ArticleBMC genomics2026
Historical comparative genomics to track the evolution of fungal pathogens: a proof of concept.
Article in BMC genomics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Genomic Insights into Historical Adaptation of Three Key Fungal Plant Pathogens.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFungal pathogens are major contributors to global losses of crop yields. Despite large-scale efforts to develop fungicides and resistant plant genotypes, disease outbreaks still pose severe risks to food security due to fungicide resistance and high adaptability of fungal pathogens. Genetic mechanisms behind the acquisition of resistance and renewed virulence have been uncovered by genome sequencing, especially of pathogens of main crops targeted by major control programs. Here, we investigate the use of comparative genomics of historical isolates to investigate how the wider community of fungal plant pathogens evolved during agricultural intensification.
resultsWe analysed historical cryopreserved fungal isolates from three species that were collected in the UK between 1950 and 2000. Comparative genomics of 32 genomes was used to identify variable genome regions that represent putative targets of strong selection during this period, focusing especially on targets of fungicides and putative effector genes that might underpin changes in virulence. Using methods suitable for isolate rather than population sampling, we found evidence of rapid changes in single nucleotide polymorphism frequency in a suite of genes involved in pathogenesis, which overlapped partly between two of the species. We also found turnover in effector gene content in the UK during the period, but generally conserved evolution of fungicide target genes. Sample time and host explained similar amounts of variation in both single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) changes and variation in effector gene content.
conclusionsThe described approach could be scaled up in the future to reconstruct the evolution of hundreds of species and samples held in historical fungal collections worldwide throughout the course of the Green Revolution.
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