scholarly journals Global Sexual Fertility in the Opportunistic Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus and Identification of New Supermater Strains

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Sameira S. Swilaiman ◽  
Céline M. O’Gorman ◽  
Wenyue Du ◽  
Janyce A. Sugui ◽  
Joanne Del Buono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Sexual Cycle ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Irish Population ◽  
Mating Partner ◽  
Ascospore Germination ◽  
Temperature Heat

A sexual cycle in Aspergillus fumigatus was first described in 2009 with isolates from Dublin, Ireland. However, the extent to which worldwide isolates can undergo sexual reproduction has remained unclear. In this study a global collection of 131 isolates was established with a near 1:1 ratio of mating types. All isolates were crossed to MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 Irish strains, and a subset of isolates from different continents were crossed together. Ninety seven percent of isolates were found to produce cleistothecia with at least one mating partner, showing that sexual fertility is not limited to the Irish population but is a characteristic of global A. fumigatus. However, large variation was seen in numbers of cleistothecia produced per cross, suggesting differences in the possibility for genetic exchange between strains in nature. The majority of crosses produced ascospores with >50% germination rates, but with wide variation evident. A high temperature heat shock was required to induce ascospore germination. Finally, a new set of highly fertile MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 supermater strains were identified and pyrimidine auxotrophs generated for community use. Results provide insights into the potential for the A. fumigatus sexual cycle to generate genetic variation and allow gene flow of medically important traits.

Inherited and Environmentally Induced Differences in Mutation Frequencies Between Wild Strains of Sordaria fimicola From “Evolution Canyon”

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Bernard C Lamb ◽  
Muhammad Saleem ◽  
William Scott ◽  
Nina Thapa ◽  
Eviatar Nevo
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Spontaneous Mutation ◽  
The South ◽  
Natural Genetic Variation ◽  
The North ◽  
Ascospore Germination ◽  
Evolution Canyon ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Wild Strains ◽  
Sordaria Fimicola

Abstract We have studied whether there is natural genetic variation for mutation frequencies, and whether any such variation is environment-related. Mutation frequencies differed significantly between wild strains of the fungus Sordaria fimicola isolated from a harsher or a milder microscale environment in “Evolution Canyon,” Israel. Strains from the harsher, drier, south-facing slope had higher frequencies of new spontaneous mutations and of accumulated mutations than strains from the milder, lusher, north-facing slope. Collective total mutation frequencies over many loci for ascospore pigmentation were 2.3, 3.5 and 4.4% for three strains from the south-facing slope, and 0.9, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.3% for five strains from the north-facing slope. Some of this between-slope difference was inherited through two generations of selfing, with average spontaneous mutation frequencies of 1.9% for south-facing slope strains and 0.8% for north-facing slope strains. The remainder was caused by different frequencies of mutations arising in the original environments. There was also significant heritable genetic variation in mutation frequencies within slopes. Similar between-slope differences were found for ascospore germination-resistance to acriflavine, with much higher frequencies in strains from the south-facing slope. Such inherited variation provides a basis for natural selection for optimum mutation rates in each environment.

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