Ma Ziying, Liu Fang, Tsui Clement K M, Cai Lei
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China.
Commun Biol. 2025 Apr 10;8(1):593. doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-08024-9.
The Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex (CGSC) is one of the most devastating fungal phytopathogens, and is composed of three main clades: Kahawae, Musae, and Theobromicola. Despite the diversity of CGSC, there is limited understanding on their evolutionary mechanisms. By analysing 49 newly assembled genomes, we found that the expansion of transposable elements, especially long terminal repeat retrotransposons, facilitates the expansion of genome size and genetic variation. In-depth analyses suggested that an intra-chromosomal inversion may have been the driving force behind the divergence of Kahawae clade from its ancestor. Within the Kahawae clade, the narrow-hosted quarantine species C. kahawae has undergone extensive chromosomal rearrangements mediated by repetitive sequences, generating highly dynamic lineage-specific genomic regions compared to the closely related broad-hosted species C. cigarro. The findings of this study highlight the role of chromosomal rearrangements in promoting genetic diversification and host adaptation, and provide new perspectives for understanding the evolution of phytopathogenic fungi.
胶孢炭疽菌复合种（CGSC）是最具破坏性的真菌植物病原体之一，由三个主要分支组成：卡哈瓦埃分支、香蕉分支和可可炭疽菌分支。尽管CGSC具有多样性，但对其进化机制的了解有限。通过分析49个新组装的基因组，我们发现转座元件的扩张，尤其是长末端重复反转录转座子，促进了基因组大小的增加和遗传变异。深入分析表明，染色体内部倒位可能是卡哈瓦埃分支与其祖先分化的驱动力。在卡哈瓦埃分支内，寄主范围狭窄的检疫性物种卡哈瓦埃炭疽菌经历了由重复序列介导的广泛染色体重排，与亲缘关系密切的寄主范围广泛的物种烟草炭疽菌相比，产生了高度动态的谱系特异性基因组区域。本研究结果突出了染色体重排在促进遗传多样化和寄主适应性方面的作用，并为理解植物病原真菌的进化提供了新的视角。
