Presence and Functionality of Mating Type Genes in the Supposedly Asexual Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus oryzae

Wada, Ryuta; Maruyama, Jun‐ichi; Yamaguchi, Hikoyuki; Yamamoto, Nanase; Wagu, Yutaka; Paoletti, Mathieu; Archer, David B.; Dyer, Paul S.; Kitamoto, Katsuhiko

doi:10.1128/aem.07034-11

Cited by 57 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…SLA (AMSELEM et al 2011;ARONSTEIN et al 2007;WADA et al 2012;WILKEN et al 2014) and APC (CONDE-FERRAEZ et al 2007;COZIJNSEN and HOWLETT 2003;WAALWIJK et al 2002;WILKEN et al 2014), in particular, have been described as MAT flanking genes in various species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unisexual reproduction in Huntiella moniliformis

Wilson

Godlonton

Nest

et al. 2015

Fungal Genetics and Biology

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Sexual reproduction in fungi is controlled by genes present at the mating type (MAT) locus, which typically harbours transcription factors that influence the expression of many sex-related genes. The MAT locus exists as two alternative idiomorphs in ascomycetous fungi and sexual reproduction is initiated when genes from both idiomorphs are expressed. Thus, the gene content of this locus determines whether a fungus is heterothallic (self-sterile) or homothallic (self-fertile). Recently, a unique sub-class of homothallism has been described in fungi, where individuals possessing a single MAT idiomorph can reproduce sexually in the absence of a partner. Using various mycological, molecular and bioinformatic techniques, we investigated the sexual strategies and characterized the MAT loci in two tree wound-infecting fungi, Huntiella moniliformis and Huntiella omanensis. H. omanensis was shown to exhibit a typically heterothallic sexual reproductive cycle, with isolates possessing either the MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 idiomorph. This was in contrast to the homothallism via unisexual reproduction that was shown in H. moniliformis, where only the MAT1-2-1 gene was present in sexually reproducing cultures. While the evolutionary benefit and mechanisms underpinning a unisexual mating strategy remain unknown, it could have evolved to minimize the costs, while retaining the benefits, of normal sexual reproduction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unisexual reproduction in Huntiella moniliformis

Wilson

Godlonton

Nest

et al. 2015

Fungal Genetics and Biology

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“…Gene targeting has advantages over random mutagenesis, particularly in introducing multiple desired changes in organisms where genetic crosses cannot be undertaken due to the lack of a sexual cycle. Even though functional mating type genes were recently identified in A. oryzae (26), because production strains have a range of lesions in their genomes, molecular rather than meiotic approaches will still be preferable to maintain the overall phenotypes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deletion of creB in Aspergillus oryzae Increases Secreted Hydrolytic Enzyme Activity

Hunter

Morris

Jin

et al. 2013

Appl Environ Microbiol

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dAspergillus oryzae has been used in the food and beverage industry for centuries, and industrial strains have been produced by multiple rounds of selection. Targeted gene deletion technology is particularly useful for strain improvement in such strains, particularly when they do not have a well-characterized meiotic cycle. Phenotypes of an Aspergillus nidulans strain null for the CreB deubiquitinating enzyme include effects on growth and repression, including increased activity levels of various enzymes. We show that Aspergillus oryzae contains a functional homologue of the CreB deubiquitinating enzyme and that a null strain shows increased activity levels of industrially important secreted enzymes, including cellulases, xylanases, amylases, and proteases, as well as alleviated inhibition of spore germination on glucose medium. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RTqPCR) analysis showed that the increased levels of enzyme activity in both Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus oryzae are mirrored at the transcript level, indicating transcriptional regulation. We report that Aspergillus oryzae DAR3699, originally isolated from soy fermentation, has a similar phenotype to that of a creB deletion mutant of the RIB40 strain, and it contains a mutation in the creB gene. Collectively, the results for Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus nidulans, Trichoderma reesei, and Penicillium decumbens show that deletion of creB may be broadly useful in diverse fungi for increasing production of a variety of enzymes.A spergillus oryzae is a multicellular fungus that has been used for centuries for the production of Asian foods and beverages, including sake (rice wine) and shoyu (fermented soybean). Today it is also used industrially as a source of secreted enzymes, including cellulases, amylases, proteases, ␤-galactosidase, and lipase, and as a host for the production of heterologous proteins (1, 2).creB was identified in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans in a screen for mutations that alleviate carbon catabolite repression (CCR) (3). CCR is a mechanism by which genes for the utilization of nonpreferred carbon sources are repressed in the presence of preferred carbon sources; organisms thus avoid wasting energy producing enzymes for the degradation of complex carbon sources when more readily metabolized carbon sources are available. A. nidulans creB mutants grow well and alleviate CCR of various enzymes, including acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) synthetase, isocitrate lyase, acetamidase, and alcohol dehydrogenase (3, 4). In addition, A. nidulans creB mutants show a pleiotropic range of phenotypes apparently unrelated to CCR, including slightly reduced conidiation, reduced growth with quinate, proline, or glucuronate as the sole carbon source, enhanced growth on acetamide or acrylamide, resistance to molybdate, hypersensitivity to acriflavine, and reduced acidification of liquid growth media (3-5). creB encodes a deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB); DUBs are cysteine proteases that specifically cleave ubiquitin from ubiqui...

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“…3B). Other microarray studies have also demonstrated that MAT genes have a wide-ranging effect on fungal gene expression (26,(29)(30)(31).…”

Section: Mat1-1-1 Gene Controls Hyphal Morphology Conidiation and Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual reproduction and mating-type–mediated strain development in the penicillin-producing fungus Penicillium chrysogenum

Böhm

Hoff

O’Gorman

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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119

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Penicillium chrysogenum is a filamentous fungus of major medical and historical importance, being the original and present-day industrial source of the antibiotic penicillin. The species has been considered asexual for more than 100 y, and despite concerted efforts, it has not been possible to induce sexual reproduction, which has prevented sexual crosses being used for strain improvement. However, using knowledge of mating-type (MAT) gene organization, we now describe conditions under which a sexual cycle can be induced leading to production of meiotic ascospores. Evidence of recombination was obtained using both molecular and phenotypic markers. The identified heterothallic sexual cycle was used for strain development purposes, generating offspring with novel combinations of traits relevant to penicillin production. Furthermore, the MAT1-1-1 mating-type gene, known primarily for a role in governing sexual identity, was also found to control transcription of a wide range of genes with biotechnological relevance including those regulating penicillin production, hyphal morphology, and conidial formation. These discoveries of a sexual cycle and MAT gene function are likely to be of broad relevance for manipulation of other asexual fungi of economic importance.sexual recombination | secondary metabolism | ascomycete

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Presence and Functionality of Mating Type Genes in the Supposedly Asexual Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus oryzae

Cited by 57 publications

References 65 publications

Unisexual reproduction in Huntiella moniliformis

Unisexual reproduction in Huntiella moniliformis

Deletion of creB in Aspergillus oryzae Increases Secreted Hydrolytic Enzyme Activity

Sexual reproduction and mating-type–mediated strain development in the penicillin-producing fungus Penicillium chrysogenum

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