Home • Verticillium dahliae MPI-CAGE-AT-0001 v1.0
Verticillium dahliae MPI-CAGE-AT-0001 growing in the lab.
Verticillium dahliae MPI-CAGE-AT-0001 growing in the lab.
Image Credit: Stephane Hacquard

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.

Verticillium dahliae ( phylum Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes, order Hypocreales) is a soil-borne fungus primarily described as a destructive fungal plant pathogen, causing wilts in phylogenetically unrelated plant species, including herbaceous annuals and perennials. The wide host range of V. dahliae, together with its ability to rapidly adapt to diverse ecological niches and to colonize plant hosts as pathogen and endophyte makes it an interesting model to study the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of endophytism and pathogenesis. Consistent with that, several V. dahliae isolates have been isolated from the roots of healthy plants, suggesting they can also live benignly as endophyte within plant tissues. The sequenced Verticillium dahliae MPI-CAGE-AT-0001 has been isolated from surface sterilized roots of healthy Arabidopsis thaliana grown in the Cologne Agricultural Soil. The sequencing of this fungal isolate is part of a larger project aiming at sequencing 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 represents a promising way to better understand how the endophytic lifestyle evolved in phylogenetically unrelated fungal species. Comparative genome analysis between different plant hosts, and between saprotrophic, mycorrhizal, and pathogenic fungi will provide new insights into the specific adaptations but also the conserved signatures associated with these different lifestyles.

Researchers who wish to publish analyses using data from unpublished CSP genomes are respectfully required to contact the PI and JGI to avoid potential conflicts on data use and coordinate other publications with the CSP master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

 

Genome Reference(s)