Previous Article | Next Article 
Eukaryotic Cell, March 2006, p. 544-554, Vol. 5, No. 3
1535-9778/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/EC.5.3.544-554.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Pheromones Are Essential for Male Fertility and Sufficient To Direct Chemotropic Polarized Growth of Trichogynes during Mating in Neurospora crassa
Hyojeong Kim and
Katherine A. Borkovich*
Department of Plant Pathology, 1415 Boyce Hall, 900 University Avenue, University of California, Riverside, California 92521
Received 18 November 2005/
Accepted 3 January 2006
Neurospora crassa is a self-sterile filamentous fungus with two mating types, mat A and mat a. Its mating involves chemotropic polarized growth of female-specific hyphae (trichogynes) toward male cells of the opposite mating type in a process involving pheromones and receptors. mat A cells express the ccg-4 pheromone and the pre-1 receptor, while mat a strains produce mRNA for the pheromone mfa-1 and the pre-2 receptor; MFA-1 and CCG-4 are the predicted ligands for PRE-1 and PRE-2, respectively. In this study, we generated
ccg-4 and
mfa-1 mutants and engineered a mat a strain to coexpress ccg-4 and its receptor, pre-2. As males,
ccg-4 mat A and
mfa-1 mat a mutants were unable to attract mat a and mat A trichogynes, respectively, and consequently failed to initiate fruiting body (perithecial) development or produce meiotic spores (ascospores). In contrast,
ccg-4 mat a and
mfa-1 mat A mutants exhibited normal chemotropic attraction and male fertility.
ccg-4
mfa-1 double mutants displayed defective chemotropism and male sterility in both mating types. Heterologous expression of ccg-4 enabled mat a males to attract mat a trichogynes, although subsequent perithecial differentiation did not occur. Expression of ccg-4 and pre-2 in the same strain triggered self-stimulation, resulting in formation of barren perithecia with no ascospores. Our results indicate that CCG-4 and MFA-1 are required for mating-type-specific male fertility and that pheromones (and receptors) are initial determinants for sexual identity during mate recognition. Furthermore, a self-attraction signal can be transmitted within a strain that expresses a pheromone and its cognate receptor.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Plant Pathology, 1415 Boyce Hall, 900 University Avenue, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521. Phone: (951) 827-2753. Fax: (951) 827-4294. E-mail:
Katherine.Borkovich{at}ucr.edu.
Eukaryotic Cell, March 2006, p. 544-554, Vol. 5, No. 3
1535-9778/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/EC.5.3.544-554.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Fleissner, A., Leeder, A. C., Roca, M. G., Read, N. D., Glass, N. L.
(2009). Oscillatory recruitment of signaling proteins to cell tips promotes coordinated behavior during cell fusion. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
106: 19387-19392
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Fleissner, A., Diamond, S., Glass, N. L.
(2009). The Saccharomyces cerevisiae PRM1 Homolog in Neurospora crassa Is Involved in Vegetative and Sexual Cell Fusion Events but Also Has Postfertilization Functions. Genetics
181: 497-510
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Poggeler, S., Hoff, B., Kuck, U.
(2008). Asexual Cephalosporin C Producer Acremonium chrysogenum Carries a Functional Mating Type Locus. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
74: 6006-6016
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Lee, J., Leslie, J. F., Bowden, R. L.
(2008). Expression and Function of Sex Pheromones and Receptors in the Homothallic Ascomycete Gibberella zeae. Eukaryot Cell
7: 1211-1221
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Hoff, B., Poggeler, S., Kuck, U.
(2008). Eighty Years after Its Discovery, Fleming's Penicillium Strain Discloses the Secret of Its Sex. Eukaryot Cell
7: 465-470
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Karlsson, M., Nygren, K., Johannesson, H.
(2008). The Evolution of the Pheromonal Signal System and Its Potential Role for Reproductive Isolation in Heterothallic Neurospora. Mol Biol Evol
25: 168-178
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Jones, C. A., Greer-Phillips, S. E., Borkovich, K. A.
(2007). The Response Regulator RRG-1 Functions Upstream of a Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway Impacting Asexual Development, Female Fertility, Osmotic Stress, and Fungicide Resistance in Neurospora crassa. Mol. Biol. Cell
18: 2123-2136
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Krystofova, S., Borkovich, K. A.
(2006). The Predicted G-Protein-Coupled Receptor GPR-1 Is Required for Female Sexual Development in the Multicellular Fungus Neurospora crassa.. Eukaryot Cell
5: 1503-1516
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Li, L., Borkovich, K. A.
(2006). GPR-4 Is a Predicted G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Required for Carbon Source-Dependent Asexual Growth and Development in Neurospora crassa.. Eukaryot Cell
5: 1287-1300
[Abstract]
[Full Text]