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Evolution of modular conidiophore development in the aspergilli
Author(s) -
Harris Steven D.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06760.x
Subject(s) - conidium , biology , aspergillus nidulans , aspergillus , botany , gene , genetics , mutant
Conidiophores are reproductive structures that enable filamentous fungi to produce and disseminate large numbers of asexual spores. The diversity in conidiophore morphology is sufficiently large to serve as a basis for fungal systematics. Aspergillus and Penicillium species are members of the family Trichocomaceae that form conidiophores with characteristic architecture. Whereas the Penicillium conidiophore appears to be a modified branched hyphal structure, the Aspergillus conidiophore is seemingly more complex and includes additional cell types. Here, it is proposed that the “aspergillioid” conidiophore may have evolved from a “penicillioid” ancestor via changes in expression of key regulators of the cell cycle and the GTPase Cdc42. Because the transcriptional regulatory network that controls conidiophore development in Aspergillus is well characterized, further study of how this network links to regulators of the cell cycle and Cdc42 should provide fundamental insight into the evolution of developmental morphogenesis in fungi (i.e., fungal evo‐devo).