Eukaryotic Cell
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Other Versions of this Article:
EC.00380-07v1
7/6/1029    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pyrzak, W.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, B. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pyrzak, W.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, B. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Eukaryotic Cell, June 2008, p. 1029-1040, Vol. 7, No. 6
1535-9778/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00380-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Mating Type Protein Mat1-2 from Asexual Aspergillus fumigatus Drives Sexual Reproduction in Fertile Aspergillus nidulans{triangledown}

Wioletta Pyrzak, Karen Y. Miller, and Bruce L. Miller*

Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Center for Reproductive Biology, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho

Received 15 October 2007/ Accepted 10 January 2008

The lack of an experimentally amenable sexual genetic system in Aspergillus fumigatus is a major limitation in the study of the organism's pathogenesis. A recent comparative genome analysis revealed evidence for potential sexuality in A. fumigatus. Homologs of mating type genes as well as other genes of the "sexual machinery" have been identified in anamorphic A. fumigatus. The mat1-2 gene encodes a homolog of MatA, an HMG box mating transcriptional factor (MatHMG) that regulates sexual development in fertile Aspergillus nidulans. In this study, the functionalities of A. fumigatus mat1-2 and the Mat1-2 protein were determined by interspecies gene exchange between sterile A. fumigatus and fertile A. nidulans. Ectopically integrated A. fumigatus mat1-2 (driven by its own promoter) was not functional in a sterile A. nidulans {Delta}matA strain, and no sexual development was observed. In contrast, the A. fumigatus mat1-2 open reading frame driven by the A. nidulans matA promoter and integrated by homologous gene replacement at the matA locus was functional and conferred full fertility. This is the first report showing that cross species mating type gene exchange between closely related Ascomycetes did not function in sexual development. This is also the first report demonstrating that a MatHMG protein from an asexual species is fully functional, with viable ascospore differentiation, in a fertile homothallic species. The expression of mat1-2 was assessed in A. fumigatus and A. nidulans. Our data suggest that mat1-2 may not be properly regulated to allow sexuality in A. fumigatus. This study provides new insights about A. fumigatus asexuality and also suggests the possibility for the development of an experimentally amenable sexual cycle.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, P.O. Box 3052, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-3052. Phone: (208) 885-7247. Fax: (208) 885-6518. E-mail: bmiller{at}uidaho.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 1 February 2008.

Eukaryotic Cell, June 2008, p. 1029-1040, Vol. 7, No. 6
1535-9778/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00380-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. Infect. Immun. J. Bacteriol.
Mol. Cell Biol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. ALL ASM JOURNALS
Copyright © 2008 by the American Society for Microbiology.