Temperature-sensitive mutations that produce insensitivity to division arrest by alpha-factor, a mating pheromone, were isolated in an MATa strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and shown by complementation studies to difine eight genes. All of these mutations (designated ste) produce sterility at the restrictive temperature in MATa cells, and mutations in seven of the genes produce sterility in M...

Aminoglycosides are a therapeutically important class of antibiotics that inhibit bacterial protein synthesis and a number of viral and eukaryotic functions by blocking RNA-protein interactions. Vanadate-resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants with defects in Golgi-specific glycosylation processes exhibit growth sensitivity to hygromycin B, an aminoglycoside [Ballou, L., Hitzeman, R. A., Lew...

Using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MATa/MATalpha ORF deletion collection, homozygous deletion strains were identified that undergo mating with MATa or MATalpha haploids. Seven homozygous deletions were identified that confer enhanced mating. Three of these, lacking CTF8, CTF18, and DCC1, mate at a low frequency with either MATa or MATalpha haploids. The products of these genes form a complex in...

Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic fungus with a defined sexual cycle involving haploid MATalpha and MATa cells. Interestingly, MATalpha strains are more common, are more virulent than congenic MATa strains, and undergo haploid fruiting in response to nitrogen limitation or MATa cells. Three genes encoding the MFalpha pheromone were identified in the MATalpha mating-type locus and shown to...

The agalpha1 mutant MAT alpha cells specifically lack the cell surface alpha-type sexual agglutination substance, which is also called alpha-agglutinin. Because the mutant cells (MATalpha agalpha1) can not form aggregates with MATa cells, MATalpha agalpha1 cells are unable to mate with MATa cells when they are co-inoculated in a liquid medium, and the mating is attenuated on solid medium. The a...

The RAD7 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae affects the proficiency of excision repair of DNA damaged by UV light. Here, we report our studies on the regulation of the RAD7 gene in response to UV irradiation and during sporulation. RAD7 transcript levels increased 6-fold within 40 min of exposure of cells to 37 J/m2 of UV light. Higher UV doses also elicited rapid increases in the level of RAD7 m...

Interspecific and intervarietal hybridization may contribute to the biological diversity of fungal populations. Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic yeast and the most common fungal cause of meningitis in patients with AIDS. Most patients are infected with either of the two varieties of C. neoformans, designated as serotype A (C. neoformans var. grubii) or serotype D (C. neoformans var. neof...

The maintenance and detection of signaling gradients are critical for proper development and cell migration. In single-cell organisms, gradient detection allows cells to orient toward a distant mating partner or nutrient source. Budding yeast expand their growth toward mating pheromone gradients through a process known as chemotropic growth. MATα cells secrete α-factor pheromone that stimulates...

Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) oswaldoi (Peryassú) comprises a species complex in South America. Specimens from two localities in east Mata Atlântica were characterized both at the morphological and molecular level as An. oswaldoi s.s. Intraspecific variation of the shape of the apex of the aedeagus of the male genitalia of specimens of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) oswaldoi s.s. from Vale do Ribeira, M...