Journal article
Massive gene loss in the fungus Sporothrix epigloea accompanied a shift to life in a glucuronoxylomannan-based gel matrix
Genome biology and evolution, Vol.17(2), evaf015
02/03/2025
DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaf015
PMCID: PMC11822852
PMID: 39865500
Abstract
Fungi are well known for their ability to both produce and catabolize complex carbohydrates to acquire carbon, often in the most extreme of environments. Glucuronoxylomannan (GXM)-based gel matrices are widely produced by fungi in nature and though they are of key interest in medicine and pharmaceuticals, their biodegradation is poorly understood. Though some organisms, including other fungi, are adapted to life in and on GXM-like matrices in nature, they are almost entirely unstudied, and it is unknown if they are involved in matrix degradation. Sporothrix epigloea is an ascomycete fungus that completes its life cycle entirely in the short-lived secreted polysaccharide matrix of a white jelly fungus, Tremella fuciformis. To gain insight into how S. epigloea adapted to life in this unusual microhabitat, we compared the predicted protein composition of S. epigloea to that of 21 other Sporothrix species. We found that the genome of S. epigloea is smaller than that of any other sampled Sporothrix, with widespread functional gene loss, including those coding for serine proteases and biotin synthesis. In addition, many predicted CAZymes degrading both plant and fungal cell wall components were lost while a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) with no previously established activity or substrate specificity, appears to have been gained. Phenotype assays suggest narrow use of mannans and other oligosaccharides as carbon sources. Taken together, the results suggest a streamlined machinery, including potential carbon sourcing from GXM building blocks, facilitates the hyperspecialized ecology of S. epigloea in the GXM-like milieu.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Massive gene loss in the fungus Sporothrix epigloea accompanied a shift to life in a glucuronoxylomannan-based gel matrix
- Creators
- Carmen C G Allen - University of AlbertaDavid Díaz-Escandón - University of AlbertaSarah DeLong-Duhon - University of IowaGulnara Tagirdzhanova - University of AlbertaAlejandro Huereca - University of AlbertaShauna Reckseidler-Zenteno - Athabasca UniversityAndrew Forbes - University of IowaToby Spribille - University of Alberta
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Genome biology and evolution, Vol.17(2), evaf015
- DOI
- 10.1093/gbe/evaf015
- PMID
- 39865500
- PMCID
- PMC11822852
- NLM abbreviation
- Genome Biol Evol
- ISSN
- 1759-6653
- eISSN
- 1759-6653
- Publisher
- OXFORD UNIV PRESS
- Grant note
- Digital Research Alliance of Canada
This research was enabled in part by support provided by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (alliancecan.ca). We acknowledge the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute for supplying cultures and Centre d'expertise et de services de Genome Quebec and Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre for sequencing support. We thank Lisa Suits for help in collecting jelly fungi, Cindy Toll, and Alaine Hippee for help with genomic DNA extraction from jelly fungi, Tracy Thai for genomic DNA extraction from fungal cultures, Andrew Cook for advice on R scripts, the Athabasca University Science Lab for space and resources to culture fungi, and Diana Six, Lisa Stein, and Lisa Willis for advice and support.
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 01/27/2025
- Date published
- 02/03/2025
- Academic Unit
- Biology; University College Courses
- Record Identifier
- 9984781273802771
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