CA, 93905, USA

Keywords:
calonectriaGFE
Mycology.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: MYP3, Mycology Posters III
Location: /
Date: Wednesday, July 21st, 2021
Time: 5:00 PM(EDT)
Number: MYP3004
Abstract ID:399
Candidate for Awards:MSA Best Poster Presentation Award by a Graduate Student