Abstract
Fungi assigned to the Ophiostomatales are of economic concern as many are blue-stain fungi and some are plant pathogens. The mitogenomes of two blue-stain fungi, Ophiostoma minus and Ophiostoma piliferum, were sequenced and compared with currently available mitogenomes for other members of the Ophiostomatales. Species representing various genera within the Ophiostomatales have been examined for gene content, gene order, phylogenetic relationships, and the distribution of mobile elements. Gene synteny is conserved among the Ophiostomatales but some members were missing the atp9 gene. A genome wide intron landscape has been prepared to demonstrate the distribution of the mobile genetic elements (group I and II introns and homing endonucleases) and to provide insight into the evolutionary dynamics of introns among members of this group of fungi. Examples of complex introns or nested introns composed of two or three intron modules have been observed in some species. The size variation among the mitogenomes (from 23.7 kb to about 150 kb) is mostly due to the presence and absence of introns. Members of the genus Sporothrix sensu stricto appear to have the smallest mitogenomes due to loss of introns. The taxonomy of the Ophiostomatales has recently undergone considerable revisions; however, some lineages remain unresolved. The data showed that genera such as Raffaelea appear to be polyphyletic and the separation of Sporothrix sensu stricto from Ophiostoma is justified.
Highlights
Members of the Ophiostomatales are frequently associates of bark beetles that can serve as vectors for these fungi
Mitochondrial genome architecture and size are highly variable among the fungi due to recombination events promoted by repeats and by the presence and activities of mobile elements such group I and group II introns and intron-encoded proteins (IEPs)
Complex introns are composed of several intron modules possible, the result of one mobile intron invading another intron
Summary
Members of the Ophiostomatales are frequently associates of bark beetles that can serve as vectors for these fungi. Many members of the Ophiostomatales cause blue-stain of sap wood in hard- and softwood species. Ophiostoma piliferum is a serious blue-stain agent on a variety of conifer species but it is not considered to be pathogenic on softwoods (Linnakoski et al, 2012). Both O. minus and O. piliferum have been reported from many geographic regions and from a variety of hosts and they could represent species complexes (Chakravarty et al, 1994; Gorton and Webber, 2000; Hafez and Hausner, 2011; Jankowiak and Bilanski, 2013; Bilto and Hausner, 2016)
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