Fungal clones win the battle, but recombination wins the war

André Drenth; Alistair R McTaggart; Brenda D Wingfield

doi:10.1186/s43008-019-0020-8

Fungal clones win the battle, but recombination wins the war

IMA Fungus. 2019 Oct 29:10:18. doi: 10.1186/s43008-019-0020-8. eCollection 2019.

Authors

André Drenth¹, Alistair R McTaggart^{1

2}, Brenda D Wingfield²

Affiliations

¹ Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102 Australia.
² Department of Genetics, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria, Gauteng South Africa.

Abstract

Clonal reproduction is common in fungi and fungal-like organisms during epidemics and invasion events. The success of clonal fungi shaped systems for their classification and some pathogens are tacitly treated as asexual. We argue that genetic recombination driven by sexual reproduction must be a starting hypothesis when dealing with fungi for two reasons: (1) Clones eventually crash because they lack adaptability; and (2) fungi find a way to exchange genetic material through recombination, whether sexual, parasexual, or hybridisation. Successful clones may prevail over space and time, but they are the product of recombination and the next successful clone will inevitably appear. Fungal pathogen populations are dynamic rather than static, and they need genetic recombination to adapt to a changing environment.

Keywords: Epidemics; Evolution; Fungal adaptation; Fungal pathogens; Fungi; Invasive species; Oomycota; Sexual reproduction.