Vacuole Function in Neurospora

Abstract

The vacuoles of fungi share many properties with the vacuoles of higher plants and the lysosomes of mammalian cells. Vacuoles of higher plants are thought to perform a storage function whereas mammalian lysosomes are the sites of turnover of intracellular macromolecules. Both these functions are performed by fungal vacuoles and both require the movement of molecules between the vacuolar (lysosomal) and cytoplasmic compartments. To understand the physiological functions of vacuoles and the mechanism by which these functions are performed, a simple system amenable to genetic, biochemical and molecular biological manipulation is needed. The vacuoles of the filamentous fungus, Neurospora crassa, appear to satisfy these criteria.