Aspergillus genomic diversity

Comparative genomics shows Aspergillus species share genome size but harbor large lineage-specific gene sets.

Source

Comparative genomics reveals high biological diversity and specific adaptations in the industrially and medically important fungal genus Aspergillus

de Vries RP, Riley R, Wiebenga A, et al. · Genome biology · 2017

What they did

Compared Aspergillus genomes in MycoCosm for size, GC, gene content, repeats, and clade-specific genes.

Genomes ~29–36 Mb with 9,113–13,553 genes; ~20% Aspergillaceae-specific; section Nigri averages ~1,800 unique genes.

The limits

Does not experimentally validate every lineage-specific gene’s phenotype.

Key terms

Aspergillus: Diverse filamentous fungal genus.
Comparative genomics: Cross-species genome comparison.
Lineage-specific genes: Genes restricted to a clade.
GC content: Fraction of G+C bases in DNA.
Secondary metabolism: Specialized metabolite pathways often expanded in fungi.
MycoCosm: JGI fungal genome portal used for comparison.

1 / 10

Want these cards to stick?

Save the deck to NoteFren and study it with spaced repetition.

1 / 6

Genome size:

Common questions

Genome size?

29–36 Mb.

Gene counts?

9,113–13,553.

Aspergillaceae-specific?

~20%.

Nigri-specific average?

~1,800 genes.