Chromosome-level assemblies from diverse clades reveal limited structural and gene content variation in the genome of Candida glabrata

• DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01412-1
• Publication Date: 2022-10-08T20:02:38Z
• Authors: Marina Marcet-Houben; María Alvarado; Ewa Ksiezopolska; Ester Saus; Piet W. J. de Groot; Toni Gabaldón
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; 0303 health sciences; QH301-705.5; Candida glabrata; Genomics; Pan-genome; Adhesins; Chromosomes; Fungal Proteins; Genòmica; 03 medical and health sciences; Pathogenic microorganisms; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Informàtica::Aplicacions de la informàtica::Bioinformàtica; Biology (General); Genome, Fungal; Plastics; Candida; Research Article

Abstract Background Candida glabrata is an opportunistic yeast pathogen thought to have a large genetic and phenotypic diversity and a highly plastic genome. However, the lack of chromosome-level genome assemblies representing this diversity limits our ability to accurately establish how chromosomal structure and gene content vary across strains.

Results Here, we expanded publicly available assemblies by using long-read sequencing technologies in twelve diverse strains, obtaining a final set of twenty-one chromosome-level genomes spanning the known C. glabrata diversity. Using comparative approaches, we inferred variation in chromosome structure and determined the pan-genome, including an analysis of the adhesin gene repertoire. Our analysis uncovered four new adhesin orthogroups and inferred a rich ancestral adhesion repertoire, which was subsequently shaped through a still ongoing process of gene loss, gene duplication, and gene conversion.

Conclusions C. glabrata has a largely stable pan-genome except for a highly variable subset of genes encoding cell wall-associated functions. Adhesin repertoire was established for each strain and showed variability among clades.