Abstract

Rock-inhabiting fungi (RIF) are slow-growing microorganisms that inhabit rocks and exhibit exceptional stress tolerance owing to their thick melanised cell walls. This study reports the identification of a novel rock-inhabiting fungus, Cladophialophora brunneola sp. nov. which was isolated from a karst landform in Guizhou, China, using a combination of morphological and phylogenetic analyses. The genome of C. brunneola was sequenced and assembled, with a total size of approximately 33.8 Mb, encoding 14,168 proteins and yielding an N50 length of 1.88 Mb. C. brunneola possessed a larger proportion of species-specific genes, and phylogenomic analysis positioned it in an early diverged lineage within Chaetothyriales. In comparison to non-RIF, C. brunneola displayed reduction in carbohydrate-active enzyme families (CAZymes) and secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Transcriptome analysis conducted under PEG-induced drought stress revealed elevated expression levels of genes associated with melanin synthesis pathways, cell wall biosynthesis, and lipid metabolism. This study contributes to our understanding of the genomic evolution and polyextremotolerance exhibited by rock-inhabiting fungi.

Details

Title
Genome and transcriptome reveal lithophilic adaptation of Cladophialophora brunneola, a new rock-inhabiting fungus
Author
Fu, Rong 1 ; Sun, Wei 2 ; Liu, Bingjie 1 ; Sun, Jingzu 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wu, Qi 2 ; Liu, Xingzhong 3 ; Xiang, Meichun 1 

1  State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 
2  State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 
3  Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, China 
Pages
326-343
Publication year
2023
Publication date
Dec 2023
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
ISSN
21501203
e-ISSN
21501211
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/21501203.2023.2256764
ProQuest document ID
3092107773
Copyright
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons  Attribution – Non-Commercial License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.