Yukiyo Sato

Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in a fungal plant pathogen and drive virulence evolution - Nature Communications Giant transposons, known as ‘Starships’, mediate horizontal gene transfer between fungal genomes. Here, Sato et al. show that Starships occupy genome regions crucial for infection in a plant pathogeni...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Really nice. Especially nice RIP result linked to ancestral sex hypotheses. Which then links nicely to plastic genomic regions and adaptation in the face of asexual reproduction.

Thank you so much!

Thank you, Michael! I really appreciate your great cooperation!

Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in a fungal plant pathogen and drive virulence evolution Nature Communications - Giant transposons, known as ‘Starships’, mediate horizontal gene transfer between fungal genomes. Here, Sato et al. show that Starships occupy genome regions...

📣 Happy to see the journal publication 📄 of our work on Starships 🚀 in Verticillium fungi: terrific work led by @yukiyosato.bsky.social
rdcu.be/exBSp

Model of Starship mediated transfer of the ToxA gene, that is present on a separate mobile element named ToxhAT. Blue: ToxhAT; Green: Starship Horizon; Yellow: Starship Sanctuary.

Curious about how novel #plant #pathogens emerge? Check out our microreview on whether #fungal disease outbreaks are instigated by Starship #transposons. We present three examples that we think are evidence of outbreaks caused by Starship HGT. bsppjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Thanks to everyone who came by my poster today for discussion! #2025ISMPMI

If you weren’t able to make it but still interested in the potential role native plasmids play within Sphingomonas-plant interactions. Can check it out now on Zenodo zenodo.org/records/1591...

The first paper of my PhD is now available as a preprint! 🎉

Transposable elements (TEs) don't just jump within fungal genomes, they also move extensively between species. In this study, we screened over 1,300 fungal genomes and found a conservative estimate of 5,500+ horizontal transfer events.

Last week, our latest @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social preprint was released, a joint-venture of @antonkraege.bsky.social & @wolki95.bsky.social and co-directed by @nicksnelders.bsky.social a 🧵

Undermining the cry for help: The phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae secretes an antimicrobial effector protein to undermine host recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas bacteria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.09.658588v1

JSPS Research Fellowship The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellowship supports you as a highly qualified postdoc from Germany in conducting your research in Japan – regardless of discipline.

Hey my fellow Germans! I wasn't aware, but there is an AvH-JSPP postdoc fellowship, dedicated to German citizens aiming to do their postdoc in Japan. It covers salary + travel to Japan + startup for your life in Japan. Let me know if you are interested!
www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/apply/spo...

📣 We have a postdoc position in fungus-microbiota interactions! Apply here: jobportal.uni-koeln.de/bewerben/2197
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For more details, visit: bewerbungsmanagement.uni-koeln.de/ausschreibun...

Excited to share the first PhD preprint of @iglavincheska.bsky.social — now on bioRxiv!
We explored the 3D genome of Zymo and found:
🧬 Rabl-like conformation
🧩 Accessory chr tethered to core centromeres
🏰 Self-interacting domains and boundaries with insulator motifs
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Starship giant transposable elements cluster by host taxonomy using k-mer-based phylogenetics Abstract. Starships are a recently established superfamily of giant cargo-mobilizing transposable elements in the fungal subphylum Pezizomyotina (phylum As

Our recent paper is out where we propose kmer-based phylogenetics for fungal Starship TEs (which are unalignable as highly variable). We think it could help with spotting bonafide HGT events (and suggest direction of transfer?)
doi.org/10.1093/g3jo...
@mcmullan0.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social

Bacterial community-emitted volatiles regulate Arabidopsis growth and root architecture in a distinct manner from those from individual strains Short summary: This study reveals that the effects of bacterial community-produced volatiles on Arabidopsis growth and root architecture are an emergent property beyond the sum of effects by individua...

Finally, I am thrilled to share our long-term volatile project is out in Plant Communications! 🥳

Bacterial community-emitted volatiles regulate Arabidopsis growth and root architecture in a distinct manner from those from individual strains: Plant Communications www.cell.com/plant-commun...

Webinar Alert🌱
Want to learn cutting-edge studies in plant-microbe interaction? Join our webinar "Advances in Plant-Microbe Interactions: Insights from Asia to the World" with
@elifecommunity.bsky.social !
📅 May 19, 2025 | 🕝 JST 14:30–17:20 (UTC+9)
📌Register: u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Swiss Alps seen from Neuchatel

Excited to do a postdoc in beautiful Neuchatel / Switzerland🇨🇭?

We have several postdoc positions open at the moment!

Check our website for the full ads here: pathogen-genomics.org/jobs

Happy to answer any question and please spread the word to anyone who might be interested!

A fungal transcription factor converts a beneficial root endophyte into an anthracnose leaf pathogen Endophytic fungi colonize healthy plant tissues without disease. Ujimatsu et al. reveal that the fungal transcription factor CtBOT6 triggers the virulence of a root-associated beneficial endophyte by ...

Thrilled to share my first paper published at Current biology!!
We found that the expression level of one single transcription factor converts beneficial root endophyte into pathogenic guy😈 (1/8) www.cell.com/current-biol...

We're hiring a postdoc! If you're interested in giant Starship TEs, HGT, and fungal genomics please apply. Experience transforming filamentous fungi is a big plus! uu.varbi.com/en/center/to...

Historic transposon mobilisation waves create distinct pools of adaptive variants in a major crop pathogen Transposable elements (TEs) can drive the evolution of host-pathogen interactions and gains in antimicrobial resistance. However, how adaptive TEs arise in populations and historical contingencies aff...

Excited to share our latest preprint 🥳
Historic transposon mobilisation waves create distinct pools of adaptive variants in a major crop pathogen
@danielcroll.bsky.social
#TESky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A gnotobiotic system reveals multifunctional effector roles in plant-fungal pathogen dynamics Plants host diverse microbiota that influence physiological processes and can enhance resilience against invading pathogens that, in turn, evolved effector proteins to manipulate host microbiota in th...

Last week, our newest @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social‬ preprint saw the light, led by @wolki95.bsky.social and co-directed by Kathrin Wippel (SILS, Amsterdam): A gnotobiotic system reveals multifunctional effector roles in plant-fungal pathogen dynamics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The mobile genome: genetic and physiological impacts of transposable elements

Do you have transposon-related research cooking, with some cool results you are exciting to share? Start thinking about registering to #EMBOMobileGenome workshop! Nov 4-7 2025 in Heidelberg. One of the historical TE meetings, with a diverse and welcoming community. www.embl.org/about/info/c...
1/3

Analyses of Transposable Elements in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Support Evolutionary Parallels With Filamentous Plant Pathogens Abstract. Transposable elements are repetitive DNA sequences that excise or create copies that are inserted elsewhere in the genome. Their expansion shapes

Happy to share that our paper "Analyses of Transposable Elements in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Support Evolutionary Parallels With Filamentous Plant Pathogens" is out.

academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Illustration depicting the ways in which fungi can exchange genetic material with each other. Starship mediated HGT is confirmed experimentally in this preprint.

We did it! We caught Starship #transposons moving between #fungal species in the lab, including between species separated by ~100my. We think Starships are a mediator of HGT in fungi, akin to conjugative elements in bacteria. Check out the preprint. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Using genomics to explore the ecology and evolution of plant-associated microbial populations and communities? 🌿

Submit an abstract by March 11 and join us in Cologne this July for #ISMPMI2025! We serve cool science + cold German beer 🍻 Join the party: buff.ly/uqEfN6O

And tomorrow, Wednesday, in CS 3.5 Symbionts and endophytes (Liffey Meeting Room 3) at 15:30 by @ciarankelly.bsky.social: Understanding the role of antimicrobial effector proteins secreted by the lichen-forming fungus Peltigera rufescens

Can't attend #ECFG17 this year, but watch out this afternoon CS 2.1 Plant pathogenic fungi (The Liffey B) at 16:30 by @wolki95.bsky.social: Undermining the “cry for help”: how a fungus secretes an antimicrobial to undermine host recruitment of antagonists

From Lesions to Lessons: Two Decades of Filamentous Plant Pathogen Genomics | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions® Filamentous plant pathogens pose a severe threat to food security. Current estimates suggest up to 23% yield losses to pre- and post-harvest diseases and these losses are projected to increase due to ...

From lesions to lessons:
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of filamentous plant pathogen genomics. In our new review, we present lessons we learned over the past 2 decades and discuss the future of plant pathogen genomics. Take a first look!

apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...

What an awesome story! amazing to see so many connections with virulence factors 🤯🌱🚀

Wonderful 🚀 work on Verticillium out by the Thomma team!

Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in a fungal plant pathogen and drive virulence evolution Starships form a recently discovered superfamily of giant transposons in Pezizomycotina fungi, implicated in mediating horizontal transfer of diverse cargo genes between fungal genomes. Their elusive nature has long obscured their significance, and their impact on genome evolution remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal a surprising abundance and diversity of Starships in the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae. Remarkably, Starships dominate the plastic genomic compartments involved in host colonization, are enriched in virulence-associated genes, and exhibit genetic and epigenetic characteristics associated with adaptive genome evolution. We further uncover extensive horizontal transfer of Starships between Verticillium species and, strikingly, from distantly related Fusarium fungi. Finally, we demonstrate how Starship activity facilitated the de novo formation of a novel virulence gene. Our findings illuminate the profound influence of Starship dynamics on fungal genome evolution and the development of virulence. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

📣New year, new preprint @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social 🎉! A study led by the brilliant @yukiyosato.bsky.social showing that Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in the fungal plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae and drive virulence evolution. 🧵[1/12] doi.org/10.1101/2025...