Evolution of unexpected diversity in a putative mating type locus and its correlation with genome variability reveals likely asexuality in the model mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis.
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_9E9B47FDEC73
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Evolution of unexpected diversity in a putative mating type locus and its correlation with genome variability reveals likely asexuality in the model mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis.
Journal
BMC genomics
ISSN
1471-2164 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1471-2164
Publication state
Published
Issued date
20/09/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
25
Number
1
Pages
888
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: epublish
Publication Status: epublish
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form mutualistic partnerships with approximately 80% of plant species. AMF, and their diversity, play a fundamental role in plant growth, driving plant diversity, and global carbon cycles. Knowing whether AMF are sexual or asexual has fundamental consequences for how they can be used in agricultural applications. Evidence for and against sexuality in the model AMF, Rhizophagus irregularis, has been proposed. The discovery of a putative mating-type locus (MAT locus) in R. irregularis, and the previously suggested recombination among nuclei of a dikaryon R. irregularis isolate, potentially suggested sexuality. Unless undergoing frequent sexual reproduction, evolution of MAT-locus diversity is expected to be very low. Additionally, in sexual species, MAT-locus evolution is decoupled from the evolution of arbitrary genome-wide loci.
We studied MAT-locus diversity of R. irregularis. This was then compared to diversification in a phosphate transporter gene (PTG), that is not involved in sex, and to genome-wide divergence, defined by 47,378 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Strikingly, we found unexpectedly high MAT-locus diversity indicating that either it is not involved in sex, or that AMF are highly active in sex. However, a strongly congruent evolutionary history of the MAT-locus, PTG and genome-wide arbitrary loci allows us to reject both the hypothesis that the MAT-locus is involved in mating and that the R. irregularis lineage is sexual.
Our finding shapes the approach to developing more effective AMF strains and is highly informative as it suggests that introduced strains applied in agriculture will not exchange DNA with native populations.
We studied MAT-locus diversity of R. irregularis. This was then compared to diversification in a phosphate transporter gene (PTG), that is not involved in sex, and to genome-wide divergence, defined by 47,378 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Strikingly, we found unexpectedly high MAT-locus diversity indicating that either it is not involved in sex, or that AMF are highly active in sex. However, a strongly congruent evolutionary history of the MAT-locus, PTG and genome-wide arbitrary loci allows us to reject both the hypothesis that the MAT-locus is involved in mating and that the R. irregularis lineage is sexual.
Our finding shapes the approach to developing more effective AMF strains and is highly informative as it suggests that introduced strains applied in agriculture will not exchange DNA with native populations.
Keywords
Mycorrhizae/genetics, Mycorrhizae/physiology, Genes, Mating Type, Fungal/genetics, Genome, Fungal, Evolution, Molecular, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Glomeromycota/genetics, Glomeromycota/physiology, Genetic Variation, Phylogeny, Reproduction, Asexual/genetics, Fungi, Rhizophagus irregularis, Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), Asexual reproduction, Asexuality, Loss of sex, Mating-type, Recombination
Pubmed
Open Access
Yes
Create date
27/09/2024 16:07
Last modification date
28/09/2024 7:09