Genome analysis of three isolates of Stemphylium lycopersici differ in their virulence and sporulation ability: Identification of effectors, pathogenesis and virulence factors

Abstract

Tomato grey leaf spot is a fungal disease that provokes losses in tomato yield. The aimof this work is to analyse genomic differences among three isolates of Stemphylium lycopersici that differ in virulence and sporulation. The bioinformatics analysis led us topredict the identity of putative effectors, pathogenesis and virulence factors. Like thegenome of other necrotrophic pathogens, Stemphylium encodes a wide spectrum ofeffectors, including an ample and diverse array of carbohydrate-degrading enzymes.Interestingly, the number of predicted effectors was unrelated to virulence. Low virulence appeared to be associated with the presence of several double-stranded RNAsfrom viruses as well as cellular processes related to protein degradation, redox anddetoxifying processes and monoterpenes production. This is the first identificationof the potential effectors of tomato–S. lycopersici interaction; nonetheless functionalstudies should be done.