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Eukaryotic Cell, July 2007, p. 1189-1199, Vol. 6, No. 7
1535-9778/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00117-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Genomic and Population Analyses of the Mating Type Loci in Coccidioides Species Reveal Evidence for Sexual Reproduction and Gene Acquisition ^,

M. Alejandra Mandel,^1,2 Bridget M. Barker,^1,2,3 Scott Kroken,^1,2,3 Steven D. Rounsley,^4,5 and Marc J. Orbach^1,2,3*

Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona,¹ Valley Fever Center for Excellence, Tucson, Arizona,² Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics,³ Bio5 Institute,⁴ Division of Plant Biology, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona⁵

Received 10 April 2007/ Accepted 26 April 2007

Coccidioides species, the fungi responsible for the valley fever disease, are known to reproduce asexually through the production of arthroconidia that are the infectious propagules. The possible role of sexual reproduction in the survival and dispersal of these pathogens is unexplored. To determine the potential for mating of Coccidioides, we analyzed genome sequences and identified mating type loci characteristic of heterothallic ascomycetes. Coccidioides strains contain either a MAT1-1 or a MAT1-2 idiomorph, which is 8.1 or 9 kb in length, respectively, the longest reported for any ascomycete species. These idiomorphs contain four or five genes, respectively, more than are present in the MAT loci of most ascomycetes. Along with their cDNA structures, we determined that all genes in the MAT loci are transcribed. Two genes frequently found in common sequences flanking MAT idiomorphs, APN2 and COX13, are within the MAT loci in Coccidioides, but the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 copies have diverged dramatically from each other. Data indicate that the acquisition of these genes in the MAT loci occurred prior to the separation of Coccidioides from Uncinocarpus reesii. An analysis of 436 Coccidioides isolates from patients and the environment indicates that in both Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, there is a 1:1 distribution of MAT loci, as would be expected for sexually reproducing species. In addition, an analysis of isolates obtained from 11 soil samples demonstrated that at three sampling sites, strains of both mating types were present, indicating that compatible strains were in close proximity in the environment.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. Phone: (520) 621-3764. Fax: (520) 621-7186. E-mail: orbachmj{at}ag.arizona.edu

Published ahead of print on 18 May 2007.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://ec.asm.org/.

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Eukaryotic Cell, July 2007, p. 1189-1199, Vol. 6, No. 7
1535-9778/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00117-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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