Sato Yukiyo, Bex Roos, van den Berg Grardy C M, Santhanam Parthasarathy, Höfte Monica, Seidl Michael F, Thomma Bart P H J
Institute for Plant Sciences, Department of Biology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Laboratory of Phytopathology, Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 24;16(1):6806. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61986-6.
Starships form a recently discovered superfamily of giant transposons in Pezizomycotina fungi, implicated in mediating horizontal transfer of diverse cargo genes between fungal genomes. Their elusive nature has long obscured their significance, and their impact on genome evolution remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal a surprising abundance and diversity of Starships in the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae. Remarkably, Starships dominate the plastic genomic compartments involved in host colonization, carry multiple virulence-associated genes, and exhibit genetic and epigenetic characteristics associated with adaptive genome evolution. Phylogenetic analyses suggest extensive horizontal transfer of Starships between Verticillium species and, strikingly, from distantly related Fusarium fungi. Finally, homology searches and phylogenetic analyses suggest that a Starship contributed to de novo virulence gene formation. Our findings illuminate the profound influence of Starship dynamics on fungal genome evolution and the development of virulence.
星船是在粪壳菌纲真菌中最近发现的一个巨型转座子超家族，与介导真菌基因组间多种货物基因的水平转移有关。它们难以捉摸的特性长期以来掩盖了其重要性，人们对它们对基因组进化的影响仍知之甚少。在此，我们揭示了植物病原真菌大丽轮枝菌中星船惊人的丰富度和多样性。值得注意的是，星船在参与寄主定殖的可塑性基因组区域中占主导地位，携带多个与毒力相关的基因，并表现出与适应性基因组进化相关的遗传和表观遗传特征。系统发育分析表明，星船在轮枝菌属物种之间广泛水平转移，而且令人惊讶的是，还从远缘的镰刀菌真菌转移而来。最后，同源性搜索和系统发育分析表明，一个星船促成了新的毒力基因形成。我们的发现阐明了星船动态对真菌基因组进化和毒力发展的深远影响。
