The Zymoseptoria tritici ORFeome: a functional genomics community resource

Libraries of protein-encoding sequences can be generated by identification of open reading frames (ORFs) from a genome of choice that are then assembled into collections of plasmids termed ORFeome libraries. These represent powerful resources to facilitate functional genomic characterization of genes and their encoded products. Here, we report the generation of an ORFeome for Zymoseptoria tritici, which causes the most serious disease of wheat in temperate regions of the world. We screened the genome of strain IP0323 for high confidence genemodels, identifying 4,075 candidates from 10,933 predicted genes. These were amplified from genomic DNA, were cloned into the Gateway entry vector pDONR207, and were sequenced, providing a total of 3,022 quality-controlled plasmids. The ORFeome includes genes predicted to encode effectors (n = 410) and secondary metabolite biosynthetic proteins (n = 171) in addition to genes residing at dispensable chromosomes (n = 122) or those that are preferentially expressed during plant infection (n = 527). The ORFeome plasmid library is compatible with our previously developed suite of Gateway destination vectors, which have various combinations of promoters, selection markers, and epitope tags. The Z. tritici ORFeome constitutes a powerful resource for functional genomics and offers unparalleled opportunities to understand the biology of Z. tritici.