Gene cluster conservation provides insight into cercosporin biosynthesis and extends production to the genus Colletotrichum

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1712798115
• Publication Date: 2018-05-29T15:39:50Z
• Authors: Ronnie de Jonge; Malaika K. Ebert; Callie R. Huitt-R...; Paramita Pal; Jeffrey C. Suttle; Rebecca E. Spanner; Jonathan D. Neubauer; Wayne M. Jurick; Karina A. Stott; Gary A. Secor; Bart P. H. J. Thomma; Yves Van de Peer; Craig A. Townsend; Melvin D. Bolton
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; natural product; 572; FUNGAL VIRULENCE; Genes, Fungal; DISEASE; Natural product; Perylenequinone; Fungal Proteins; 03 medical and health sciences; Colletotrichum; PATHOGEN; PHOTOSENSITIZING TOXIN; BROWN LEAF-SPOT; DNA, Fungal; perylenequinone; Perylene; Cercosporin; Plant Diseases; 2. Zero hunger; secondary metabolism; 0303 health sciences; SINGLET OXYGEN; NICOTIANAE; cercosporin; Biology and Life Sciences; POLYKETIDE SYNTHASE; PHYLOGENETIC TREE SELECTION; GENOME; PNAS Plus; Malus; Multigene Family; Secondary metabolism; Cercospora

Significance

Species in the fungal genus Cercospora cause diseases in many important crops worldwide. Their success as pathogens is largely due to the secretion of cercosporin during infection. We report that the cercosporin toxin biosynthesis ( CTB ) gene cluster is ancient and was horizontally transferred to diverse fungal plant pathogens. Because our analyses revealed genes adjacent to the established CTB cluster with similar evolutionary trajectories, we evaluated their role in Cercospora beticola to show that four are necessary for cercosporin biosynthesis. Lastly, we confirmed that the apple pathogen Colletotrichum fioriniae produces cercosporin, the first case outside the family Mycosphaerellaceae. Other Colletotrichum plant pathogens also harbor the CTB cluster, which points to a wider role that this toxin may play in virulence.