Article
Genetics & Heredity
Marie Foulongne-Oriol, Ozgur Taskent, Ursula Kues, Anton S. M. Sonnenberg, Arend F. van Peer, Tatiana Giraud
Summary: The mating-type locus in the button mushroom varieties A. bisporus var. bisporus and burnettii exhibits complex genetic changes and structural rearrangements, potentially leading to recombination suppression and the formation of sex chromosomes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anabelle Planques, Vanessa Oliveira Moreira, David Benacom, Clemence Bernard, Laurent Jourdren, Corinne Blugeon, Florent Dingli, Vanessa Masson, Damarys Loew, Alain Prochiantz, Ariel A. Di Nardo
Summary: This study explores the functional roles of OTX2 in adult choroid plexus, highlighting its importance in processes such as cell signaling, adhesion, and regulation of secreted factors. OTX2 is shown to impact immune responses, stress reactions in the choroid plexus, and influence the mRNA isoforms of proteins involved in oxidative stress response and DNA repair. Mass spectrometry analysis also reveals potential OTX2 protein partners in the choroid plexus and other target regions, involved in cell adhesion, chromatin structure, and RNA processing. Overall, OTX2 plays crucial roles in regulating choroid plexus function and brain homeostasis throughout life.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Tamara L. Johnson, Mark A. Elgar, Matthew R. E. Symonds
Summary: Darwin argued that sexual selection plays a role in the evolution of male sensory structures. A study on moth antennae found that the morphology and size of male antennae are linked to female mating behavior and flight ability. Elaborate antennae in males have evolved more frequently in species with monandrous females, and female loss of flight ability is more common in species where males have elaborate antennae. These results provide new insights into the relationship between male competition and interspecific sexual dimorphism.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Manuella R. Clark-Cotton, Katherine C. Jacobs, Daniel J. Lew
Summary: Fungi exhibit a wide range of morphologies through a combination of polar growth, cell division, and cell fusion. Fusion partners in fungi must grow towards each other until they touch and degrade the intervening cell walls without compromising cell integrity. Recent progress has been made in understanding how fungi overcome these challenges, including the use of extracellular chemoattractants and cell polarity circuit searching behavior.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Developmental Biology
Natalia Carolina Garcia-Perez, Gregor Bucher, Marita Buescher
Summary: The transcription factor Skh plays a crucial role in specifying the subtype identity of embryonic CX neurons in Tribolium. Its expression pattern and maintenance in adult CX neurons, as well as the defects seen in axon outgrowth upon Skh knockdown, suggest a conserved role in subtype specification of CX neurons, as seen in the unstudied Drosophila skh.
Article
Plant Sciences
Hyung-Woo Jeon, Mary E. Byrne
Summary: Plant leaves have various shapes due to different species, developmental stages, and environments. Mutations in the homeodomain transcription factors Saw1 and Saw2 can lead to earlier appearance of leaf margin serrations.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Hyun Jo, Minsu Kim, Hyeontae Cho, Bo-Keun Ha, Sungtaeg Kang, Jong Tae Song, Jeong-Dong Lee
Summary: This study identified a potential gene, Glyma.05g221500 (HD), on chromosome 5 of soybean that controls elevated ALA concentration. The gene, a homeodomain-like transcriptional regulator, may regulate the expression level of microsomal omega-3 fatty acid desaturase genes to reduce the omega-6/omega-3 ratio in seeds. The combination of mutant alleles HD and FAD2-1 was found to be sufficient to lower the omega-6/omega-3 ratio in populations where these genes were segregated.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Lesley Pluecker, Kristin Boesch, Lea Geissl, Philipp Hoffmann, Vera Goehre
Summary: The paper presents a transformation protocol for the Brassicaceae smut fungus Thecaphora thlaspeos, including the generation of fluorescent protein-expressing reporter strains and deletion of the pheromone receptor pra1 as a proof-of-principle for homologous recombination. This provides a genetic platform for studying the infection biology of this novel model fungus.
Article
Microbiology
Sophia Wirth, Daniela Freihorst, Katrin Krause, Erika Kothe
Summary: This study provides substantial evidence on the organization of the B mating-type loci in distantly related S. commune strains, showing high synteny in gene order and neighboring genes. Brl1 is proposed to play a role in mating, while Brl3, Brl4, and to a lesser extent Brl2, contribute to vegetative growth and possible determination of growth direction.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yen-Wen Wang, Megan C. Mckeon, Holly Elmore, Jaqueline Hess, Jacob Golan, Hunter Gage, William Mao, Lynn Harrow, Susana C. Goncalves, Christina M. Hull, Anne Pringle
Summary: The death cap mushroom Amanita phalloides can also undergo sexual reproduction through single individuals, which facilitates its rapid spread and demonstrates a profound similarity between the reproductive strategies of fungal invasions and plant/animal invasions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Z. Tu, L. Yu, S. Wen, X. Zhai, W. Li, H. Li
Summary: This study identified 36 LcHD-Zip genes in Liriodendron chinense and found that they play key roles in leaf development. These genes exhibit different expression patterns and are involved in leaf initiation, polarity establishment, shape development, phytohormone-mediated growth, and epidermal structure formation.
Article
Plant Sciences
Qiao Wang, Xinren Dai, Hongying Pang, Yanxia Cheng, Xiong Huang, Hui Li, Xiaojing Yan, Fachuang Lu, Hairong Wei, Ronald R. Sederoff, Quanzi Li
Summary: This study focuses on the transcriptional regulation of the key enzyme CAld5H2 for sinapyl alcohol biosynthesis. Through yeast one-hybrid screen and ChIP-qPCR experiments, 12 upstream transcription factors (TFs) and a negative regulator BLH6a were identified. Luciferase complementation imaging analyses indicated extensive protein-protein interactions among these TFs, suggesting a combinatorial regulation for sinapyl alcohol biosynthesis in poplar.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maxine A. Hoft, Lucian Duvenage, J. Claire Hoving
Summary: This article summarizes the major endemic dimorphic fungal pathogens associated with epidemics, describes their route of infection and clinical presentation, and focuses on the host's pattern recognition receptors and innate immune response to these pathogens.
Article
Agronomy
Wei Zheng, Haihao Ma, Zhangyang Liu, Yong Zhou, Hang Zhu, Jia Liu, Chengjia Zhang, Zheming Liu, Xiaomao Zhou
Summary: In this study, a P. xylostella mutant with knockout of the tyramine receptor 1 (TAR1) gene was developed, revealing that TAR1 knockout had negative effects on the moth's reproduction, including impaired ovary development and reduced mating, leading to a decrease in egg yield. Furthermore, TAR1 knockout also resulted in decreased sex pheromone biosynthesis in female moths. These findings have important implications for developing a novel integrated pest control strategy based on mating interference.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Yun Jin Lee, Eunbi Kim, Hyerang Eom, Seong-Hyeok Yang, Yeon Jae Choi, Hyeon-Su Ro
Summary: The interaction between mating pheromones and receptors is crucial for activating the mushroom mating signal transduction pathway. In addition to the B mating-type locus, a novel chromosomal locus named B alpha-N was discovered, potentially involved in controlling the expression of A mating-type genes.