Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Summary</jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>Penicillium chrysogenum</jats:italic> is the main industrial producer of the β‐lactam antibiotic penicillin, the most commonly used drug in the treatment of bacterial infections. Recently, a functional <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"><jats:italic>MAT</jats:italic></jats:styled-content><jats:italic>1‐1</jats:italic> locus encoding the α‐box transcription factor <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MAT</jats:styled-content>1‐1‐1 was discovered to control sexual development in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"><jats:italic>P</jats:italic></jats:styled-content><jats:italic>. chrysogenum</jats:italic>. As only little was known from any organism about the regulatory functions mediated by <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MAT</jats:styled-content>1‐1‐1, we applied chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with next‐generation sequencing (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">ChIP</jats:styled-content>‐seq) to gain new insights into the factors that influence <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MAT</jats:styled-content>1‐1‐1 functions on a molecular level and its role in genome‐wide transcriptional regulatory networks. Most importantly, our data provide evidence for mating‐type transcription factor functions that reach far beyond their previously understood role in sexual development. These new roles include regulation of hyphal morphology, asexual development, as well as amino acid, iron, and secondary metabolism. Furthermore, <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DNA</jats:styled-content>–protein binding studies and downstream analysis in yeast and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"><jats:italic>P</jats:italic></jats:styled-content><jats:italic>. chrysogenum</jats:italic> enabled the identification of a <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">MAT</jats:styled-content>1‐1‐1 <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DNA</jats:styled-content>‐binding motif, which is highly conserved among euascomycetes. Our studies pave the way to a more general understanding of these master switches for development and metabolism in all fungi, and open up new options for optimization of fungal high production strains.</jats:p>