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Eukaryotic Cell, June 2006, p. 881-895, Vol. 5, No. 6
1535-9778/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00036-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Functional Characterization of Aspergillus nidulans Homologues of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Spa2 and Bud6

Aleksandra Virag and Steven D. Harris*

Plant Science Initiative and Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska

Received 6 February 2006/ Accepted 12 April 2006

The importance of polarized growth for fungi has elicited significant effort directed at better understanding underlying mechanisms of polarization, with a focus on yeast systems. At sites of tip growth, multiple protein complexes assemble and coordinate to ensure that incoming building material reaches the appropriate destination sites, and polarized growth is maintained. One of these complexes is the polarisome that consists of Spa2, Bud6, Pea2, and Bni1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Filamentous hyphae differ in their development and life style from yeasts and likely regulate polarized growth in a different way. This is expected to reflect on the composition and presence of protein complexes that assemble at the hyphal tip. In this study we searched for polarisome homologues in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans and characterized the S. cerevisiae Spa2 and Bud6 homologues, SpaA and BudA. Compared to the S. cerevisiae Spa2, SpaA lacks domain II but has three additional domains that are conserved within filamentous fungi. Gene replacement strains and localization studies show that SpaA functions exclusively at the hyphal tip, while BudA functions at sites of septum formation and possibly at hyphal tips. We show that SpaA is not required for the assembly or maintenance of the Spitzenkörper. We propose that the core function of the polarisome in polarized growth is maintained but with different contributions of polarisome components to the process.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Plant Science Initiative, University of Nebraska, N234 Beadle Center, Lincoln, NE 68588-0660. Phone: (402) 472-2938. Fax: (402) 472-3139. E-mail: sharri1{at}unlnotes.unl.edu.

Eukaryotic Cell, June 2006, p. 881-895, Vol. 5, No. 6
1535-9778/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00036-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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