Title
The cacao pathogen Moniliophthora roreri (Marasmiaceae) possesses biallelic A and B mating loci but reproduces clonally
Date Issued
01 June 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Aime M.
Purdue University
Publisher(s)
Nature Publishing Group
Abstract
The cacao pathogen Moniliophthora roreri belongs to the mushroom-forming family Marasmiaceae, but it has never been observed to produce a fruiting body, which calls to question its capacity for sexual reproduction. In this study, we identified potential A (HD1 and HD2) and B (pheromone precursors and pheromone receptors) mating genes in M. roreri. A PCR-based method was subsequently devised to determine the mating type for a set of 47 isolates from across the geographic range of the fungus. We developed and generated an 11-marker microsatellite set and conducted association and linkage disequilibrium (standardized index of association, I A s) analyses. We also performed an ancestral reconstruction analysis to show that the ancestor of M. roreri is predicted to be heterothallic and tetrapolar, which together with sliding window analyses support that the A and B mating loci are likely unlinked and follow a tetrapolar organization within the genome. The A locus is composed of a pair of HD1 and HD2 genes, whereas the B locus consists of a paired pheromone precursor, Mr-Ph4, and receptor, STE3-Mr4. Two A and B alleles but only two mating types were identified. Association analyses divided isolates into two well-defined genetically distinct groups that correlate with their mating type; I A s values show high linkage disequilibrium as is expected in clonal reproduction. Interestingly, both mating types were found in South American isolates but only one mating type was found in Central American isolates, supporting a prior hypothesis of clonal dissemination throughout Central America after a single or very few introductions of the fungus from South America.
Start page
491
End page
501
Volume
116
Issue
6
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Micología
Ciencias de las plantas, Botánica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84959518009
PubMed ID
Source
Heredity
ISSN of the container
0018067X
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus