A comparative genome analysis of Cercospora sojina with other members of the pathogen genus Mycosphaerella on different plant hosts

Abstract

Fungi are the causal agents of many of the world's most serious plant diseases causing disastrous consequences for large-scale agricultural production. Pathogenicity genomic basis is complex in fungi as multicellular eukaryotic pathogens. Here, we report the genome sequence of <i>C. sojina</i>, and comparative genome analysis with plant pathogen members of the genus <i>Mycosphaerella</i> (<i>Zymoseptoria. tritici</i> (synonyms <i>M. graminicola</i>), <i>M. pini</i>, <i>M. populorum</i> and <i>M. fijiensis</i> - pathogens of wheat, pine, poplar and banana, respectively). Synteny or collinearity was limited between genomes of major <i>Mycosphaerella</i> pathogens. Comparative analysis with these related pathogen genomes indicated distinct genome-wide repeat organization features. It suggests repetitive elements might be responsible for considerable evolutionary genomic changes. These results reveal the background of genomic differences and similarities between <i>Dothideomycete</i> species. Wide diversity as well as conservation on genome features forms the potential genomic basis of the pathogen specialization, such as pathogenicity to woody vs. herbaceous hosts. Through comparative genome analysis among five <i>Dothideomycete</i> species, our results have shed light on the genome features of these related fungi species. It provides insight for understanding the genomic basis of fungal pathogenicity and disease resistance in the crop hosts.