PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andrew D. Armitage
AU  - Eric Lysøe
AU  - Charlotte F. Nellist
AU  - Laura A. Lewis
AU  - Liliana M. Cano
AU  - Richard J. Harrison
AU  - May Bente Brurberg
TI  - Bioinformatic characterisation of the effector repertoire of the strawberry pathogen <em>Phytophthora cactorum</em>
AID  - 10.1101/321141
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 321141
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/21/321141.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/21/321141.full
AB  - The oomycete pathogen Phytophthora cactorum causes crown rot, a major disease of cultivated strawberry. We report the draft genome of P. cactorum isolate 10300, cultured from symptomatic Fragaria x ananassa tissue. Our analysis revealed that there are a large number of genes encoding putative secreted effectors in the genome, including nearly 200 RxLR domain containing effectors, 77 Crinklers (CRN) grouped into 38 families and numerous apoplastic effectors, such as phytotoxins (PcF proteins) and necrosis inducing proteins. As in other Phytophthora species, the genomic environment of many RxLR and CRN genes differed from core eukaryotic genes, a hallmark of the two-speed genome. We found genes homologous to known Phytophthora infestans avirulence genes including Avr1, Avr3b, Avr4, Avrblb1 and AvrSmira2 indicating effector sequence conservation between Phytophthora species of Clade 1A and 1C. The reported P. cactorum genome sequence and associated annotations represent a comprehensive resource for avirulence gene discovery in other Phytophthora species from Clade 1 and will facilitate effector informed breeding strategies in other crops.