Genome sequence of the zygomycete Absidia glauca, a model for studying host-parasite interactions and naturally occurring horizontal gene transfer in eukaryotes

Absidia glauca is a model organism for studying a naturally occurring parasexual system in zygomycetes. It is the best-studied host of Parasitella parasitica (zygomycetes, Mucoraceae), a fusion parasite of many but not all Mucor-like fungi. During the fusion process with the host, genes are transferred from the parasite to the host. In Absidia glauca, this has been analysed with respect to plasmid transfer and by complementation of auxotrophic mutants with genes from Parasitella parasitica, transferred during infection. This system forms a highly efficient laboratory model for studying naturally occurring horizontal gene transfer in eukaryotes. The genomic sequence of this organism provides a prerequisite for studying spreading of Parasitella genes within the host range.