The Schizosaccharomyces pombe mfm1 gene is expressed in an M cell-specific fashion. This regulation requires two HMG-box proteins: the ubiquitous Ste11 transcription factor and the M cell-controlling protein Mat1-Mc. Here we report that the mfm1 promoter contains a single, weak Stell-binding site (a so-called TR-box) that can confer M-specificity on a heterologous promoter when present in eight...

The developmental program of cell-type switching of S. pombe requires a strand-specific imprinting event at the mating-type locus (mat1). Imprinting occurs only when mat1 is replicated in a specific direction and requires several trans-acting factors. This work shows (1) that the factors swi1p and swi3p act by pausing the replication fork at the imprinting site; and (2) that swi1p and swi3p are...

The population structure of Ascochyta rabiei (teleomorph: Didymella rabiei ) in Tunisia was estimated among five populations sampled from the main chickpea growing regions using simple sequence repeat markers (SSR) and a mating type ( MAT ) marker. Mating type 2 isolates ( MAT1-2 ) had reduced genetic and genotypic diversity relative to mating type 1 isolates ( MAT1-1 ). This result, coupled wi...

Fungi have evolved a remarkable diversity of reproductive strategies. Some of these, most notably those of the model fungi, have been well studied but others are poorly understood. The latter is also true for uni-directional mating type switching, which has been reported in only five fungal genera, including Ceratocystis. Mating type switching allows a self-fertile fungal isolate to produce bot...

White-nose syndrome (WNS) of bats has devastated bat populations in eastern North America since its discovery in 2006. WNS, caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has spread quickly in North America and has become one of the most severe wildlife epidemics of our time. While P. destructans is spreading rapidly in North America, nothing is known about the sexual capacity of this fungu...

A rapid and reliable mating type assay for Fusarium circinatum was created by applying primers specific for the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 mating type alleles to genomic DNA in a single PCR. A similar approach may be applied to fungi not previously shown to reproduce sexually, thus enabling studies of population structure and inheritance.

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) belongs to the genus Enterovirus of family Picornaviridae and can cause acute acinar pancreatitis in adults. However, molecular mechanisms pathogenesis underlying CVB3-induced have remained unclear. In this study, we discovered that CVB3 capsid protein VP1 inhibited pancreatic cell proliferation exerted strong cytopathic effects on HPAC cells. Through yeast two-hybrid, ...

Mating-type genes in fungi encode regulators of mating and sexual development. Heterothallic ascomycete species require different sets of mating-type genes to control nonself-recognition and mating of compatible partners of different mating types. Homothallic (self-fertile) species also carry mating-type genes in their genome that are essential for sexual development. To analyze the molecular b...

In recent years, several lines of evidence have questioned the asexual nature of Aspergillus fumigatus, showing that this fungus possesses a fully functional sexual reproductive cycle that leads to the production of cleistothecia and ascospores. The presence of a sexual cycle in A. fumigatus could have significant medical implications, as sexual reproduction might contribute to increased virule...

Mating types of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe interchange nonrandomly in a cell lineage so that only one cell among four granddaughters of a cell ever switches, and the sister of the newly switched cell switches efficiently in consecutive cell divisions, thereby producing chains of recurrent switching. The programme of cellular differentiation is mediated by inheritance of parenta...