T-Toxin Virulence Genes: Unconnected Dots in a Sea of Repeats
Sajeet Haridas, Jennifer B. González, Robert Riley, Maxim Koriabine, Mi Yan, Vivian Ng, Adriana Rightmyer, Igor V. Grigoriev, Scott Baker, B. Gillian Turgeon
Abstract
This was a plant disease epidemic, however, the current COVID-19 pandemic of humans is a stark reminder that novel, highly virulent, pathogens evolve with devastating consequences, no matter what the host-animal, plant, or other organism. Long read DNA sequencing technology allowed in depth structural comparisons between the sole, previously known, much less aggressive, version of the pathogen and the supervirulent version and revealed, in meticulous detail, the structure of the unique virulence-causing DNA. These data are foundational for future analysis of mechanisms of DNA acquisition from a foreign source.