Evolution of the sex-related locus and genomic features shared in microsporidia and fungi.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Microsporidia are obligate intracellular, eukaryotic pathogens that infect
a wide range of animals from nematodes to humans, and in some cases, protists. The
preponderance of evidence as to the origin of the microsporidia reveals a close relationship
with the fungi, either within the kingdom or as a sister group to it. Recent phylogenetic
studies and gene order analysis suggest that microsporidia share a particularly close
evolutionary relationship with the zygomycetes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here
we expanded this analysis and also examined a putative sex-locus for variability between
microsporidian populations. Whole genome inspection reveals a unique syntenic gene
pair (RPS9-RPL21) present in the vast majority of fungi and the microsporidians but
not in other eukaryotic lineages. Two other unique gene fusions (glutamyl-prolyl tRNA
synthetase and ubiquitin-ribosomal subunit S30) that are present in metazoans, choanoflagellates,
and filasterean opisthokonts are unfused in the fungi and microsporidians. One locus
previously found to be conserved in many microsporidian genomes is similar to the
sex locus of zygomycetes in gene order and architecture. Both sex-related and sex
loci harbor TPT, HMG, and RNA helicase genes forming a syntenic gene cluster. We sequenced
and analyzed the sex-related locus in 11 different Encephalitozoon cuniculi isolates
and the sibling species E. intestinalis (3 isolates) and E. hellem (1 isolate). There
was no evidence for an idiomorphic sex-related locus in this Encephalitozoon species
sample. According to sequence-based phylogenetic analyses, the TPT and RNA helicase
genes flanking the HMG genes are paralogous rather than orthologous between zygomycetes
and microsporidians. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The unique genomic hallmarks between
microsporidia and fungi are independent of sequence based phylogenetic comparisons
and further contribute to define the borders of the fungal kingdom and support the
classification of microsporidia as unusual derived fungi. And the sex/sex-related
loci appear to have been subject to frequent gene conversion and translocations in
microsporidia and zygomycetes.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Amino Acid SequenceEvolution, Molecular
Fungal Proteins
Genes, Mating Type, Fungal
Genetic Linkage
Genetic Loci
Genome, Fungal
Microsporidia
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Sexual Development
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4539Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1371/journal.pone.0010539Publication Info
Lee, Soo Chan; Corradi, Nicolas; Doan, Sylvia; Dietrich, Fred S; Keeling, Patrick
J; & Heitman, Joseph (2010). Evolution of the sex-related locus and genomic features shared in microsporidia and
fungi. PLoS One, 5(5). pp. e10539. 10.1371/journal.pone.0010539. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4539.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Fred Samuel Dietrich
Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
My laboratory is interested in fungal genomics.In particular we use genomic sequencing
of fungal strains and species in comparative analysis. Starting with the sequencing
of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain S288C, I have been involved in the genome sequencing
and annotation of Ashbya gossypii, Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and ~100 additional
S. cerevisiae strains. We currently use Illumina paired end and mate paired sequencin
Joseph Heitman
Chair, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Joseph Heitman was an undergraduate at the University of Chicago (1980-1984), graduating
from the BS-MS program with dual degrees in chemistry and biochemistry with general
and special honors. He then matriculated as an MD-PhD student at Cornell and Rockefeller
Universities and worked with Peter Model and Norton Zinder on how restriction enzymes
recognize specific DNA sequences and how bacteria respond to and repair DNA breaks
and nicks. Dr. Heitman moved as an E
Soo Chan Lee
Assistant Research Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.
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