scholarly journals Beyond Animals and Plants: Dynamic Maternal Effects in the FungusNeurospora crassa

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kolea C. K. Zimmerman ◽  
Daniel A Levitis ◽  
Anne Pringle
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Effects ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Type A ◽  
Maternal Influence ◽  
Maternal Control ◽  
Wild Strains ◽  
Species Evolution ◽  
Spore Cell

Maternal effects are widely documented in animals and plants, but not in fungi or other eukaryotes. A principal cause of maternal effects is asymmetrical parental investment in a zygote, creating greater maternal versus paternal influence on offspring phenotypes. Asymmetrical investments are not limited to animals and plants, but are also prevalent in fungi and groups including apicocomplexans, dinoflagellates, and red algae. Evidence suggesting maternal effects among fungi is sparse and anecdotal. In an experiment designed to test for maternal effects across sexual reproduction in the model fungusNeurospora crassa, we measured offspring phenotypes from crosses of all possible pairs of 22 individuals. Crosses encompassed reciprocals of 11 mating-type "A" and 11 mating-type "a" wild strains. After controlling for the genetic and geographic distances between strains in any individual cross, we found strong evidence for maternal control of sporocarp production, as well as maternal effects on spore numbers and spore germination. However, both parents exert equal influence on the percentage of spores that are pigmented, and size of pigmented spores. We propose a model linking the stage-specific presence or absence of maternal effects to cellular developmental processes: effects appear to be mediated primarily through the maternal cytoplasm, and, after spore cell walls form, maternal influence on spore development is limited. Maternal effects in fungi, thus far largely ignored, are likely to shape species' evolution and ecology. The association of anisogamy and maternal effects in a fungus suggests maternal effects may also influence the biology of other anisogamous eukaryotes.

scholarly journals Genetic Variation and Its Reflection on Posttranslational Modifications in Frequency Clock and Mating Type a-1 Proteins in Sordaria fimicola

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Rabia Arif ◽  
Faiza Akram ◽  
Tazeen Jamil ◽  
Hamid Mukhtar ◽  
Siu Fai Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Posttranslational Modifications ◽  
Type A ◽  
Genetic Variations ◽  
Whole Genome Sequence ◽  
Short Sequence ◽  
Consensus Sequences ◽  
Wild Strains ◽  
Sordaria Fimicola

Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) occur in all essential proteins taking command of their functions. There are many domains inside proteins where modifications take place on side-chains of amino acids through various enzymes to generate different species of proteins. In this manuscript we have, for the first time, predicted posttranslational modifications of frequency clock and mating type a-1 proteins in Sordaria fimicola collected from different sites to see the effect of environment on proteins or various amino acids pickings and their ultimate impact on consensus sequences present in mating type proteins using bioinformatics tools. Furthermore, we have also measured and walked through genomic DNA of various Sordaria strains to determine genetic diversity by genotyping the short sequence repeats (SSRs) of wild strains of S. fimicola collected from contrasting environments of two opposing slopes (harsh and xeric south facing slope and mild north facing slope) of Evolution Canyon (EC), Israel. Based on the whole genome sequence of S. macrospora, we targeted 20 genomic regions in S. fimicola which contain short sequence repeats (SSRs). Our data revealed genetic variations in strains from south facing slope and these findings assist in the hypothesis that genetic variations caused by stressful environments lead to evolution.

Vacuole Partitioning During Meiotic Division in Yeast

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 445-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy D Roeder ◽  
Janet M Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Alkaline Phosphatase ◽  
Meiotic Division ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Vacuolar Membrane ◽  
Carboxypeptidase Y ◽  
Fluorescent Markers ◽  
Immunofluorescence Studies ◽  
Membrane Bound ◽  
Subsequent Staining ◽  
Spore Cell

Abstract We have examined the partitioning of the yeast vacuole during meiotic division. In pulse-chase experiments, vacuoles labeled with the lumenal ade2 fluorophore or the membrane-specific dye FM 4-64 were not inherited by haploid spores. Instead, these fluorescent markers were excluded from spores and trapped between the spore cell walls and the ascus. Serial optical sections using a confocal microscope confirmed that spores did not inherit detectable amounts of fluorescently labeled vacuoles. Moreover, indirect immunofluorescence studies established that an endogenous vacuolar membrane protein, alkaline phosphatase, and a soluable vacuolar protease, carboxypeptidase Y, were also detected outside spores after meiotic division. Spores that did not inherit ade2- or FM 4-64-labeled vacuoles did generate an organelle that could be visualized by subsequent staining with vacuole-specific fluorophores. These data contrast with genetic evidence that a soluble vacuolar protease is inherited by spores. When the partitioning of both types of markers was examined in sporulating cultures, the vacuolar protease activity was inherited by spores while fluorescently labeled vacuoles were largely excluded from spores. Our results indicate that the majority of the diploid vacuole, both soluble contents and membrane-bound components, are excluded from spores formed during meiotic division.

POOR FRUITERS AND BARRAGE MUTANTS IN GELASINOSPORA

1956 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Silver Dowding ◽  
A. Bakerspigel
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Opposite Mating Type ◽  
Nutritional Factors ◽  
Wild Strains ◽  
Hyphal Tip

Anomalous sterility and slow fruiting occur among the following types of cultures: (1) mated homokaryotic mycelia grown from dwarf ascospores; (2) heterokaryotic mycelia grown from normal-sized ascospores; (3) hyphal-tip cultures from heterokaryotic mycelia. Such behavior may be caused by a mutant nucleus whose nutritional factors do not complement those in the nuclei of opposite mating type. Among the sterile and slow-fruiting strains were found 'barrage' mutants. They differ in texture and growth rate from wild strains. When grown in pairs, their hyphac, as they approach each other, exhibit aversion or barrage. Progeny of mated barrage strains are likewise barrage strains.

scholarly journals Developmental mutants in a homothallic strain of Physarum polycephalum

1973 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Wheals
Keyword(s):  
Synergistic Effect ◽  
Ultraviolet Light ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Physarum Polycephalum ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Type A ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Developmental Transition ◽  
Developmental Mutants

SUMMARYA derivative line of the homothallic Colonia strain of Physarum polycephalum has been isolated which produces plasmodia with high efficiency within clones of amoebae. Using the synergistic effect of ultraviolet light and caffeine, mutants of this line have been isolated which fail to undergo the developmental transition between haploid amoebae and diploid plasmodia (apt mutants). They are isolated by selecting for amoebae which fail to produce plasmodia within clones. Complementation tests of four mutants have shown that they are mutants of four different loci and they are recessive to wild-type. A further analysis of one mutant reveals that the apt-1 locus is unlinked to three other known markers. Crosses of this mutant with heterothallic strains yield progeny which are homothallic indicating that the lesion is not a revertant from a homothallic to a heterothallic mating-type. The use of this system in isolating developmental mutants is discussed.

scholarly journals Type A Behaviours and Heart Disease: Epidemiological and Experimental Foundations

1990 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bennett ◽  
Douglas Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Heart Disease ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Type A ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Relationship

This paper critically examines three strands of evidence that concern the relationship between type A behaviours and coronary heart disease; prospective epidemiological studies of healthy populations, studies of those at high risk for coronary heart disease, and angiographic studies of atherosclerosis. The first of these would seem to provide the strongest test. Methodological and conceptual issues mean that the results of studies using the other methods should be interpreted with care. It is concluded that there is relatively strong evidence of an association between Type A behaviour as measured by Structured Interview and coronary heart disease. Hostility and anger appear to be the most powerful determinants of CHD. However, it is likely that they interact with other type A behaviours and related environmental factors in determining risk.

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