A lectin-mediated resistance of higher fungi against predators and parasites

Fruiting body lectins are ubiquitous in higher fungi and characterized by being synthesized in the cytoplasm and up-regulated during sexual development. The function of these lectins is unclear. A lack of phenotype in sexual development upon inactivation of the respective genes argues against a function in this process. We tested a series of characterized fruiting body lectins from different fungi for toxicity towards the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the mosquito Aedes aegypti and the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii. Most of the fungal lectins were found to be toxic towards at least one of the three target organisms. By altering either the fungal lectin or the glycans of the target organisms, or by including soluble carbohydrate ligands as competitors, we demonstrate that the observed toxicity is dependent on the interaction between the fungal lectins and specific glycans in the target organisms. The toxicity was found to be dose-dependent such that low levels of lectin were no longer toxic but still led to food avoidance by C. elegans. Finally, we show, in an ecologically more relevant scenario, that challenging the vegetative mycelium of Coprinopsis cinerea with the fungal-feeding nematode Aphelenchus avenae induces the expression of the nematotoxic fruiting body lectins CGL1 and CGL2. Based on these findings, we propose that filamentous fungi possess an inducible resistance against predators and parasites mediated by lectins that are specific for glycans of these antagonists.     

漆酶同工酶基因在斑玉蕈生长发育过程中的表达分析

为了探明漆酶在斑玉蕈生长发育过程中的功能,对斑玉蕈转录测序预测的13个漆酶基因序列进行分析、鉴定和构建分子系统发育树;检测了不同生长发育时期漆酶的活性和漆酶基因表达水平。研究结果显示：13个基因片段中有10个是漆酶基因。不同的漆酶同工酶之间进化关系存在明显差异,大多数漆酶与木腐菌（金针菇Flammulina filiformis和侧耳属Pleurotus）进化关系较近。对斑玉蕈不同生长发育时期的酶活检测结果显示,从斑玉蕈的菌丝恢复期到钉头期,漆酶活性逐渐升高,而在子实体形成后期酶活逐渐降低。对培养40d、60d和80d的菌丝样品以及不同生长发育时期的样品进RT-qPCR检测,结果显示在菌丝营养生长时期,大多数漆酶基因在第40-60天表达量持续增加1-3倍,而在第60-80天时表达量出现降低的情况。而在生殖生长时期,大多数漆酶基因在转色期或者原基期相对表达量达到最大值,并在子实体期出现降低,这与漆酶活性的检测具有一致性。lcc3、lcc7、lcc8和lcc9在斑玉蕈生殖生长过程中相对表达量出现了10-100倍的上调。这说明从菌丝培养到菌丝扭结形成子实体和子实体发育的过程中,不同的漆酶可能发挥着不同的作用,表达量较高的漆酶基因可能对基质降解和子实体形成起主要作用。     

Pyruvate decarboxylase filaments are associated with the cortical cytoskeleton of asci and spores over the sexual cycle of filamentous ascomycetes

We show that pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) 8- to 10-nm-diameter filaments, first described in vegetative cells of Neurospora crassa, are ubiquitously present in filamentous fungi. The cellular arrangement of these structures was examined over the entire sexual cycle of the ascomycetes N. crassa, N. tetraesperma, Podospora anserina, and Sordaria macrospora. PDC-filaments were found associated with the cortical microtubule array of asci and ascospores and absent from the vicinity of spindles and spindle pole bodies. Nocodazole-induced depolymerization of the cortical microtubules results in the loss of PDC-filaments. Moreover, a S. macrospora mutant defective in cortical MT distribution shows abnormal PDC organization. Neurospora asci generated on various metabolic conditions, which modify the presence and relative abundance of PDC-filaments in vegetative cells, have identical patterns of subcellular distribution of these structures. A N. crassa mutant (snowflake) that accumulates giant bundles of PDC-filaments during vegetative growth, shows normal distribution of the filaments during ascogenesis. Thus, the regulation conditioning the presence and supramolecular assembly of PDC-filaments in Neurospora differs between vegetative and sexual cells. Taken together, these results suggest that PDC in filamentous fungi may perform two functions, intervening as an enzyme in vegetative metabolism and as a structural protein associated with the cytoskeleton during sexual development.     

The WW domain protein PRO40 is required for fungal fertility and associates with Woronin bodies

Fruiting body formation in ascomycetes is a highly complex process that is under polygenic control and is a fundamental part of the fungal sexual life cycle. However, the molecular determinants regulating this cellular process are largely unknown. Here we show that the sterile pro40 mutant is defective in a 120-kDa WW domain protein that plays a pivotal role in fruiting body maturation of the homothallic ascomycete Sordaria macrospora. Although WW domains occur in many eukaryotic proteins, homologs of PRO40 are present only in filamentous ascomycetes. Complementation analysis with different pro40 mutant strains, using full-sized or truncated versions of the wild-type pro40 gene, revealed that the C terminus of PRO40 is crucial for restoring the fertile phenotype. Using differential centrifugation and protease protection assays, we determined that a PRO40-FLAG fusion protein is located within organelles. Further microscopic investigations of fusion proteins with DsRed or green fluorescent protein polypeptides showed a colocalization of PRO40 with HEX-1, a Woronin body-specific protein. However, the integrity of Woronin bodies is not affected in mutant strains of S. macrospora and Neurospora crassa, as shown by fluorescence microscopy, sedimentation, and immunoblot analyses. We discuss the function of PRO40 in fruiting body formation.     

Autophagy genes Smatg8 and Smatg4 are required for fruiting-body development,vegetative growth and ascospore germination in the filamentous ascomycete Sordaria macrospora

Autophagy is a tightly controlled degradation process involved in various developmental aspects of eukaryotes. However, its involvement in developmental processes of multicellular filamentous ascomycetes is largely unknown. Here, we analyzed the impact of the autophagic proteins SmATG8 and SmATG4 on the sexual and vegetative development of the filamentous ascomycete Sordaria macrospora. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae complementation assay demonstrated that the S. macrospora Smatg8 and Smatg4 genes can functionally replace the yeast homologs. By generating homokaryotic deletion mutants, we showed that the S. macrospora SmATG8 and SmATG4 orthologs were associated with autophagy-dependent processes. Smatg8 and Smatg4 deletions abolished fruiting-body formation and impaired vegetative growth and ascospore germination, but not hyphal fusion. We demonstrated that SmATG4 was capable of processing the SmATG8 precursor. SmATG8 was localized to autophagosomes, whereas SmATG4 was distributed throughout the cytoplasm of S. macrospora. Furthermore, we could show that Smatg8 and Smatg4 are not only required for nonselective macroautophagy, but for selective macropexophagy as well. Taken together, our results suggest that in S. macrospora, autophagy seems to be an essential and constitutively active process to sustain high energy levels for filamentous growth and multicellular development even under nonstarvation conditions.     

Genetic control of an epigenetic cell degeneration syndrome in Podospora anserina

Filamentous fungi frequently present degenerative processes, whose molecular basis is very often unknown. Here, we present three mutant screens that result in the identification of 29 genes that directly or indirectly control Crippled Growth (CG), an epigenetic cell degeneration of the filamentous ascomycete Podospora anserina. Two of these genes were previously shown to encode a MAP kinase kinase kinase and an NADPH oxidase involved in a signal transduction cascade that participates in stationary phase differentiations, fruiting body development and defence against fungal competitors. The numerous genes identified can be incorporated in a model in which CG results from the sustained activation of the MAP kinase cascade. Our data also emphasize the complex regulatory network underlying three interconnected processes in P. anserina: sexual reproduction, defence against competitors, and cell degeneration.