Unisexual Reproduction

Roach, Kevin C.; Feretzaki, Marianna; Sun, Sheng; Heitman, Joseph

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-800271-1.00005-6

Cited by 32 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 263 publications

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“…Transformation of a self-sterile relative with the N. africana mat A sequence does not confer self-fertility seen in N. africana (GLASS and SMITH 1994 (ALBY and BENNETT 2011;GLASS and SMITH 1994;LIN et al 2005), may have evolved as a mechanism allowing species to preserve sexual reproduction and its benefits while at the same time minimising the costs (ROACH et al 2014). The cost of locating an opposite mating partner is a major barrier to efficient sexual reproduction in heterothallic fungi.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While many fungi are able to reproduce asexually, sexual reproduction is found in all four major fungal phyla (LEE et al 2010). The numerous and diverse strategies employed by these organisms to retain sexual reproduction, demonstrates the benefits of preserving this type of reproduction, whilst also providing numerous opportunities to minimize the high costs associated with this process (ROACH et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In unisexual reproduction, also known as same-sex mating, isolates with only a single mating type have the ability to initiate and proceed through an entire sexual cycle. This can occur within a single cell or between two cells of different lineage, but identical mating type (ROACH et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unisexual reproduction in Huntiella moniliformis

Wilson

Godlonton

Nest

et al. 2015

Fungal Genetics and Biology

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“…Our study indicates that transitions to unisexual reproduction from bisexual reproduction may not inevitably lead to Muller's ratchet and an evolutionary dead end, as previously hypothesized (Bell 1982;Charlesworth et al 1993;Lynch et al 1995;Paland and Lynch 2006;Gioti et al 2013). In addition, many pathogenic eukaryotes are thought to have clonal population structures, but recent work has uncovered evidence of cryptic sexual or unisexual cycles (Gräser et al 1996;Peever et al 1999;Berbee et al 2003;Heitman 2006;Morgan et al 2007;Heitman 2010;Li et al 2010;Farrer et al 2011;Stewart et al 2013;Roach et al 2014). Human pathogens of significant public health concern, such as those from the Leishmania, Trypanosoma, and Toxoplasma genera, show signatures of recombination and unisexual cycles (Jenni et al 1986;Gaunt et al 2003;Akopyants et al 2009;Wendte et al 2010;Minot et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unisexual Reproduction Reverses Muller’s Ratchet

Roach¹,

Heitman

2014

Genetics

Self Cite

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Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic basidiomycetous fungus that engages in outcrossing, inbreeding, and selfing forms of unisexual reproduction as well as canonical sexual reproduction between opposite mating types. Long thought to be clonal, .99% of sampled environmental and clinical isolates of C. neoformans are MATa, limiting the frequency of opposite mating-type sexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction allows eukaryotic organisms to exchange genetic information and shuffle their genomes to avoid the irreversible accumulation of deleterious changes that occur in asexual populations, known as Muller's ratchet. We tested whether unisexual reproduction, which dispenses with the requirement for an opposite mating-type partner, is able to purge the genome of deleterious mutations. We report that the unisexual cycle can restore mutant strains of C. neoformans to wild-type genotype and phenotype, including prototrophy and growth rate. Furthermore, the unisexual cycle allows attenuated strains to purge deleterious mutations and produce progeny that are returned to wild-type virulence. Our results show that unisexual populations of C. neoformans are able to avoid Muller's ratchet and loss of fitness through a unisexual reproduction cycle involving a-a cell fusion, nuclear fusion, and meiosis. Similar types of unisexual reproduction may operate in other pathogenic and saprobic eukaryotic taxa.

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“…Recent studies show that fungi with identical mating alleles, or haploids derived from diploids by aneuploidy (Hickman et al 2013), have the potential to mate and recombine in both C. albicans (Alby et al 2009) and C. neoformans var. grubii (Roach et al 2014). A key question is whether or not these fungi, which clearly can spread clonally in nature and can be mated in the lab, also recombine in nature.…”

Section: Population Geneticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Fungal Pathogens

Taylor

2014

Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med

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Unisexual Reproduction

Cited by 32 publications

References 263 publications

Unisexual reproduction in Huntiella moniliformis

Unisexual reproduction in Huntiella moniliformis

Unisexual Reproduction Reverses Muller’s Ratchet

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Fungal Pathogens

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