Host-to-Pathogen Gene Transfer Facilitated Infection of Insects by a Pathogenic Fungus

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The ability of infectious agents to evolve different host ranges contributes to the emergence of new diseases, and this host switching could also account for the wide variety of fungal associations with animals, plants and other fungi. There must be mechanisms for such host shifts, but these remain largely unknown. In this study, we phylogenetically predict that the endophytic fungus Metarhizium robertsii acquired a sterol carrier gene from insects through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). This sterol carrier is involved in maintaining cell membrane sterols, and thus membrane integrity, when M. robertsii proliferates in the haemocoel of living insects. Therefore, the acquisition of genetic material from a host has contributed to the development of fungal entomopathogenicity. In order to simulate this evolutionary event, the sterol carrier gene was transformed into an endophytic insect-pathogenic fungus (Beauveria bassiana) that lacks an endogenous Mr-NPC2a homolog. The virulence of B. bassiana was increased by expression of Mr-NPC2a.

Vyšlo v časopise: Host-to-Pathogen Gene Transfer Facilitated Infection of Insects by a Pathogenic Fungus. PLoS Pathog 10(4): e32767. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1004009
Kategorie: Research Article
prolekare.web.journal.doi_sk: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004009

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