User:Ilya/Yeast/Phylogeny/Ashbya gossypii

• aka Eremothecium Gossypii

• filamentous fungus

• 7 chromosomes, 9.2Mb
• 4718 protein coding genes (smallest genome of a free living eukaryote)
• Probably has the simplest version of the pheromone response pathway
• CG content 52%
• 95% of ORF have homologs in S. cerevisiae (4281 or 90% at syntenic positions)
• Protein sequence conservation between homologs 20-100% identity

• The hemiascomycete Ashbya gossypii was first described in 1929 as a cotton pathogen transmitted by sucking insects and has considerable commercial value as a major source for riboflavin (vitamin B2). Ashbya shows filamentous growth with multinucleated and extensively branching hyphae. A yeast-type growth has up to now not been observed.

• One way to examine essential yeast genes is to compare yeast with other free-living eukaryotic organisms that are syntenic but have smaller genomes. One such organism is Ashbya gossypii, a filamentous fungus with only seven chromosomes.