van de Vossenberg et al. BMC Evolutionary Biology (2018) 18:136 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-018-1246-6 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access The linear mitochondrial genome of the quarantine chytrid Synchytrium endobioticum; insights into the evolution and recent history of an obligate biotrophic plant pathogen Bart T. L. H. van de Vossenberg1,2* , Balázs Brankovics3, Hai D. T. Nguyen4, Marga P. E. van Gent-Pelzer1, Donna Smith5, Kasia Dadej4, Jarosław Przetakiewicz6, Jan F. Kreuze7, Margriet Boerma8, Gerard C. M. van Leeuwen2, C. André Lévesque4 and Theo A. J. van der Lee1 Abstract Background: Chytridiomycota species (chytrids) belong to a basal lineage in the fungal kingdom. Inhabiting terrestrial and aquatic environments, most are free-living saprophytes but several species cause important diseases: e.g. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, responsible for worldwide amphibian decline; and Synchytrium endobioticum, causing potato wart disease. S. endobioticum has an obligate biotrophic lifestyle and isolates can be further characterized as pathotypes based on their virulence on a differential set of potato cultivars. Quarantine measures have been implemented globally to control the disease and prevent its spread. We used a comparative approach using chytrid mitogenomes to determine taxonomical relationships and to gain insights into the evolution and recent history of introductions of this plant pathogen. (Continued on next page) * Correspondence:
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[email protected] 1Wageningen UR, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Biointeractions and Plant Health & Plant Breeding, 6708, PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands 2Dutch National Plant Protection Organization, National Reference Centre, Geertjesweg 15, 6706EA Wageningen, The Netherlands Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s).