Beyond animals and plants: dynamic maternal effects in the fungus<i>Neurospora crassa</i>

Zimmerman, Kolea; Levitis, Daniel; Pringle, Anne

doi:10.1111/jeb.12878

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Second, even though parental effects are widely studied their mechanisms are rarely investigated. So far, to our knowledge, there is only one published investigation on parental effects in fungi (Zimmerman et al, 2016) where maternal investment during sexual cycle of N. crassa was explored. Our study is the first one to look into parental effects induced by the environment in fungi, and an in depth investigation of this phenotype, mechanism, and fitness consequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To our knowledge only one previous study has investigated maternal effects in a fungus. Zimmerman et al in 2016 reported the existence of asymmetrical investment in Neurospora crassa. The authors discovered that, when the fungus reproduces sexually, maternal effects influences spore number and germination success (Zimmerman et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zimmerman et al in 2016 reported the existence of asymmetrical investment in Neurospora crassa. The authors discovered that, when the fungus reproduces sexually, maternal effects influences spore number and germination success (Zimmerman et al, 2016). The lack of research of parental effects on fungi is surprising, as they perform key ecosystem functions such as organic matter decomposition and are involved in plant symbiosis (Bahram and Netherway, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental effects in a filamentous fungus: phenotype, fitness, and mechanism

Peña

Summanen

Moghadam

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Adaptation to changing environments often requires meaningful phenotypic modifications to match the current conditions. However, obtaining information about the surroundings during an organism’s own lifetime may only permit accommodating relatively late developmental modifications. Therefore, it may be advantageous to rely on inter-generational or trans-generational cues that provide information about the environment as early as possible to allow development along an optimal trajectory. Transfer of information or resources across generations, known as parental effects, is well documented in animals and plants but not in other eukaryotes, such as fungi. Understanding parental effects and their evolutionary consequences in fungi is of vital importance as they perform crucial ecosystem functions. In this study, we investigated whether parental effects are present in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, how long do they last, are the effects adaptive, and what is their mechanism. We performed a fully factorial match / mismatch experiment for a good and poor quality environment, in which we measured mycelium size of strains that experienced either a matched or mismatched environment in their previous generation. We found a strong silver spoon effect in initial mycelium growth, which lasted for one generation, and increased fitness during competition experiments. By using deletion mutants that lacked key genes in epigenetic processes, we show that epigenetic mechanisms are not involved in this effect. Instead, we show that spore glycogen content, glucose availability and a radical transcription shift in spores are the main mechanisms behind this parental effect.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental effects in a filamentous fungus: phenotype, fitness, and mechanism

Peña

Summanen

Moghadam

et al. 2022

Preprint

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show abstract

“…Second, even though parental effects are widely studied their mechanisms are rarely investigated. So far, to our knowledge, there is only one published investigation on parental effects in fungi [20] where maternal investment during sexual cycle of N. crassa was explored. Our study is the first one to look into parental effects induced by the environment in fungi, and an in depth investigation of this phenotype, mechanism, and fitness consequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zimmerman et al in 2016 reported the existence of asymmetrical investment in Neurospora crassa . The authors discovered that, when the fungus reproduces sexually, maternal effects influences spore number and germination success [20]. The lack of research of parental effects on fungi is surprising, as they perform key ecosystem functions such as organic matter decomposition and are involved in plant symbiosis [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental effects in a filamentous fungus: phenotype, fitness, and mechanism

Peña

Summanen

Moghadam

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adaptation to changing environments often requires meaningful phenotypic modifications to match the current conditions. However, obtaining information about the surroundings during an organism's own lifetime may only permit accommodating relatively late developmental modifications. Therefore, it may be advantageous to rely on inter-generational or trans-generational cues that provide information about the environment as early as possible to allow development along an optimal trajectory. Transfer of information or resources across generations, known as parental effects, is well documented in animals and plants but not in other eukaryotes, such as fungi. Understanding parental effects and their evolutionary consequences in fungi is of vital importance as they perform crucial ecosystem functions. In this study, we investigated whether parental effects are present in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, how long do they last, are the effects adaptive, and what is their mechanism. We performed a fully factorial match / mismatch experiment for a good and poor quality environment, in which we measured mycelium size of strains that experienced either a matched or mismatched environment in their previous generation. We found a strong silver spoon effect in initial mycelium growth, which lasted for one generation, and increased fitness during competition experiments. By using deletion mutants that lacked key genes in epigenetic processes, we show that epigenetic mechanisms are not involved in this effect. Instead, we show that spore glycogen content, glucose availability and a radical transcription shift in spores are the main mechanisms behind this parental effect.

show abstract