Eighty Years after Its Discovery, Fleming's
            <i>Penicillium</i>
            Strain Discloses the Secret of Its Sex

Hoff, Birgit; Pöggeler, Stefanie; Kück, Ulrich

doi:10.1128/ec.00430-07

Cited by 62 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…It is noteworthy that the tane-koji starter cultures sold to brewing companies usually consist of strains that are mixed beforehand, and it is therefore possible that strains of opposite mating types might meet under industrial growth conditions. There have been similar reports of the presence of both MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 isolates in populations of other "asexual" pezizomycete fungi, including Alternaria species (2), Aspergillus species (49,58), Rhynchosporium species (37,66), Cercospora species (21), Coccidioides species (18,40), and Penicillium chrysogenum (23,24). The only exception has been the asexual species Acremonium chrysogenum, used to produce cephalosporin, for which only the MAT1-1 genotype could be found in a preliminary survey (55).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

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

Wada

Maruyama

Yamaguchi

et al. 2012

Appl Environ Microbiol

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ABSTRACTThe potential for sexual reproduction inAspergillus oryzaewas assessed by investigating the presence and functionality ofMATgenes. Previous genome studies had identified aMAT1-1gene in the reference strain RIB40. We now report the existence of a complementaryMAT1-2gene and the sequencing of an idiomorphic region fromA. oryzaestrain AO6. This allowed the development of a PCR diagnostic assay, which detected isolates of theMAT1-1andMAT1-2genotypes among 180 strains assayed, including industrialtane-kojiisolates. Strains used for sake and miso production showed a near-1:1 ratio of the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 mating types, whereas strains used for soy sauce production showed a significant bias toward the MAT1-2 mating type. MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 isogenic strains were then created by genetic manipulation of the resident idiomorph, and gene expression was compared by DNA microarray and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) methodologies under conditions in whichMATgenes were expressed. Thirty-three genes were found to be upregulated more than 10-fold in either the MAT1-1 host strain or the MAT1-2 gene replacement strain relative to each other, showing that both theMAT1-1andMAT1-2genes functionally regulate gene expression inA. oryzaein a mating type-dependent manner, the first such report for a supposedly asexual fungus.MAT1-1expression specifically upregulated an α-pheromone precursor gene, but the functions of most of the genes affected were unknown. The results are consistent with a heterothallic breeding system inA. oryzae, and prospects for the discovery of a sexual cycle are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

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

Wada

Maruyama

Yamaguchi

et al. 2012

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…This encouraged us to study the functionality of MAT genes in regard to other developmental pathways relevant to penicillin biosynthesis in P. chrysogenum. Strain P2niaD18, which has a high penicillin V titer under laboratory conditions and is a MAT1-1 derivative of NRRL1951, was chosen for study (10). An additional strain, ΔPcku70, with a deleted ku70 gene was constructed from P2niaD18 to promote efficient gene replacement (24).…”

Section: Molecular and Phenotypic Evidence For Recombination In The Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, accumulating evidence suggests that it might have the potential for sexual reproduction with an unidentified or "cryptic" sexual stage present (9). We recently discovered mating-type (MAT) and pheromone signaling genes in P. chrysogenum (10), which are involved with mating in other sexual fungi (11). For sex to occur in heterothallic (obligate outcrossing) ascomycete fungi, complementary MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 isolates must be present (11).…”

mentioning

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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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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“…Thus, there is accumulating evidence suggesting that an increasing number of Fungi Imperfecti have a cryptic sexual cycle and that asexual ascomycetes have the genetic machinery to mate and to develop fertile fruiting bodies, as well as to undergo a full meiotic sexual cycle (3,21,26,32,50,67,76).…”

Section: Vol 74 2008 Mating Type Locus Of Acremonium Chrysogenum 6011mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among these are plant and human pathogens like Bipolaris sacchari and Aspergillus fumigatus, as well as biotechnologically relevant fungi such as Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus oryzae (3,17,21,26,32,49,50,67,76). Analyses of the genome sequences of the asexual human pathogens Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium marneffei and that of Penicillium chrysogenum revealed the presence of transcriptionally active genes associated with sexual reproduction, including genes for pheromone production and recognition (21,26,49,50,76). These reports indicate that the absence of sexual reproduction is not due to disruptive mutations within MAT genes or other sex-related genes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Asexual Cephalosporin C Producer Acremonium chrysogenum Carries a Functional Mating Type Locus

Pöggeler

Hoff

Kück

2008

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Acremonium chrysogenum, the fungal producer of the pharmaceutically relevant ␤-lactam antibiotic cephalosporin C, is classified as asexual because no direct observation of mating or meiosis has yet been reported. To assess the potential of A. chrysogenum for sexual reproduction, we screened an expressed sequence tag library from A. chrysogenum for the expression of mating type (MAT) genes, which are the key regulators of sexual reproduction. We identified two putative mating type genes that are homologues of the ␣-box domain gene, MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-1-2, encoding an HPG domain protein defined by the presence of the three invariant amino acids histidine, proline, and glycine. In addition, cDNAs encoding a putative pheromone receptor and pheromone-processing enzymes, as well as components of a pheromone response pathway, were found. Moreover, the entire A. chrysogenum MAT1-1 (AcMAT1-1) gene and regions flanking the MAT region were obtained from a genomic cosmid library, and sequence analysis revealed that in addition to AcMAT1-1-1 and AcMAT1-1-2, the AcMAT1-1 locus comprises a third mating type gene, AcMAT1-1-3, encoding a high-mobility-group domain protein. The ␣-box domain sequence of AcMAT1-1-1 was used to determine the phylogenetic relationships of A. chrysogenum to other ascomycetes. To determine the functionality of the AcMAT1-1 locus, the entire MAT locus was transferred into a MAT deletion strain of the heterothallic ascomycete Podospora anserina (the Pa⌬MAT strain). After fertilization with a P. anserina MAT1-2 (MAT ؉ ) strain, the corresponding transformants developed fruiting bodies with mature ascospores. Thus, the results of our functional analysis of the AcMAT1-1 locus provide strong evidence to hypothesize a sexual cycle in A. chrysogenum.

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Eighty Years after Its Discovery, Fleming's Penicillium Strain Discloses the Secret of Its Sex

Cited by 62 publications

References 38 publications

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

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

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

Asexual Cephalosporin C Producer Acremonium chrysogenum Carries a Functional Mating Type Locus

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