The genome sequence of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea

Ralph A. Dean, Nicholas J. Talbot, Daniel J. Ebbole, Mark L. Farman, Thomas K. Mitchell, Marc J. Orbach, Michael Thon, Resham Kulkarni, Jin Rong Xu, Huaqin Pan, Nick D. Read, Yong Ilwan Lee, Ignazio Carbone, Doug Brown, Yee Oh Yeon, Nicole Donofrio, Seop Jeong Jun, Darren M. Soanes, Slavica Djonovic, Elena KolomlotsCathryn Rehmeyer, Weixl Li, Michael Harding, Soonok Kim, Marc Henri Lebrun, Heidi Bohnert, Sean Coughlan, Jonathan Butler, Sarah Calvo, Li Jun Ma, Robert Nicol, Seth Purcell, Chad Nusbaum, James E. Galagan, Bruce W. Dirren

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1326 Scopus citations

Abstract

Magnaporthe grisea is the most destructive pathogen of rice worldwide and the principal model organism for elucidating the molecular basis of fungal disease of plants. Here, we report the draft sequence of the M. grisea genome. Analysis of the gene set provides an insight into the adaptations required by a fungus to cause disease. The genome encodes a large and diverse set of secreted proteins, including those defined by unusual carbohydrate-binding domains. This fungus also possesses an expanded family of G-protein-coupled receptors, several new virulence-associated genes and large suites of enzymes involved in secondary metabolism. Consistent with a role in fungal pathogenesis, the expression of several of these genes is upregulated during the early stages of infection-related development. The M. grisea genome has been subject to invasion and proliferation of active transposable elements, reflecting the clonal nature of this fungus imposed by widespread rice cultivation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)980-986
Number of pages7
JournalNature
Volume434
Issue number7036
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 21 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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