Species borderlines in Fusarium exemplified by F. circinatum/F. subglutinans

Abstract

Fusarium species are known as cross-kingdom pathogens, causing infections in both plants and animals. This ecological variation challenges the species concept of closely similar lineages in the genus. The present paper describes various types of genetic interaction between strains of two neighboring model species with different predilection, F. circinatum and F. subglutinans. Parameters include sequencing of the translation elongation factor 1α (TEF1) and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase (RPB2), sexual crossing, and vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs). Successful interspecific crosses resulted in either recombination or in homothallic fruiting, the latter being limited to F. subglutinans MAT1 parents. Crossings were skewed, as Fusarium circinatum recombined more often than F. subglutinans. We hypothesize that genetic exchange in Fusarium species is finely regulated with an arsenal of options, which are applied when partners are phylogenetically closely related, leading to fluent species borderlines.