The molecular basis of developmental decision-making in filamentous fungi
Final Report Abstract
The focus of our scientific work has long been the investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying cell fusion and the associated cell communication, using the red bread mold Neurospora crassa as a model organism. We demonstrated that germinating and fusing spores of this fungus utilize an unusual signaling mechanism in which interacting cells alternate highly coordinately between sending and receiving signals, thereby establishing a kind of cellular dialog. The aim of this project was to determine whether this cell-dialog mechanism is also used by other fungal species. We showed that this type of cell communication is indeed highly conserved and mediates cell fusion in the gray mold Botrytis cinerea, the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys flagrans, and the mycoparasite Trichoderma atroviride. Interestingly, we found that germinating spores of N. crassa frequently engage in interspecies interactions with germlings of B. cinerea or T. atroviride, suggesting the presence of a conserved communication signal. Additionally, the presence of N. crassa induces fusion in B. cinerea under conditions where spores of the latter normally do not fuse but instead exhibit infectious growth. This observation led to the hypothesis that the bread mold reprograms the gray mold during its development. Although interspecies interactions are common, interspecies fusions were never observed. This suggests the existence of molecular mechanisms that mediate self- and non-self-recognition at the species level.Interestingly, these mechanisms differ between the N. crassa/B. cinerea and N. crassa/T. atroviride interactions. In the first case, the cell contact site is subsequently thickened and reinforced by new cell wall synthesis. In contrast, interspecies contact in the second case frequently results in the death of both cells, possibly indicating induced apoptosis. In summary, the funded project has provided entirely new, partly groundbreaking insights into the interactions between different fungal species and their developmental decisions. Future studies should now assess the relevance of these findings for fungal - fungal interactions in natural mycobiomes.
Publications
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Evidence of repeated horizontal transfer of sterol C-5 desaturase encoding genes among dikarya fungi. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 150, 106850.
Herzog, Stephanie; Brinkmann, Henner; Vences, Miguel & Fleißner, André
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Plasma Membrane Fusion Is Specifically Impacted by the Molecular Structure of Membrane Sterols During Vegetative Development of Neurospora crassa. Genetics, 216(4), 1103-1116.
Weichert, Martin; Herzog, Stephanie; Robson, Sarah-Anne; Brandt, Raphael; Priegnitz, Bert-Ewald; Brandt, Ulrike; Schulz, Stefan & Fleißner, André
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A dialogue-like cell communication mechanism is conserved in filamentous ascomycete fungi and mediates interspecies interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(12).
Haj Hammadeh, Hamzeh; Serrano, Antonio; Wernet, Valentin; Stomberg, Natascha; Hellmeier, Davina; Weichert, Martin; Brandt, Ulrike; Sieg, Bianca; Kanofsky, Konstantin; Hehl, Reinhard; Fischer, Reinhard & Fleißner, André
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Highly conserved, but highly specific: Somatic cell–cell fusion in filamentous fungi. Current Opinion in Cell Biology, 79, 102140.
Fleißner, André; Oostlander, Anne G. & Well, Lucas
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Botrytis cinerea combines four molecular strategies to tolerate membrane-permeating plant compounds and to increase virulence. Nature Communications, 15(1).
You, Yaohua; Suraj, H. M.; Matz, Linda; Herrera, Valderrama A. Lorena; Ruigrok, Paul; Shi-Kunne, Xiaoqian; Pieterse, Frank P. J.; Oostlander, Anne; Beenen, Henriek G.; Chavarro-Carrero, Edgar A.; Qin, Si; Verstappen, Francel W. A.; Kappers, Iris F.; Fleißner, André & van, Kan Jan A. L.
