Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting diversity with fungal virulence
Plant-pathogenic fungi span diverse taxonomic lineages. Their host-infection strategies are often specialised and require the coordinated regulation of molecular virulence factors. Transcription factors (TFs) are fundamental regulators of gene expression, yet relatively few virulence-specific regula...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88799 |
| _version_ | 1848765086249779200 |
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| author | John, Evan Singh, Karam Oliver, Richard Tan, Kar-Chun |
| author_facet | John, Evan Singh, Karam Oliver, Richard Tan, Kar-Chun |
| author_sort | John, Evan |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Plant-pathogenic fungi span diverse taxonomic lineages. Their host-infection strategies are often specialised and require the coordinated regulation of molecular virulence factors. Transcription factors (TFs) are fundamental regulators of gene expression, yet relatively few virulence-specific regulators are characterised in detail and their evolutionary trajectories are not well understood. Hence, this study compared the full range of TFs across taxonomically-diverse fungal proteomes and classified their lineages through an orthology analysis. The primary aims were to characterise differences in the range and profile of TF lineages broadly linked to plant-host association or pathogenic lifestyles, and to better characterise the evolutionary origin and trajectory of experimentally-validated virulence regulators. We observed significantly fewer TFs among obligate, host-associated pathogens, largely attributed to contractions in several Zn2Cys6 TF-orthogroup lineages. We also present novel insight into the key virulence-regulating TFs Ste12, Pf2 and EBR1, providing evidence for their ancestral origins, expansion and/or loss. Ultimately, the analysis presented here provides both primary evidence for TF evolution in fungal phytopathogenicity, as well as a practical phylogenetic resource to guide further detailed investigation on the regulation of virulence within key pathogen lineages. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:29:39Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-88799 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:29:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-887992022-07-07T08:31:15Z Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting diversity with fungal virulence John, Evan Singh, Karam Oliver, Richard Tan, Kar-Chun Plant-pathogenic fungi span diverse taxonomic lineages. Their host-infection strategies are often specialised and require the coordinated regulation of molecular virulence factors. Transcription factors (TFs) are fundamental regulators of gene expression, yet relatively few virulence-specific regulators are characterised in detail and their evolutionary trajectories are not well understood. Hence, this study compared the full range of TFs across taxonomically-diverse fungal proteomes and classified their lineages through an orthology analysis. The primary aims were to characterise differences in the range and profile of TF lineages broadly linked to plant-host association or pathogenic lifestyles, and to better characterise the evolutionary origin and trajectory of experimentally-validated virulence regulators. We observed significantly fewer TFs among obligate, host-associated pathogens, largely attributed to contractions in several Zn2Cys6 TF-orthogroup lineages. We also present novel insight into the key virulence-regulating TFs Ste12, Pf2 and EBR1, providing evidence for their ancestral origins, expansion and/or loss. Ultimately, the analysis presented here provides both primary evidence for TF evolution in fungal phytopathogenicity, as well as a practical phylogenetic resource to guide further detailed investigation on the regulation of virulence within key pathogen lineages. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88799 10.1016/j.fgb.2022.103712 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Elsevier fulltext |
| spellingShingle | John, Evan Singh, Karam Oliver, Richard Tan, Kar-Chun Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting diversity with fungal virulence |
| title | Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting
diversity with fungal virulence |
| title_full | Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting
diversity with fungal virulence |
| title_fullStr | Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting
diversity with fungal virulence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting
diversity with fungal virulence |
| title_short | Transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting
diversity with fungal virulence |
| title_sort | transcription factor lineages in plant-pathogenic fungi, connecting
diversity with fungal virulence |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88799 |