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Microarray and real-time PCR analyses reveal mating type-dependent gene expression in a homothallic fungus

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Abstract

Sordaria macrospora is a homothallic ascomycete which is able to form fertile fruiting bodies without a mating partner. To analyze the molecular basis of homothallism and the role of mating products during fruiting body development, we have deleted the mating type gene Smta-1 encoding a high-mobility group domain (HMG) protein. The ΔSmta-1 deletion strain is morphologically wild type during vegetative growth, but it is unable to produce perithecia or ascospores. To identify genes expressed under control of Smta-1, we performed a cross-species microarray analysis using Neurospora crassa cDNA microarrays hybridized with S. macrospora targets. We identified 107 genes that are more than twofold up- or down-regulated in the mutant. Functional classification revealed that 81 genes have homologues with known or putative functions. Comparison of array data from ΔSmta-1 with those from three phenotypically similar mutants revealed that only a limited set of ten genes is deregulated in all mutants. Remarkably, the ppg2 gene encoding a putative lipopeptide pheromone is 500-fold down-regulated in the ΔSmta-1 mutant while in all other sterile mutants this gene is up-regulated.

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Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank Silke Nimtz, Gisela Isowitz, Susanne Schlewinski and Swenja Ellßel for excellent technical assistance. This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft PO523/3-1 and SFB480-TPA1 (Bonn, Germany) and the Ruhr-University of Bochum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine und Molekulare Botanik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany

    S. Pöggeler, M. Nowrousian & U. Kück

  2. Departments of Genetics and Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    C. Ringelberg, J. J. Loros & J. C. Dunlap

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  1. S. Pöggeler
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  2. M. Nowrousian
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  3. C. Ringelberg
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  4. J. J. Loros
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  5. J. C. Dunlap
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  6. U. Kück
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Correspondence to S. Pöggeler.

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Communicated by J. Perez-Martin

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Pöggeler, S., Nowrousian, M., Ringelberg, C. et al. Microarray and real-time PCR analyses reveal mating type-dependent gene expression in a homothallic fungus. Mol Genet Genomics 275, 492–503 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-006-0107-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-006-0107-y

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