scholarly journals Homeobox proteins are essential for fungal differentiation and secondary metabolism in Aspergillus nidulans

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung-Hun Son ◽  
Ye-Eun Son ◽  
He-Jin Cho ◽  
Wanping Chen ◽  
Mi-Kyung Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolism ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans

scholarly journals Transcriptomic, Protein-DNA Interaction, and Metabolomic Studies of VosA, VelB, and WetA in Aspergillus nidulans Asexual Spores

mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Yueh Wu ◽  
Matthew E. Mead ◽  
Mi-Kyung Lee ◽  
George F. Neuhaus ◽  
Donovon A. Adpressa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Secondary Metabolism ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Filamentous Fungi ◽  
Genetic Regulatory Networks ◽  
Asexual Development ◽  
Morphological Development ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Metabolic Remodeling

ABSTRACT In filamentous fungi, asexual development involves cellular differentiation and metabolic remodeling leading to the formation of intact asexual spores. The development of asexual spores (conidia) in Aspergillus is precisely coordinated by multiple transcription factors (TFs), including VosA, VelB, and WetA. Notably, these three TFs are essential for the structural and metabolic integrity, i.e., proper maturation, of conidia in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. To gain mechanistic insight into the complex regulatory and interdependent roles of these TFs in asexual sporogenesis, we carried out multi-omics studies on the transcriptome, protein-DNA interactions, and primary and secondary metabolism employing A. nidulans conidia. RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analyses have revealed that the three TFs directly or indirectly regulate the expression of genes associated with heterotrimeric G-protein signal transduction, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, spore wall formation and structural integrity, asexual development, and primary/secondary metabolism. In addition, metabolomics analyses of wild-type and individual mutant conidia indicate that these three TFs regulate a diverse array of primary metabolites, including those in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, certain amino acids, and trehalose, and secondary metabolites such as sterigmatocystin, emericellamide, austinol, and dehydroaustinol. In summary, WetA, VosA, and VelB play interdependent, overlapping, and distinct roles in governing morphological development and primary/secondary metabolic remodeling in Aspergillus conidia, leading to the production of vital conidia suitable for fungal proliferation and dissemination. IMPORTANCE Filamentous fungi produce a vast number of asexual spores that act as efficient propagules. Due to their infectious and/or allergenic nature, fungal spores affect our daily life. Aspergillus species produce asexual spores called conidia; their formation involves morphological development and metabolic changes, and the associated regulatory systems are coordinated by multiple transcription factors (TFs). To understand the underlying global regulatory programs and cellular outcomes associated with conidium formation, genomic and metabolomic analyses were performed in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Our results show that the fungus-specific WetA/VosA/VelB TFs govern the coordination of morphological and chemical developments during sporogenesis. The results of this study provide insights into the interdependent, overlapping, or distinct genetic regulatory networks necessary to produce intact asexual spores. The findings are relevant for other Aspergillus species such as the major human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus and the aflatoxin producer Aspergillus flavus.

scholarly journals Diversity of Secondary Metabolism in Aspergillus nidulans Clinical Isolates

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Drott ◽  
R. W. Bastos ◽  
A. Rokas ◽  
L. N. A. Ries ◽  
T. Gabaldón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolism ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Reference Genome ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
High Resolution Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Biosynthetic Gene ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Natural Diversity

ABSTRACT The filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans has been a primary workhorse used to understand fungal genetics. Much of this work has focused on elucidating the genetics of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) and the secondary metabolites (SMs) they produce. SMs are both niche defining in fungi and of great economic importance to humans. Despite the focus on A. nidulans, very little is known about the natural diversity in secondary metabolism within this species. We determined the BGC content and looked for evolutionary patterns in BGCs from whole-genome sequences of two clinical isolates and the A4 reference genome of A. nidulans. Differences in BGC content were used to explain SM profiles determined using liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry. We found that in addition to genetic variation of BGCs contained by all isolates, nine BGCs varied by presence/absence. We discovered the viridicatumtoxin BGC in A. nidulans and suggest that this BGC has undergone a horizontal gene transfer from the Aspergillus section Nigri lineage into Penicillium sometime after the sections Nigri and Nidulantes diverged. We identified the production of viridicatumtoxin and several other compounds previously not known to be produced by A. nidulans. One isolate showed a lack of sterigmatocystin production even though it contained an apparently intact sterigmatocystin BGC, raising questions about other genes and processes known to regulate this BGC. Altogether, our work uncovers a large degree of intraspecies diversity in BGC and SM production in this genetic model species and offers new avenues to understand the evolution and regulation of secondary metabolism. IMPORTANCE Much of what we know about the genetics underlying secondary metabolite (SM) production and the function of SMs in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans comes from a single reference genome. A growing body of research indicates the importance of biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) and SM diversity within a species. However, there is no information about the natural diversity of secondary metabolism in A. nidulans. We discovered six novel clusters that contribute to the considerable variation in both BGC content and SM production within A. nidulans. We characterize a diverse set of mutations and emphasize how findings of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), deletions, and differences in evolutionary history encompass much of the variation observed in nonmodel systems. Our results emphasize that A. nidulans may also be a strong model to use within-species diversity to elucidate regulatory cross talk, fungal ecology, and drug discovery systems.

scholarly journals Assembly of a heptameric STRIPAK complex is required for coordination of light-dependent multicellular fungal development with secondary metabolism in Aspergillus nidulans

PLoS Genetics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. e1008053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Elramli ◽  
Betim Karahoda ◽  
Özlem Sarikaya-Bayram ◽  
Dean Frawley ◽  
Mevlüt Ulas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolism ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Fungal Development

scholarly journals Heterochromatic marks are associated with the repression of secondary metabolism clusters in Aspergillus nidulans

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 1376-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yazmid Reyes-Dominguez ◽  
Jin Woo Bok ◽  
Harald Berger ◽  
E. Keats Shwab ◽  
Asjad Basheer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolism ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document