• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Conserved Regulators of Mating Are Essential for Aspergillus fumigatus Cleistothecium Formation
  • Contributor: Szewczyk, Edyta; Krappmann, Sven
  • imprint: American Society for Microbiology, 2010
  • Published in: Eukaryotic Cell
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1128/ec.00375-09
  • ISSN: 1535-9786; 1535-9778
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:p> Sexual reproduction of the human pathogen <jats:named-content content-type="genus-species">Aspergillus fumigatus</jats:named-content> (teleomorph: <jats:named-content content-type="genus-species">Neosartorya fumigata</jats:named-content> ) was assumed to be absent or cryptic until recently, when fertile crosses among geographically restricted environmental isolates were described. Here, we provide evidence for mating, fruiting body development, and ascosporogenesis accompanied by genetic recombination between unrelated, clinical isolates of <jats:named-content content-type="genus-species">A. fumigatus</jats:named-content> , and this evidence demonstrates the generality and reproducibility of this long-time-undisclosed phase in the life cycle of this heterothallic fungus. Successful mating requires the presence of both mating-type idiomorphs <jats:italic>MAT1</jats:italic> - <jats:italic>1</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>MAT1</jats:italic> - <jats:italic>2</jats:italic> , as does expression of genes encoding factors presumably involved in this process. Moreover, analysis of an <jats:named-content content-type="genus-species">A. fumigatus</jats:named-content> mutant deleted for the <jats:italic>nsdD</jats:italic> gene suggests a role of this conserved regulator of cleistothecium development in hyphal fusion and hence heterokaryon formation. </jats:p>
  • Access State: Open Access