Early Diverging Insect-Pathogenic Fungi of the Order Entomophthorales Possess Diverse and Unique Subtilisin-Like Serine Proteases

Arnesen, Jonathan Asmund; Małagocka, Joanna; Gryganskyi, Andrii P.; Grigoriev, Igor V.; Voigt, Kerstin; Stajich, Jason E.; Licht, Henrik H. De Fine

doi:10.1534/g3.118.200656

Cited by 26 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The core fecal mycobiome of S. grammicus was composed of Basidiobolus ranarum, B. magnus, and Tetrapisispora fletii. Basodiobolus belongs to Entomophthoromycota (Zygomycota) and is a parasitepathogen of arthropods and insects that use subtilisinlike serine proteases to degrade chitin-associated proteins in the insect procuticle [50]. It is possible that lizards ingest propagules of Basidiobolus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary effects on gut microbiota of the mesquite lizard Sceloporus grammicus (Wiegmann, 1828) across different altitudes

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: High-altitude ecosystems are extreme environments that generate specific physiological, morphological, and behavioral adaptations in ectotherms. The shifts in gut microbiota of the ectothermic hosts as an adaptation to environmental changes are still largely unknown. We investigated the food ingested and the bacterial, fungal, and protistan communities in feces of the lizard Sceloporus grammicus inhabiting an altitudinal range using metabarcoding approaches. Results: The bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and the genera Bacteroides and Parabacteroides dominated the core fecal bacteriome, while Zygomycota and Ascomycota, and the species Basidiobolus ranarum and Basidiobolus magnus dominated the core fecal mycobiome. The diet of S. grammicus included 29 invertebrate families belonging to Arachnida, Chilopoda, and Insecta. The diversity and abundance of its diet decreased sharply at high altitudes, while the abundance of plant material and Agaricomycetes was significantly higher at the highest site. The composition of the fecal microbiota of S. grammicus was different at the three altitudes, but not between females and males. Dietary restriction in S. grammicus at 4150 m might explain the high fecal abundance of Akkermansia and Oscillopira, bacteria characteristic of long fasting periods, while low temperature favored B. magnus. A high proportion of bacterial functions were digestive in S. grammicus at 2600 and 3100, while metabolism of aminoacids, vitamins, and key intermediates of metabolic pathways were higher at 4150 m. Different assemblages of fungal species in the lizard reflect differences in the environments at different elevations. Pathogens were more prevalent at high elevations than at the low ones. Conclusions: Limiting food resources at high elevations might oblige S. grammicus to exploit other food resources and its intestinal microbiota have degradative and detoxifying capacities. Sceloporus grammicus might have acquired B. ranarum from the insects infected by the fungus, but its commensal relationship might be established by the quitinolytic capacities of B. ranarum. The mycobiome participate mainly in digestive and degradative functions while the bacteriome in digestive and metabolic functions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary effects on gut microbiota of the mesquite lizard Sceloporus grammicus (Wiegmann, 1828) across different altitudes

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Two of the six highly expressed subtilases in O. camponotifloridani during manipulation lack I9 peptidase inhibitor domain annotations. Such subtilases have also been found in insect manipulating Entomophthora and Pandora and have been suggested to represent hallmarks of niche specialization (ARNESEN & al. 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The presence of an evolutionarily recent group of subtilases with unclear function that lack I9 domains may be associated with niche adaptation in the Entomophtoromycotina; fungi distantly related from Ophiocordyceps. Among the Entomophthoromycotina, the insect manipulating Entomophthora muscae and Pandora formicae indeed have I9-lacking subtilases, albeit not exclusively (ARNESEN & al. 2018).…”

Section: Fungal Serine Proteases Are Upregulated During Manipulated Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Genetic underpinnings of host manipulation byOphiocordycepsas revealed by comparative transcriptomics

Will

Das

Trinh

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AbstractThe ant-infecting Ophiocordyceps fungi are globally distributed, host manipulating, specialist parasites that drive aberrant behaviors in infected ants, at a lethal cost to the host. An apparent increase in activity and wandering behaviors precedes a final summiting and biting behavior on to vegetation, positioning the manipulated ant in a site beneficial for fungal growth and transmission. Notably, across Ophiocordyceps species and other known host manipulators, the molecular mechanisms underlying behavioral changes remain largely unclear. We explored possible genetic underpinnings of host manipulation by: (i) producing a hybrid assembly of the Ophiocordyceps camponoti-floridani genome, (ii) conducting laboratory infections coupled with RNAseq of both O. camponoti-floridani and its host, Campontous floridanus, and (iii) using these data for a comparative analysis to similar work performed in Ophiocordyceps kimflemingiae and Camponotus castaneus. We propose differentially expressed genes tied to ant neurobiology, odor response, circadian rhythms, and foraging behavior may be the result of putative fungal effectors such as enterotoxins, aflatrem, and mechanisms disrupting nutrition-sensing or caste-identity pathways.

show abstract

“…Recent functional studies of the Hypocrealean summit-disease-causing zombie ant fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, have uncovered possible associations between host behavior modifications and fungus-derived neurogenic metabolites and enterotoxins (10)(11). Genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic approaches have further helped elucidate important aspects of the evolution of summit-diseasecausing Entomophthoralean fungi including expansion of genes related to host specificity (12)(13) and changes in gene expression that coincide with disease progression (14)(15). Nevertheless, many of the basic mechanisms that drive summit disease and other behavioral manipulations among Entomophthoralean fungi, including "active host transmission" in Massospora (8)(9), remain unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens

Boyce

Gluck‐Thaler

Slot

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Entomopathogenic fungi routinely kill their hosts before releasing infectious spores, but select species keep insects alive while sporulating, which enhances dispersal. Transcriptomics and metabolomics studies of entomopathogens with post-mortem dissemination from their parasitized hosts have unraveled infection processes and host responses, yet mechanisms underlying active spore transmission by Entomophthoralean fungi in living insects remain elusive. Here we report the discovery, through metabolomics, of the plant-associated amphetamine, cathinone, in four Massospora cicadina-infected periodical cicada populations, and the mushroom-associated tryptamine, psilocybin, in annual cicadas infected with Massospora platypediae or Massospora levispora, which appear to represent a single fungal species. The absence of some fungal enzymes necessary for cathinone and psilocybin biosynthesis along with the inability to detect intermediate metabolites or gene orthologs are consistent with possibly novel biosynthesis pathways in Massospora. The neurogenic activities of these compounds suggest the extended phenotype of Massospora that modifies cicada behavior to maximize dissemination is chemically-induced.

show abstract

Early Diverging Insect-Pathogenic Fungi of the Order Entomophthorales Possess Diverse and Unique Subtilisin-Like Serine Proteases

Cited by 26 publications

References 42 publications

Dietary effects on gut microbiota of the mesquite lizard Sceloporus grammicus (Wiegmann, 1828) across different altitudes

Dietary effects on gut microbiota of the mesquite lizard Sceloporus grammicus (Wiegmann, 1828) across different altitudes

Genetic underpinnings of host manipulation byOphiocordycepsas revealed by comparative transcriptomics

Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About