External Seminar "Integrative genomics to uncover mechanisms of fungal genome function and evolution" by Cecile Lorrain

Title : Integrative genomics to uncover mechanisms of fungal genome function and evolution

Speaker : Cecile Lorrain (Plant Pathology Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich)

Abstract : Fungi comprise an immensely diverse kingdom, with an estimate of more than three million species occupying nearly every ecological niche: from decomposers to devastating crop pathogens. This diversity is reflected in their genome size, structure, and regulation, yet fungi remain underrepresented models for elucidating the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms underlying eukaryotic genome organization. My research integrates molecular genetics, comparative genomics, and chromatin biology to address a central question: how have fungi evolved genome architecture and regulatory plasticity to adapt to diverse environments and hosts?  We first approached this question through population and functional genomics, asking how natural genetic variation contributes to host specialization and ecological adaptation. Using a global collection of more than a thousand strains of a major fungal wheat pathogen, we demonstrated that global populations show signatures of local adaptation to contrasting climatic conditions and a complex polygenic basis for thermal adaptation. We also developed a new genome-host association framework to identify new fungal genetic variants linked to host specificity. In parallel, we focused on how large-scale features of genome architecture, such as transposable elements and chromatin states, contribute to genome plasticity and innovation. In this work, we uncovered how the hierarchical principles of nuclear organization contributes to genome regulation and maintenance in a major wheat pathogen and we used an evolve-and-sequence experiment to assess how epigenetic and structural variation influences genome plasticity and adaptive potential in this species. My future research builds up on these projects to investigate how chromatin architecture, epigenetic states, and transcriptional networks shape genome function and adaptation across different fungal species and populations.