Diversity and Mechanisms of Genomic Adaptation in Penicillium
Jeanne Ropars, Ricardo C. Rodríguez de la Vega, Manuela López-Villavicencio, Jérôme Gouzy, Joëlle Dupont, Dominique Swennen, Emilie Dumas, Tatiana Giraud and Antoine Branca
from: Aspergillus and Penicillium in the Post-genomic Era (Edited by: Ronald P. de Vries, Isabelle Benoit Gelber and Mikael Rørdam Andersen). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2016) Pages: 27-42.
Abstract
Penicillium is a diverse fungal genus with hundreds of species occurring worldwide in various substrates, from soil to food, and with various lifestyles, from necrotrophic pathogenicity to endophytic mutualism. Several species are important for human affairs, being widely used in industry, such as the penicillin-producer P. rubens, the two cheese starters P. camemberti and P. roqueforti, and the mold used for fermenting sausages, P. nalgiovense. Other species are food spoilers that produce harmful mycotoxins or cause damages in fruit crops. Currently, 30 genomes of Penicillium belonging to 18 species are available. In this chapter, we reconstruct a phylogenetic tree based on available Penicillium genomes and outline the main features of the genomes, such as gene and transposable element content. We then review the recent advances that the available genomic and transcriptomic resources in the Penicillium genus have allowed regarding our understanding of the genomic processes of adaptation, including changes in gene content, expression and strikingly frequent and recent horizontal gene transfers. In addition, we summarize recent studies using genetic markers on the level of genetic diversity, mode of reproduction and population structure within Penicillium species. Overall, the Penicillium genus appears highly suitable models for studying the mechanisms of adaptation read more ...
