Two genomes of Fusarium verticillioides from human patients: a comparative analysis

Fusarium verticillioides (FV) is a pathogen on plants but also seldomly detected as the cause of human fusariosis. Here we report the first two genome assemblies of Fusarium verticillioides obtained from clinical settings, FV_05-0160 and FV_IUM09_1037. The genomes were 1.5-2.3 Mb bigger than Fusarium verticillioides 7600 (used as a reference). Phylogenomic positioning of the strains confirms species identity and shows close relatedness with Italian, Australian and American strains isolated from maize. Comparative genomic analysis against the genome of the reference strain FV_7600, a pathogen of maize, were carried out identifying differences between the plant derived genome and the two human strains. A unique set of genes specific to the human strains were identified. Some of the genes may be implied in the adaptation to the different hosts. This study provides the first evidence, to our knowledge, for genomic differentiation in two humans pathogenic FV fungal genomes and open the way to comparative genomic studies searching for specific genes in host-niche adaptation.