The Lipid Body Protein, PpoA, Coordinates Sexual and Asexual Sporulation in Aspergillus nidulans

The coexistence of sexual and asexual reproductive cycles within the same individual is a striking phenomenon in numerous fungi. In the fungus Aspergillus nidulans (teleomorph: Emericella nidulans) endogenous oxylipins, called psi factor, serve as hormone-like signals that modulate the timing and ba...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of biological chemistry 2004-03, Vol.279 (12), p.11344-11353
Main Authors: Tsitsigiannis, Dimitrios I., Zarnowski, Robert, Keller, Nancy P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aspergillus nidulans
Aspergillus nidulans - enzymology
Aspergillus nidulans - growth & development
Aspergillus nidulans - physiology
Base Sequence
DNA Primers
Fungal Proteins - physiology
Molecular Sequence Data
Oxygenases - metabolism
Peroxidases - metabolism
Spores, Fungal
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The coexistence of sexual and asexual reproductive cycles within the same individual is a striking phenomenon in numerous fungi. In the fungus Aspergillus nidulans (teleomorph: Emericella nidulans) endogenous oxylipins, called psi factor, serve as hormone-like signals that modulate the timing and balance between sexual and asexual spore development. Here, we report the identification of A. nidulans ppoA, encoding a putative fatty acid dioxygenase, involved in the biosynthesis of the linoleic acid derived oxylipin psiBα. PpoA is required for balancing anamorph and teleomorph development. Deletion of ppoA significantly reduced the level of psiBα and increased the ratio of asexual to sexual spore numbers 4-fold. In contrast, forced expression of ppoA resulted in elevated levels of psiBα and decreased the ratio of asexual to sexual spore numbers 6-fold. ppoA expression is mediated by two developmental regulators, VeA and the COP9 signalosome, such that ppoA transcript levels are correlated with the initiation of asexual and sexual fruiting body formation. PpoA localizes in lipid bodies in these tissues. These data support an important role for oxylipins in integrating mitotic and meiotic spore development.
ISSN:0021-9258
1083-351X
DOI:10.1074/jbc.M310840200