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Phylogenomic Analyses Indicate that Early Fungi Evolved Digesting Cell Walls of Algal Ancestors of Land Plants

Journal Article · · Genome Biology and Evolution
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evv090· OSTI ID:1625338
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [2]
  1. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, (British Columbia). Department of Botany; DOE/OSTI
  2. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, (British Columbia). Department of Botany
  3. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, (British Columbia). Department of Botany; National Institute of Technology and Evaluation, Chiba (Japan). NITE Biological Resource Center (NBRC)
  4. DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, California (United States).
  5. DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, California (United States).
  6. Oregon State University (United States). Department of Botany and Plant Pathology
As decomposers, fungi are key players in recycling plant material in global carbon cycles. We hypothesized that genomes of early diverging fungi may have inherited pectinases from an ancestral species that had been able to extract nutrients from pectin-containing land plants and their algal allies (Streptophytes). We aimed to infer, based on pectinase gene expansions and on the organismal phylogeny, the geological timing of the plant–fungus association. We analyzed 40 fungal genomes, three of which, including Gonapodya prolifera, were sequenced for this study. In the organismal phylogeny from 136 housekeeping loci, Rozella diverged first from all other fungi. Gonapodya prolifera was included among the flagellated, predominantly aquatic fungal species in Chytridiomycota. Sister to Chytridiomycota were the predominantly terrestrial fungi including zygomycota I and zygomycota II, along with the ascomycetes and basidiomycetes that comprise Dikarya. The Gonapodya genome has 27 genes representing five of the seven classes of pectin-specific enzymes known from fungi. Most of these share a common ancestry with pectinases from Dikarya. Indicating functional and sequence similarity, Gonapodya, like many Dikarya, can use pectin as a carbon source for growth in pure culture. Shared pectinases of Dikarya and Gonapodya provide evidence that even ancient aquatic fungi had adapted to extract nutrients from the plants in the green lineage. This implies that 750 million years, the estimated maximum age of origin of the pectin-containing streptophytes represents a maximum age for the divergence of Chytridiomycota from the lineage including Dikarya.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1625338
Journal Information:
Genome Biology and Evolution, Journal Name: Genome Biology and Evolution Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 7; ISSN 1759-6653
Publisher:
Society for Molecular Biology and EvolutionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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