Comparative Genomics of Pathogens Causing Brown Spot Disease of Tobacco: Alternaria longipes and Alternaria alternata

The genus Alternaria is a group of infectious/contagious pathogenic fungi that not only invade a wide range of crops but also induce severe allergic reactions in a part of the human population. In this study, two strains Alternaria longipes cx1 and Alternaria alternata cx2 were isolated from different brown spot lesions on infected tobacco leaves. Their complete genomes were sequenced, de novo assembled, and comparatively analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that A. longipes cx1 and A. alternata cx2 diverged 3.3 million years ago, indicating a recent event of speciation. Seventeen non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes and 13 polyketide synthase (PKS) genes in A. longipes cx1 and 13 NRPS genes and 12 PKS genes in A. alternata cx2 were identified in these two strains. Some of these genes were predicted to participate in the synthesis of non-host specific toxins (non-HSTs), such as tenuazonic acid (TeA), alternariol (AOH) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME). By comparative genome analysis, we uncovered that A. longipes cx1 had more genes putatively involved in pathogen-plant interaction, more carbohydrate-degrading enzymes and more secreted proteins than A. alternata cx2. In summary, our results demonstrate the genomic distinction between A. longipes cx1 and A. altenata cx2. They will not only improve the understanding of the phylogenetic relationship among genus Alternaria, but more importantly provide valuable genomic resources for the investigation of plant-pathogen interaction.