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Thimmappa BC, Salhi LN, Forget L, Sarrasin M, Bustamante Villalobos P, Henrissat B, Lang BF, Burger G. A biofertilizing fungal endophyte of cranberry plants suppresses the plant pathogen Diaporthe. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1327392. [PMID: 38371935 PMCID: PMC10869595 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1327392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Fungi colonizing plants are gaining attention because of their ability to promote plant growth and suppress pathogens. While most studies focus on endosymbionts from grasses and legumes, the large and diverse group of ericaceous plants has been much neglected. We recently described one of the very few fungal endophytes promoting the growth of the Ericaceae Vaccinium macrocarpon (American cranberry), notably the Codinaeella isolate EC4. Here, we show that EC4 also suppresses fungal pathogens, which makes it a promising endophyte for sustainable cranberry cultivation. By dual-culture assays on agar plates, we tested the potential growth suppression (or biocontrol) of EC4 on other microbes, notably 12 pathogenic fungi and one oomycete reported to infect not only cranberry but also blueberry, strawberry, tomato plants, rose bushes and olive trees. Under greenhouse conditions, EC4 protects cranberry plantlets infected with one of the most notorious cranberry-plant pathogens, Diaporthe vaccinii, known to cause upright dieback and berry rot. The nuclear genome sequence of EC4 revealed a large arsenal of genes potentially involved in biocontrol. About ∼60 distinct clusters of genes are homologs of secondary metabolite gene clusters, some of which were shown in other fungi to synthesize nonribosomal peptides and polyketides, but in most cases, the exact compounds these clusters may produce are unknown. The EC4 genome also encodes numerous homologs of hydrolytic enzymes known to degrade fungal cell walls. About half of the nearly 250 distinct glucanases and chitinases are likely involved in biocontrol because they are predicted to be secreted outside the cell. Transcriptome analysis shows that the expression of about a quarter of the predicted secondary-metabolite gene clusters and glucan and chitin-degrading genes of EC4 is stimulated when it is co-cultured with D. vaccinii. Some of the differentially expressed EC4 genes are alternatively spliced exclusively in the presence of the pathogen, altering the proteins' domain content and subcellular localization signal, thus adding a second level of proteome adaptation in response to habitat competition. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Diaporthe-induced alternative splicing of biocontrol genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhagya C. Thimmappa
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert-Cedergren Centre for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Lila Naouelle Salhi
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert-Cedergren Centre for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Lise Forget
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert-Cedergren Centre for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Matt Sarrasin
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert-Cedergren Centre for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Peniel Bustamante Villalobos
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert-Cedergren Centre for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Bernard Henrissat
- DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
- Department of Biological Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - B. Franz Lang
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert-Cedergren Centre for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Gertraud Burger
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert-Cedergren Centre for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Sreekumar L, Kumari K, Guin K, Bakshi A, Varshney N, Thimmappa BC, Narlikar L, Padinhateeri R, Siddharthan R, Sanyal K. Orc4 spatiotemporally stabilizes centromeric chromatin. Genome Res 2021; 31:607-621. [PMID: 33514624 PMCID: PMC8015856 DOI: 10.1101/gr.265900.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The establishment of centromeric chromatin and its propagation by the centromere-specific histone CENPA is mediated by epigenetic mechanisms in most eukaryotes. DNA replication origins, origin binding proteins, and replication timing of centromere DNA are important determinants of centromere function. The epigenetically regulated regional centromeres in the budding yeast Candida albicans have unique DNA sequences that replicate earliest in every chromosome and are clustered throughout the cell cycle. In this study, the genome-wide occupancy of the replication initiation protein Orc4 reveals its abundance at all centromeres in C. albicans Orc4 is associated with four different DNA sequence motifs, one of which coincides with tRNA genes (tDNA) that replicate early and cluster together in space. Hi-C combined with genome-wide replication timing analyses identify that early replicating Orc4-bound regions interact with themselves stronger than with late replicating Orc4-bound regions. We simulate a polymer model of chromosomes of C. albicans and propose that the early replicating and highly enriched Orc4-bound sites preferentially localize around the clustered kinetochores. We also observe that Orc4 is constitutively localized to centromeres, and both Orc4 and the helicase Mcm2 are essential for cell viability and CENPA stability in C. albicans Finally, we show that new molecules of CENPA are recruited to centromeres during late anaphase/telophase, which coincides with the stage at which the CENPA-specific chaperone Scm3 localizes to the kinetochore. We propose that the spatiotemporal localization of Orc4 within the nucleus, in collaboration with Mcm2 and Scm3, maintains centromeric chromatin stability and CENPA recruitment in C. albicans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lakshmi Sreekumar
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Kiran Kumari
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
- IITB-Monash Research Academy, Mumbai 400076, India
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia
| | - Krishnendu Guin
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Asif Bakshi
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Neha Varshney
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Bhagya C Thimmappa
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Leelavati Narlikar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411008, India
| | - Ranjith Padinhateeri
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Rahul Siddharthan
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences/HBNI, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
| | - Kaustuv Sanyal
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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Guin K, Chen Y, Mishra R, Muzaki SRBM, Thimmappa BC, O'Brien CE, Butler G, Sanyal A, Sanyal K. Spatial inter-centromeric interactions facilitated the emergence of evolutionary new centromeres. eLife 2020; 9:e58556. [PMID: 32469306 PMCID: PMC7292649 DOI: 10.7554/elife.58556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Centromeres of Candida albicans form on unique and different DNA sequences but a closely related species, Candida tropicalis, possesses homogenized inverted repeat (HIR)-associated centromeres. To investigate the mechanism of centromere type transition, we improved the fragmented genome assembly and constructed a chromosome-level genome assembly of C. tropicalis by employing PacBio sequencing, chromosome conformation capture sequencing (3C-seq), chromoblot, and genetic analysis of engineered aneuploid strains. Further, we analyzed the 3D genome organization using 3C-seq data, which revealed spatial proximity among the centromeres as well as telomeres of seven chromosomes in C. tropicalis. Intriguingly, we observed evidence of inter-centromeric translocations in the common ancestor of C. albicans and C. tropicalis. Identification of putative centromeres in closely related Candida sojae, Candida viswanathii and Candida parapsilosis indicates loss of ancestral HIR-associated centromeres and establishment of evolutionary new centromeres (ENCs) in C. albicans. We propose that spatial proximity of the homologous centromere DNA sequences facilitated karyotype rearrangements and centromere type transitions in human pathogenic yeasts of the CUG-Ser1 clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishnendu Guin
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBangaloreIndia
| | - Yao Chen
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversitySingaporeSingapore
| | - Radha Mishra
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBangaloreIndia
| | | | - Bhagya C Thimmappa
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBangaloreIndia
| | - Caoimhe E O'Brien
- School Of Biomolecular & Biomed Science, Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Geraldine Butler
- School Of Biomolecular & Biomed Science, Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Amartya Sanyal
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversitySingaporeSingapore
| | - Kaustuv Sanyal
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBangaloreIndia
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Fang Y, Coelho MA, Shu H, Schotanus K, Thimmappa BC, Yadav V, Chen H, Malc EP, Wang J, Mieczkowski PA, Kronmiller B, Tyler BM, Sanyal K, Dong S, Nowrousian M, Heitman J. Long transposon-rich centromeres in an oomycete reveal divergence of centromere features in Stramenopila-Alveolata-Rhizaria lineages. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008646. [PMID: 32150559 PMCID: PMC7082073 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Centromeres are chromosomal regions that serve as platforms for kinetochore assembly and spindle attachments, ensuring accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. Despite functional conservation, centromere DNA sequences are diverse and often repetitive, making them challenging to assemble and identify. Here, we describe centromeres in an oomycete Phytophthora sojae by combining long-read sequencing-based genome assembly and chromatin immunoprecipitation for the centromeric histone CENP-A followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq). P. sojae centromeres cluster at a single focus at different life stages and during nuclear division. We report an improved genome assembly of the P. sojae reference strain, which enabled identification of 15 enriched CENP-A binding regions as putative centromeres. By focusing on a subset of these regions, we demonstrate that centromeres in P. sojae are regional, spanning 211 to 356 kb. Most of these regions are transposon-rich, poorly transcribed, and lack the histone modification H3K4me2 but are embedded within regions with the heterochromatin marks H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. Strikingly, we discovered a Copia-like transposon (CoLT) that is highly enriched in the CENP-A chromatin. Similar clustered elements are also found in oomycete relatives of P. sojae, and may be applied as a criterion for prediction of oomycete centromeres. This work reveals a divergence of centromere features in oomycetes as compared to other organisms in the Stramenopila-Alveolata-Rhizaria (SAR) supergroup including diatoms and Plasmodium falciparum that have relatively short and simple regional centromeres. Identification of P. sojae centromeres in turn also advances the genome assembly. Oomycetes are fungal-like microorganisms that belong to the stramenopiles within the Stramenopila-Alveolata-Rhizaria (SAR) supergroup. The Phytophthora oomycetes are infamous as plant killers, threatening crop production worldwide. Because of the highly repetitive nature of their genomes, assembly of oomycete genomes presents challenges that impede identification of centromeres, which are chromosomal sites mediating faithful chromosome segregation. We report long-read sequencing-based genome assembly of the Phytophthora sojae reference strain, which facilitated the discovery of centromeres. P. sojae harbors large regional centromeres fully embedded in heterochromatin, and enriched for a Copia-like transposon that is also found in discrete clusters in other oomycetes. This study provides insight into the oomycete genome organization, broadens our knowledge of centromere structure, function and evolution in eukaryotes, and may help elucidate the high frequency of aneuploidy during oomycete reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufeng Fang
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Marco A. Coelho
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Haidong Shu
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Klaas Schotanus
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Bhagya C. Thimmappa
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India
| | - Vikas Yadav
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Han Chen
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ewa P. Malc
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Jeremy Wang
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Piotr A. Mieczkowski
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Brent Kronmiller
- Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing and Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Brett M. Tyler
- Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing and Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Kaustuv Sanyal
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India
| | - Suomeng Dong
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Minou Nowrousian
- Lehrstuhl fuer Molekulare und Zellulaere Botanik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Joseph Heitman
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Sankaranarayanan SR, Ianiri G, Coelho MA, Reza MH, Thimmappa BC, Ganguly P, Vadnala RN, Sun S, Siddharthan R, Tellgren-Roth C, Dawson TL, Heitman J, Sanyal K. Loss of centromere function drives karyotype evolution in closely related Malassezia species. eLife 2020; 9:e53944. [PMID: 31958060 PMCID: PMC7025860 DOI: 10.7554/elife.53944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Genomic rearrangements associated with speciation often result in variation in chromosome number among closely related species. Malassezia species show variable karyotypes ranging between six and nine chromosomes. Here, we experimentally identified all eight centromeres in M. sympodialis as 3-5-kb long kinetochore-bound regions that span an AT-rich core and are depleted of the canonical histone H3. Centromeres of similar sequence features were identified as CENP-A-rich regions in Malassezia furfur, which has seven chromosomes, and histone H3 depleted regions in Malassezia slooffiae and Malassezia globosa with nine chromosomes each. Analysis of synteny conservation across centromeres with newly generated chromosome-level genome assemblies suggests two distinct mechanisms of chromosome number reduction from an inferred nine-chromosome ancestral state: (a) chromosome breakage followed by loss of centromere DNA and (b) centromere inactivation accompanied by changes in DNA sequence following chromosome-chromosome fusion. We propose that AT-rich centromeres drive karyotype diversity in the Malassezia species complex through breakage and inactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sundar Ram Sankaranarayanan
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBengaluruIndia
| | - Giuseppe Ianiri
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical CenterDurhamUnited States
| | - Marco A Coelho
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical CenterDurhamUnited States
| | - Md Hashim Reza
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBengaluruIndia
| | - Bhagya C Thimmappa
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBengaluruIndia
| | - Promit Ganguly
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBengaluruIndia
| | | | - Sheng Sun
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical CenterDurhamUnited States
| | | | - Christian Tellgren-Roth
- National Genomics Infrastructure, Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Thomas L Dawson
- Skin Research Institute Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)SingaporeSingapore
- Department of Drug Discovery, Medical University of South Carolina, School of PharmacyCharlestonUnited States
| | - Joseph Heitman
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical CenterDurhamUnited States
| | - Kaustuv Sanyal
- Molecular Mycology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific ResearchBengaluruIndia
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Sreekumar L, Jaitly P, Chen Y, Thimmappa BC, Sanyal A, Sanyal K. Cis- and Trans-chromosomal Interactions Define Pericentric Boundaries in the Absence of Conventional Heterochromatin. Genetics 2019; 212:1121-1132. [PMID: 31142612 PMCID: PMC6707466 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.302179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The diploid budding yeast Candida albicans harbors unique CENPA-rich 3- to 5-kb regions that form the centromere (CEN) core on each of its eight chromosomes. The epigenetic nature of these CENs does not permit the stabilization of a functional kinetochore on an exogenously introduced CEN plasmid. The flexible nature of such centromeric chromatin is exemplified by the reversible silencing of a transgene upon its integration into the CENPA-bound region. The lack of a conventional heterochromatin machinery and the absence of defined boundaries of CENPA chromatin makes the process of CEN specification in this organism elusive. Additionally, upon native CEN deletion, C. albicans can efficiently activate neocentromeres proximal to the native CEN locus, hinting at the importance of CEN-proximal regions. In this study, we examine this CEN-proximity effect and identify factors for CEN specification in C. albicans We exploit a counterselection assay to isolate cells that can silence a transgene when integrated into the CEN-flanking regions. We show that the frequency of reversible silencing of the transgene decreases from the central core of CEN7 to its peripheral regions. Using publicly available C. albicans high-throughput chromosome conformation capture data, we identify a 25-kb region centering on the CENPA-bound core that acts as CEN-flanking compact chromatin (CFCC). Cis- and trans-chromosomal interactions associated with the CFCC spatially segregates it from bulk chromatin. We further show that neocentromere activation on chromosome 7 occurs within this specified region. Hence, this study identifies a specialized CEN-proximal domain that specifies and restricts the centromeric activity to a unique region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lakshmi Sreekumar
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Priya Jaitly
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Yao Chen
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore 637551
| | - Bhagya C Thimmappa
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
| | - Amartya Sanyal
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore 637551
| | - Kaustuv Sanyal
- Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India
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