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Eukaryotic Cell, December 2004, p. 1398-1411, Vol. 3, No. 6
1535-9778/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/EC.3.6.1398-1411.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Endogenous Lipogenic Regulators of Spore Balance in Aspergillus nidulans{dagger}

Dimitrios I. Tsitsigiannis, Terri M. Kowieski,{ddagger} Robert Zarnowski,§ and Nancy P. Keller*

Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin

Received 15 May 2004/ Accepted 6 August 2004

The ability of fungi to produce both meiospores and mitospores has provided adaptive advantages in survival and dispersal of these organisms. Here we provide evidence of an endogenous mechanism that balances meiospore and mitospore production in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. We have discovered a putative dioxygenase, PpoC, that functions in association with a previously characterized dioxygenase, PpoA, to integrate fatty acid derived oxylipin and spore production. In contrast to PpoA, deletion of ppoC significantly increased meiospore production and decreased mitospore development. Examination of the PpoA and PpoC mutants indicate that this ratio control is associated with two apparent feedback loops. The first loop shows ppoC and ppoA expression is dependent upon, and regulates the expression of, nsdD and brlA, genes encoding transcription factors required for meiospore or mitospore production, respectively. The second loop suggests Ppo oxylipin products antagonistically signal the generation of Ppo substrates. These data support a case for a fungal "oxylipin signature-profile" indicative of relative sexual and asexual spore differentiation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706. Phone: (608) 262-9795. Fax: (608) 263-2626. E-mail: npk{at}plantpath.wisc.edu.

{dagger} This study is dedicated to the memory of Sewall Champe.

{ddagger} Present address: Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706.

§ Present address: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706.

Eukaryotic Cell, December 2004, p. 1398-1411, Vol. 3, No. 6
1535-9778/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/EC.3.6.1398-1411.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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