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The pheromone response factor coordinates filamentous growth and pathogenicity in Ustilago maydis.
Author(s) -
Hartmann H. A.,
Kahmann R.,
Bölker M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1996.tb00508.x
Subject(s) - ustilago , biology , pheromone , pathogenicity , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , gene
In Ustilago maydis, the a and b mating type loci regulate cell fusion, filamentous growth and pathogenicity. The a locus encodes a pheromone‐based cell recognition system, and the b locus specifies two homeodomain proteins. The expression of all genes in the a and b loci is induced by pheromone. We have identified a HMG protein (Prf1) that binds sequence specifically to pheromone response elements present in the a and b loci. prf1 mutants do not express the a and b genes and are sterile. The disruption of prf1 in pathogenic haploid strains results in a loss of pathogenicity. The constitutive expression of the b genes restores pathogenicity and induces filamentous growth in the absence of the pheromone signal. These results provide evidence that pheromone signalling, filamentous growth and pathogenic development are linked through Prf1.