Home • Stachybotrys elegans MPI-CAGE-CH-0235 v1.0
Stachybotrys spores 10 X 40 magnification under bright field microscopy.
Stachybotrys spores 10 X 40 magnification under bright field microscopy.
Image credit: Dr. Sahay licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

This genome was sequenced as part of the 1000 Fungal Genomes Project - Deep Sequencing of Ecologically-relevant Dikarya, and more specifically as part of the Endophyte Genome Sequencing project, which seeks to sequence members of diverse lineages of endophytic species found in Arabidopsis, Populus and other plants to examine the functional diversity of fungi with a shared evolutionary history.

The genus Stachybotrys (Ascomycota phylum, Sordariomycetes class, Hypocreales order) comprises molds, hyphomycetes or asexually reproducing filamentous fungi that preferentially grow in soil and on decaying plant substrates, decomposing cellulose, leaf litter, and seeds. Some Stachybotrys species (i.e. Stachybotrys chartarum) produce toxic secondary metabolites that may affect animal and human health through mycotoxicosis, infection, allergy, and inflammation. Stachybotrys sp. have also been isolated from living plants, suggesting that some taxa can live benignly as endophytes within plant tissues. Biocontrol activities have been suggested, since Stachybotrys elegans can parasitize the fungal plant pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG-3 (Tweddell et al. 1994), whereas another Stachybotrys sp. leaf endophyte has been shown to quantitatively reduce rust disease symptoms in Populus leaves (Raghavendra and Newcombe 2013). The sequenced Stachybotrys elegans MPI-CAGE-CH-0235 strain has been isolated from surface sterilized roots of the flowering plant Cardamine hirsuta (a close relative of Arabidopsis thaliana) and represent an important model for studying fungal adaptation to the root environment and evolution towards the endophytic lifestyle. The sequencing of this fungal isolate is part of a larger project aiming to sequence the genomes of numerous phylogenetically diverse root-associated fungi from Arabidopsis, Populus, and other plant hosts for further comparative genome analysis. Unravelling the genomic signatures reflecting the adaptation of these microbes to the host cell environment represent a promising way to better understand how the endophytic lifestyle evolved in phylogenetically unrelated fungal species. In addition, comparative genome analysis with saprotrophic, mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungi will provide new insights into the strategies used by the fungus to colonize plant roots as well as its biocontrol potential.

Researchers who wish to publish analyses using data from unpublished CSP genomes are respectfully required to contact the PI and JGI to avoid potential conflicts on data use and coordinate other publications with the CSP master paper(s).

 

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