This copy of the genome of Piriformospora indica was obtained from Alga Zuccaro at the MPI für terrestrische Mikrobiologie.
In order to allow comparative analyses with other fungal genomes sequenced by the Joint Genome Institute, a copy of this genome is incorporated into MycoCosm.
Description:
Piriformospora indica is a member of the ecologically widely distributed Sebacinales, an order that branched off the Agaricomycetes (Basidiomycota) early in the evolution and harbors a broad spectrum of mycorrhizal types. P. indica is a biotrophic symbiont that colonizes the root cortex cells of a broad range of plant species, including the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Beside its ability to establish a long-lasting beneficial relationship with its hosts, P. indica can degrade dead root material saprotrophically. The dual lifestyle of P. indica is also evident during the mutualistic fungal development in roots where it displays a biphasic strategy with an initial biotrophic phase followed by a cell death associated phase. This strategy of colonizing plants is reminiscent of that of hemibiotrophic fungi, although a defined shift to necrotrophy with massive host cell death and macroscopically evident disease symptoms is missing. Research in the Sebacinales is focused on the mechanisms that enable symbiotic fungi to establish their self in active root cortex cells and to reprogram their hosts for enhanced performance. P. indica is genetically tractable, amenable to reverse genetics relying on RNAi silencing and can build on completed genome sequence. Investigating sebacinoid interactions with host plants can greatly improve our understanding of the molecular and biological differences accounting for endophytism, saprophytism and symbiosis and gives hints on the processes accounting for variations in host preferences and fungal lifestyles.
Credit: The genome of P. indica was sequenced using 454 technology by funding provided through the “Förderfond Forschung” from the Justus Liebig University Giessen and DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). After automated gene prediction using GeneMark, Augustus and fGenesH about 12000 gene models were predicted and manually validated by the “Piriformospora indica Genome Analysis Consortium”, MPI für terrestrische Mikrobiologie Marburg; Institute of Phytopathology and Applied Zoology, Justus Liebig University Giessen and Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, MIPS/IBIS Helmholtz Zentrum, German Research Center for Environmental Health.
Principal investigator:
Alga Zuccaro ([email protected])
MPI für terrestrische Mikrobiologie Marburg
Other links: http://pedant.helmholtz-muenchen.de/genomes.jsp?category=fungal
Genome Reference(s)
Zuccaro A, Lahrmann U, Güldener U, Langen G, Pfiffi S, Biedenkopf D, Wong P, Samans B, Grimm C, Basiewicz M, Murat C, Martin F, Kogel KH
Endophytic life strategies decoded by genome and transcriptome analyses of the mutualistic root symbiont Piriformospora indica.
PLoS Pathog. 2011 Oct;7(10):e1002290. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002290