A fungal sexual revolution: Aspergillus and Penicillium show the way

Dyer, Paul S.; O’Gorman, Céline M.

doi:10.1016/j.mib.2011.10.001

Cited by 70 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Further work is now required to determine the extent of sexual fertility within natural populations of P. chrysogenum. The previously undescribed sexual state of P. chrysogenum was morphologically similar to that of known sexual Eupenicillium species, but no new teleomorph name is proposed in agreement with recent taxonomic revisions (18,40).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Sex in P. chrysogenum could be induced on oatmeal agar as reported recently for other supposedly "asexual" Aspergillus and Penicillium species (18,20,36,37). However, it was necessary to supplement the agar with biotin to achieve complete sexual development, and similar supplementation might be required for other sexually recalcitrant species (17,18). Even with biotin supplementation, not all of the crosses tested generated cleistothecia with ascospores, suggesting that P. chrysogenum is composed of isolates on a continuum of sexual fertility, rather than being purely sexual or asexual, as suggested by the "slow decline" hypothesis (38).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…These strains were either wild type (from different geographic origins) or production strains with high penicillin titers (Table S1). Various combinations of growth media and pairings were tested, including the use of conditions recently shown to induce sexual reproduction in Aspergillus fumigatus and related aspergilli (18,20). When crosses were performed on different oatmeal agars in sealed Petri dishes in the dark at 15-27°C, cleistothecia [sexual reproductive structures characteristic of Penicillium species and some other ascomycete fungi (18,21)] were formed in most but not all crosses in the contact zone of the two mating partners after incubation from 5 wk to 3 mo, but these were sterile with no ascospores produced.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent findings suggest that sexual reproduction can be triggered in supposedly asexual fungi (13)(14)(15)(16) if the correct growth conditions are identified (17,18). The principle aim of the current study was therefore to determine whether a functional sexual cycle could be induced in P. chrysogenum, using knowledge of MAT gene organization in the species to set up directed crosses between known MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 isolates, and if the sexual cycle could be used for strain development purposes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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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.

118

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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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%