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Title: Massive lateral transfer of genes encoding plant cell wall-degrading enzymes to the mycoparasitic fungus Trichoderma from its plant-associated hosts

Journal Article · · PLoS Genetics
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [5];  [1]; ORCiD logo [6];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8];  [8];  [8];  [8];  [8];  [8] more »; ORCiD logo [8];  [8];  [9];  [4];  [1];  [10] « less
  1. TU Wien, Vienna (Austria)
  2. Nanjing Univ. (China)
  3. TU Wien, Vienna (Austria); Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences–BOKU, Vienna (Austria)
  4. Nanjing Agricultural Univ., Nanjing (China)
  5. TU Wien, Vienna (Austria); Nanjing Agricultural Univ., Nanjing (China)
  6. Univ. Brunei Brunei (Darussalam)
  7. Aix-Marseille Univ., Marseille (France); INRA, USC, Marseille (France); King Abdulaziz Univ., Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
  8. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States)
  9. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  10. (France)

Unlike most other fungi, molds of the genus Trichoderma (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) are aggressive parasites of other fungi and efficient decomposers of plant biomass. Although nutritional shifts are common among hypocrealean fungi, there are no examples of such broad substrate versatility as that observed in Trichoderma. A phylogenomic analysis of 23 hypocrealean fungi (including nine Trichoderma spp. and the related Escovopsis weberi) revealed that the genus Trichoderma has evolved from an ancestor with limited cellulolytic capability that fed on either fungi or arthropods. The evolutionary analysis of Trichoderma genes encoding plant cell wall-degrading carbohydrate-active enzymes and auxiliary proteins (pcwdCAZome, 122 gene families) based on a gene tree / species tree reconciliation demonstrated that the formation of the genus was accompanied by an unprecedented extent of lateral gene transfer (LGT). Nearly one-half of the genes in Trichoderma pcwdCAZome (41%) were obtained via LGT from plant-associated filamentous fungi belonging to different classes of Ascomycota, while no LGT was observed from other potential donors. In addition to the ability to feed on unrelated fungi (such as Basidiomycota), we also showed that Trichoderma is capable of endoparasitism on a broad range of Ascomycota, including extant LGT donors. This phenomenon was not observed in E. weberi and rarely in other mycoparasitic hypocrealean fungi. Thus, our study suggests that LGT is linked to the ability of Trichoderma to parasitize taxonomically related fungi (up to adelphoparasitism in strict sense). This may have allowed primarily mycotrophic Trichoderma fungi to evolve into decomposers of plant biomass.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Univ. of California, Oakland, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); Austrian Science Fund (FWF); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; P25613-B20; WWTF-LS13-048; 31330069; 2015CB150500
OSTI ID:
1544030
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1619097
Journal Information:
PLoS Genetics, Vol. 14, Issue 4; ISSN 1553-7404
Publisher:
Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 71 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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YPR2 is a regulator of light modulated carbon and secondary metabolism in Trichoderma reesei journal March 2019
Horizontal Gene Transfer as an Indispensable Driver for Evolution of Neocallimastigomycota into a Distinct Gut-Dwelling Fungal Lineage journal May 2019
Guttation capsules containing hydrogen peroxide: an evolutionarily conserved NADPH oxidase gains a role in wars between related fungi journal April 2019
Evolution and comparative genomics of the most common Trichoderma species journal June 2019
Omics for understanding the tolerant mechanism of Trichoderma asperellum TJ01 to organophosphorus pesticide dichlorvos journal August 2018
Chitin and chitosan remodeling defines vegetative development and Trichoderma biocontrol journal February 2020
Evolution and functional characterization of pectate lyase PEL12, a member of a highly expanded Clonostachys rosea polysaccharide lyase 1 family journal November 2018
Superior cellulolytic activity of Trichoderma guizhouense on raw wheat straw journal November 2019