Prof. Dr. Erika Kothe
Phermone response in the model basidiomycete Schizophyllum
commune
Abstract
The mating between two compatible strains of
basidiomycetes - which is necessary for the reproduction - is
governed by two mating type loci. Intracellular signal
transduction after recognition of mating pheromones has been
postulated to be based on MAPK cascade, cAMP and Ras/Rho
signaling. The currently annotated genome sequence of
Schizophyllum allows to address the potential signal
pathways both from a transcriptome/proteome as well as in a
targeted approach. The results of these analyses will then be
verified by transformation/gene knock-out studies. This research
will thus, for the first time, be a comprehensive analysis of
mating and pheromone response in a homobasidiomycete and might
yield informations for mushroom breeding and production.
The first inspection of the genome revealed two highlights in
mating type loci and subsequent signal transduction: multiple
pheromone receptor genes and involvement of both MAPK and Ras
signalling. The pheromone perception and the distinction between
self and non-self is governed by receptors or the GPCR type
which are able to discriminate between up to 8 self and most
likely more than 20 non-self pheromones. The analysis of the 6
single pheromone receptors will allow an understanding of the
evolution of the more than 20,000 mating types found in nature.
And the signalling cascades will be analysed on a functional
level for combining the signals of pheromone recognition to the
phenotypes of cell biology and fruitbody development.
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