Ayhan Dilay Hazal, Abbondante Serena, Martínez-Soto Domingo, Wu Siyuan, Rodriguez-Vargas Ricardo, Milo Shira, Rickelton Katherine, Sohrab Vista, Kotera Shunsuke, Arie Tsutomu, Marshall Michaela Ellen, Rocha Marina Campos, Haridas Sajeet, Grigoriev Igor V, Shlezinger Neta, Pearlman Eric, Ma Li-Jun
1Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
mBio. 2025 Jun 26:e0095125. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00951-25.
is a cross-kingdom pathogen. While some strains cause disseminated fusariosis and blinding corneal infections in humans, others are responsible for devastating vascular wilt diseases in plants. To better understand the distinct adaptations of to animal or plant hosts, we conducted a comparative phenotypic and genetic analysis of two strains: MRL8996 (isolated from a keratitis patient) and Fol4287 (isolated from a wilted tomato []). Infection of mouse corneas and tomato plants revealed that, while both strains cause symptoms in both hosts, MRL8996 caused more severe corneal disease in mice, whereas Fol4287 induced more pronounced wilting symptoms in tomato plants. assays using abiotic stress treatments revealed that the human pathogen MRL8996 was better adapted to elevated temperatures, whereas the plant pathogen Fol4287 was more tolerant to osmotic and cell wall stresses. Both strains displayed broad resistance to antifungal treatment, with MRL8996 exhibiting the paradoxical effect of increased tolerance to higher concentrations of the antifungal caspofungin. We identified a set of accessory chromosomes (ACs) that encode genes with different functions and have distinct transposon profiles between MRL8996 and Fol4287. Interestingly, ACs from both genomes also encode proteins with shared functions, such as chromatin remodeling and post-translational protein modifications. Our phenotypic assays and comparative genomics analyses lay the foundation for future studies correlating genotypes with phenotype and for developing targeted antifungals for agricultural and clinical uses.IMPORTANCE is a cross-kingdom fungal pathogen that infects both plants and animals. In addition to causing many devastating wilt diseases, this group of organisms was recently recognized by the World Health Organization as a high-priority threat to human health. Climate change has increased the risk of infections, as strains are highly adaptable to changing environments. Deciphering fungal adaptation mechanisms is crucial to developing appropriate control strategies. We performed a comparative analysis of strains using an animal (mouse) and plant (tomato) host and conditions that mimic abiotic stress. We also performed comparative genomics analyses to highlight the genetic differences between human and plant pathogens and correlate their phenotypic and genotypic variations. We uncovered important functional hubs shared by plant and human pathogens, such as chromatin modification, transcriptional regulation, and signal transduction, which could be used to identify novel antifungal targets.
是一种跨界病原体。虽然一些菌株会导致人类发生播散性镰刀菌病和致盲性角膜感染,但其他菌株则会引发植物的毁灭性维管束萎蔫病。为了更好地了解其对动物或植物宿主的不同适应性,我们对两株菌株进行了比较表型和遗传分析:MRL8996(从一名角膜炎患者中分离)和Fol4287(从一株枯萎的番茄中分离)。对小鼠角膜和番茄植株的感染表明,虽然两株菌株在两种宿主中都会引发症状,但MRL8996在小鼠中引起的角膜疾病更严重,而Fol4287在番茄植株中诱导出更明显的萎蔫症状。使用非生物胁迫处理的试验表明,人类病原体MRL8996更适应高温,而植物病原体Fol4287对渗透胁迫和细胞壁胁迫更耐受。两株菌株均表现出对抗真菌治疗的广泛抗性,MRL8996对更高浓度的抗真菌药物卡泊芬净表现出耐受性增加的矛盾效应。我们鉴定出一组附加染色体(ACs),它们编码具有不同功能的基因,并且在MRL8996和Fol4287之间具有不同的转座子图谱。有趣的是,来自两个基因组的ACs还编码具有共同功能的蛋白质,如染色质重塑和翻译后蛋白质修饰。我们的表型试验和比较基因组学分析为未来将基因型与表型相关联以及开发用于农业和临床的靶向抗真菌药物的研究奠定了基础。重要性是一种感染植物和动物的跨界真菌病原体。除了导致许多毁灭性的萎蔫病外,这组生物体最近被世界卫生组织认定为对人类健康的高优先级威胁。气候变化增加了感染的风险,因为菌株对不断变化的环境具有高度适应性。破译真菌适应机制对于制定适当的控制策略至关重要。我们使用动物(小鼠)和植物(番茄)宿主以及模拟非生物胁迫的条件对菌株进行了比较分析。我们还进行了比较基因组学分析,以突出人类和植物病原体之间的遗传差异,并将它们的表型和基因型变异相关联。我们发现了植物和人类病原体共有的重要功能枢纽,如染色质修饰、转录调控和信号转导,这些可用于鉴定新的抗真菌靶点。
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