scholarly journals A cellular and molecular atlas reveals the basis of chytrid development.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davis Laundon ◽  
Nathan Chrismas ◽  
Kimberley Bird ◽  
Seth Thomas ◽  
Thomas Mock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Transcriptome Profiling ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Subcellular Structure ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Amoeboid Cell ◽  
Cargo Transport ◽  
Fungal Lineage ◽  
Cell Plan ◽  
Volume Electron Microscopy

The chytrids (phylum Chytridiomycota) are a major early-diverging fungal lineage of ecological and evolutionary importance. Despite their importance, many fundamental aspects of chytrid developmental and cell biology remain poorly understood. To address these knowledge gaps, we combined quantitative volume electron microscopy and comparative transcriptome profiling to create an "atlas" of the cellular and molecular basis of the chytrid life cycle, using the model chytrid Rhizoclosmatium globosum. From our developmental atlas, we show that zoospores exhibit a specialised biological repertoire dominated by inactive ribosome aggregates, and that lipid processing is complex and dynamic throughout the cell cycle. We demonstrate that the chytrid apophysis is a distinct subcellular structure characterised by high intracellular trafficking, providing evidence for division of labour in the chytrid cell plan, and show that zoosporogenesis includes "animal like" amoeboid cell morphologies resulting from endocytotic cargo transport from the interstitial maternal cytoplasm. Taken together, our results reveal insights into chytrid developmental biology and provide a basis for future investigations into early-diverging fungal cell biology.

scholarly journals Fungal Biology and Agriculture: Revisiting the Field

2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 859-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Yarden ◽  
D. J. Ebbole ◽  
S. Freeman ◽  
R. J. Rodriguez ◽  
M. B. Dickman
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Plant Disease ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Data Organization ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Fungal Biology ◽  
Plant Disease Management

Plant pathology has made significant progress over the years, a process that involved overcoming a variety of conceptual and technological hurdles. Descriptive mycology and the advent of chemical plant-disease management have been followed by biochemical and physiological studies of fungi and their hosts. The later establishment of biochemical genetics along with the introduction of DNA-mediated transformation have set the stage for dissection of gene function and advances in our understanding of fungal cell biology and plant-fungus interactions. Currently, with the advent of high-throughput technologies, we have the capacity to acquire vast data sets that have direct relevance to the numerous subdisciplines within fungal biology and pathology. These data provide unique opportunities for basic research and for engineering solutions to important agricultural problems. However, we also are faced with the challenge of data organization and mining to analyze the relationships between fungal and plant genomes and to elucidate the physiological function of pertinent DNA sequences. We present our perspective of fungal biology and agriculture, including administrative and political challenges to plant protection research.

scholarly journals A Histoplasma capsulatum lipid metabolic map identifies antifungal targets and virulence factors

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Zamith-Miranda ◽  
Heino M. Heyman ◽  
Meagan C. Burnet ◽  
Sneha P. Couvillion ◽  
Xueyun Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Drug Development ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Histoplasma Capsulatum ◽  
Platelet Activating Factor ◽  
Interleukin 10 ◽  
Antifungal Drugs ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Factor Α

AbstractLipids play a fundamental role in fungal cell biology, being components of the cell membrane as well as targets of antifungal drugs. A deeper knowledge of lipid metabolism is key for developing new drugs and a better understanding of fungal pathogenesis. Here we built a comprehensive map of the Histoplasma capsulatum lipid metabolic pathway by integrating proteomic and lipidomic analyses. The map led to the identification of both the fatty acid desaturation and the sphingolipid biosynthesis pathways as targets for drug development. We also found that H. capsulatum produces analogs of platelet-activating factor, a potent regulator of the human immune response. The H. capsulatum platelet-activating factor analogs induced platelet aggregation and stimulated the production of the cytokines interleukin-10 and tumor necrosis factor-α by J774 macrophages. Overall, this lipid metabolic map revealed pathways that can be targeted for drug development, in addition to identifying a regulator of the host immune response.

scholarly journals Courtship ritual of male and female nuclei during fertilisation in Neurospora crassa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Brun ◽  
Hsiao-Che Kuo ◽  
Chris E. Jeffree ◽  
Darren D. Thomson ◽  
Nick Read
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Nuclear Dynamics ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Eukaryotic Microorganisms ◽  
Spatio Temporal

AbstractSexual reproduction is a key process influencing the evolution and adaptation of animals, plants and many eukaryotic microorganisms, such as fungi. Mycologists have described the different fungal fruiting bodies, while geneticists have partly unravelled the regulation of sexual development. However, the sequential fungal cell biology of fertilisation and the associated nuclear dynamics after plasmogamy are poorly understood. Using histone-fluorescent parental isolates, we tracked male and female nuclei during fertilisation in the model ascomycetes Neurospora crassa using live-cell-imaging. This study unravels the behaviour of trichogyne resident female nuclei and the extraordinary manner that male nuclei migrate up the trichogyne to the protoperithecium. Our observations raise new fundamental questions about the modus operandi of nuclei movements during sexual reproduction, male and female nuclear identity, guidance of nuclei within the trichogyne and, unexpectedly, the avoidance of “polyspermy” in fungi. The spatio-temporal dynamics of male nuclei within the trichogyne following plasmogamy are also described, where the speed and the deformation of male nuclei are of the most dramatic observed to date in a living organism.

scholarly journals Punctuated evolution and transitional hybrid network in an ancestral cell cycle of fungi

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar M. Medina ◽  
Jonathan J. Turner ◽  
Raluca Gordan ◽  
Jan M. Skotheim ◽  
Nicolas E. Buchler
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Cycle Control ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Hybrid Network ◽  
Cell Cycle Regulators ◽  
Homologous Proteins ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Viral Oncogenes ◽  
Fungal Lineage ◽  
Basal Fungi

Although cell cycle control is an ancient, conserved, and essential process, some core animal and fungal cell cycle regulators share no more sequence identity than non-homologous proteins. Here, we show that evolution along the fungal lineage was punctuated by the early acquisition and entrainment of the SBF transcription factor through horizontal gene transfer. Cell cycle evolution in the fungal ancestor then proceeded through a hybrid network containing both SBF and its ancestral animal counterpart E2F, which is still maintained in many basal fungi. We hypothesize that a virally-derived SBF may have initially hijacked cell cycle control by activating transcription via the cis-regulatory elements targeted by the ancestral cell cycle regulator E2F, much like extant viral oncogenes. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that SBF can regulate promoters with E2F binding sites in budding yeast.

scholarly journals Punctuated evolution and transitional hybrid network in an ancestral cell cycle of fungi

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar M Medina ◽  
Jonathan J Turner ◽  
Raluca Gordân ◽  
Jan M Skotheim ◽  
Nicolas E Buchler
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Cycle Control ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Hybrid Network ◽  
Cell Cycle Regulators ◽  
Homologous Proteins ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Viral Oncogenes ◽  
Fungal Lineage ◽  
Basal Fungi

Although cell cycle control is an ancient, conserved, and essential process, some core animal and fungal cell cycle regulators share no more sequence identity than non-homologous proteins. Here, we show that evolution along the fungal lineage was punctuated by the early acquisition and entrainment of the SBF transcription factor through horizontal gene transfer. Cell cycle evolution in the fungal ancestor then proceeded through a hybrid network containing both SBF and its ancestral animal counterpart E2F, which is still maintained in many basal fungi. We hypothesize that a virally-derived SBF may have initially hijacked cell cycle control by activating transcription via the cis-regulatory elements targeted by the ancestral cell cycle regulator E2F, much like extant viral oncogenes. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that SBF can regulate promoters with E2F binding sites in budding yeast.

scholarly journals 21st century miniguide to fungal biotechnology

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-42
Author(s):  
Carmen Sánchez ◽  
David Moore ◽  
Geoff Robson ◽  
Tony Trinci
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Gene Editing ◽  
Genomic Variation ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Plastic Wastes ◽  
Fungal Genetic ◽  
Fungal Genomes ◽  
New Strategies

Realising the biotechnological potential of fungi requires full appreciation of the molecular biology and genetics of this kingdom. We review recent advances in our understanding of fungal genetic structure as it might influence biotechnology; including introns, alternative splicing of primary transcripts, transposons (transposable elements, or TEs), heterokaryosis, ploidy and genomic variation, sequencing, annotation and comparison of fungal genomes, and gene editing. We end by indicating under-researched, but unique, aspects of fungal cell biology that offer opportunities for developing new strategies to manage the activities of fungi to our benefit. As a closing example, we discuss the potential of bioengineering fungi specifically for bioremediation of plastic wastes.

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