Comparative analysis of Phytophthora genomes reveals oomycete pathogenesis in crops

Abstract

The oomycete genus Phytophthora includes devastating plant pathogens that are found in almost all ecosystems. We sequenced the genomes of two quarantined Phytophthora species– P. fragariae and P. rubi . Comparing these Phytophthora species and related genera allowed reconstruction of the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Phytophthora and revealed Phytophthora genomic features associated with infection and pathogenicity. We found that several hundred Phytophthora genes are putatively inherited from red algae, but Phytophthora does not have vestigial plastids originating from phototrophs. The horizontally-transferred Phytophthora genes are abundant transposons that “transmit” exogenous gene to Phytophthora species thus bring about the gene recombination possibility. Several expansion events of Phytophthora gene families associated with cell wall biogenesis can be used as mutational targets to elucidate gene function in pathogenic interactions with host plants. This work enhanced the understanding of Phytophthora evolution and will also be helpful for the design of phytopathological control strategies.

Comparative analysis of Phytophthora genomes data

“…These data contain the characteristic description of genomic structure and pathogenicity of the two pathogens, P. fragariae and P. rubi , including the distribution of gene density at the genome level and several gene families associated with pathogenicity: P450 [2] , ACX gene families [3] , CAZymes [4] and effector [5] . These results complement the recent published literature on genomic and pathogenicity analyses of several Phytophthora pathogens [1] .…”

“… The data presented here are related to the article entitled “Comparative analysis of Phytophthora genomes reveals oomycete pathogenesis in crops” [1] . These data contain the description of genomic structure of the two plant pathogens, P. fragariae and P. rubi and characterize several gene families associated with pathogenicity of them: P450, ACX gene families, CAZymes and effector.…”

Endophytic Microorganisms as an Alternative for the Biocontrol of Phytophthora spp.

“…The genus Phytophthora is presently placed in the kingdom Straminipila, phylum Heterokonta, sub-phylum Pernosporomycotina, class Pernosporomycetes (Oomycetes), subclass Pernosporomycetidae, order Pythiales and family Pythiaceae [7]. Phytophthora has more than 100 described species and 58 officially recognized, phylogenetically distributed in ten clades, are usually soil-borne plant pathogens that cause important diseases in agricultural crops, trees and forests worldwide [8,9]. This pathogen can present biotrophic, necrotrophic, or hemibiotrophic lifestyles [1,3].…”

“…Among the crops that can be infected by the genus Phytophthora are potato, tobacco, soybean, avocado, macadamia, cocoa, rice, tomato, pistachio, red pepper, strawberry, raspberry, among others [9][10][11][12]. Natural vegetation and ornamentals can also be infected by Phytophthora species, i.e.…”

“…However, the host plants of the new species are still being determined and, therefore, the range continues to expand, making control exceedingly difficult [7,11]. Plant damage can range from alterations in roots, fruits, trunks, stems, foliage and crown to invasive processes in highly susceptible species [8,9].…”