Phytophthora Genome Sequences Uncover Evolutionary Origins and Mechanisms of Pathogenesis

Abstract

Genome sequences of the soybean pathogen, Phytophthora sojae, and the sudden oak death pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, suggest a photosynthetic past and reveal recent massive expansion and diversification of potential pathogenicity gene families. Abstract: Draft genome sequences of the soybean pathogen, Phytophthora sojae, and the sudden oak death pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, have been determined. O�mycetes such as these Phytophthora species share the kingdom Stramenopila with photosynthetic algae such as diatoms and the presence of many Phytophthora genes of probable phototroph origin support a photosynthetic ancestry for the stramenopiles. Comparison of the two species' genomes reveals a rapid expansion and diversification of many protein families associated with plant infection such as hydrolases, ABC transporters, protein toxins, proteinase inhibitors and, in particular, a superfamily of 700 proteins with similarity to known o�mycete avirulence genes.