Population genomic sequencing of Coccidioides fungi reveals recent hybridization and transposon control.

Genome Res
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

We have sequenced the genomes of 18 isolates of the closely related human pathogenic fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii to more clearly elucidate population genomic structure, bringing the total number of sequenced genomes for each species to 10. Our data confirm earlier microsatellite-based findings that these species are genetically differentiated, but our population genomics approach reveals that hybridization and genetic introgression have recently occurred between the two species. The directionality of introgression is primarily from C. posadasii to C. immitis, and we find more than 800 genes exhibiting strong evidence of introgression in one or more sequenced isolates. We performed PCR-based sequencing of one region exhibiting introgression in 40 C. immitis isolates to confirm and better define the extent of gene flow between the species. We find more coding sequence than expected by chance in the introgressed regions, suggesting that natural selection may play a role in the observed genetic exchange. We find notable heterogeneity in repetitive sequence composition among the sequenced genomes and present the first detailed genome-wide profile of a repeat-induced point mutation (RIP) process distinctly different from what has been observed in Neurospora. We identify promiscuous HLA-I and HLA-II epitopes in both proteomes and discuss the possible implications of introgression and population genomic data for public health and vaccine candidate prioritization. This study highlights the importance of population genomic data for detecting subtle but potentially important phenomena such as introgression.

Year of Publication
2010
Journal
Genome Res
Volume
20
Issue
7
Pages
938-46
Date Published
2010 Jul
ISSN
1549-5469
URL
DOI
10.1101/gr.103911.109
PubMed ID
20516208
PubMed Central ID
PMC2892095
Links
Grant list
R01 AI071118 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
U54-AI65359 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
R01AI70891 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
U54 AI065359 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
HHSN266200400001C / AO / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
HHSN266200400001C / PHS HHS / United States
R01 AI070891 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States