Starships are a newly discovered mechanism of fungal evolution
Our group’s work recently led to the discovery of a novel mechanism of evolution in fungi: giant transposons we call Starships. These elements are unlike anything ever observed in a fungal genome not only because of their sheer size (1-2 orders of magnitude larger than a typical transposon) but because they carry genes with roles in fungal interactions, such as biosynthetic gene clusters and virulence factors. Our collaborative work has further demonstrated that Starships are agents of horizontal gene transfer in fungi, an established phenomenon that has so far lacked a known mechanism. These discoveries raise the intriguing possibility that Starships are important yet never-before-considered drivers of fungal threats and opportunities
We are now at a pivotal time in the field of fungal biology because we are moving the science of Starships from prediction to fact. Starships are found across hundreds of species, yet their contributions to fungal interactions have never been accounted for, providing new opportunities for foundational and translational discoveries.
Selected publications (clicking on image will open a new tab):
Genome structure predicts metabolic innovation
Metabolic pathways in fungi have consequential impacts on plant, ecosystem and human health. This is especially true for metabolic pathways involving either the degradation and production of specialized secondary metabolites that mediate interactions with other species and abiotic stress. However, little is known about the genetic bases of fungal metabolism or the evolutionary processes that give rise to the formation of adaptive metabolic pathways. This has resulted in a fundamental gap in our ability to connect fungal genotypes to the discovery of new metabolic phenotypes.
One productive approach to address these gaps is the study of metabolic gene clusters (MGCs), which are groups of neighboring genes that encode enzymatic, transporter and regulatory proteins participating in the same or related metabolic pathway. The self-contained nature of MGCs facilitates the discovery of genes encoding adaptive pathways, as well as investigations into the mechanisms shaping their evolution. We are interested in leveraging information about MGCs in conjunction with other ‘omics approaches to mine fungal genomes for novel compounds, especially antibiotics and therapeutics.
Selected publications (clicking on image will open a new tab):
