Climate-specific biosynthetic gene clusters in populations of a lichen-forming fungus.
Environ Microbiol
; 23(8): 4260-4275, 2021 08.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34097344
ABSTRACT
Natural products can contribute to abiotic stress tolerance in plants and fungi. We hypothesize that biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), the genomic elements that underlie natural product biosynthesis, display structured differences along elevation gradients. We analysed biosynthetic gene variation in natural populations of the lichen-forming fungus Umbilicaria pustulata. We collected a total of 600 individuals from the Mediterranean and cold-temperate climates. Population genomic analyses indicate that U. pustulata contains three clusters that are highly differentiated between the Mediterranean and cold-temperate populations. One entire cluster is exclusively present in cold-temperate populations, and a second cluster is putatively dysfunctional in all cold-temperate populations. In the third cluster variation is fixed in all cold-temperate populations due to hitchhiking. In these two clusters the presence of consistent allele frequency differences among replicate populations/gradients suggests that selection rather than drift is driving the pattern. We advocate that the landscape of fungal biosynthetic genes is shaped by both positive and hitchhiking selection. We demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of climate-associated BGCs and BGC variations in lichen-forming fungi. While the associated secondary metabolites of the candidate clusters are presently unknown, our study paves the way for targeted discovery of natural products with ecological significance.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Líquens
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Microbiol
Assunto da revista:
MICROBIOLOGIA
/
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Alemanha