Identification of novel proteins for fungal cell-to-cell communication by localization screening from multicellularity-specific uncharacterized genes

Author:

Mamun Abdulla Al 1, Takuya Katayama 1, Wei Cao 2, Shugo Nakamura 2, Jun-ichi
Maruyama 1

Author address:

1 Department of Biotechnology,The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; 2 INIAD, Toyo University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Full conference title:

15th European Conference on Fungal Genetics 2020

Date: 20 June 2020

Abstract:

Multicellular organisms have the feature of intercellular molecular exchange for cooperation among the cells or tissues. Multicellular fungi possess a primitive morphological structure for cell-to-cell communication, the septal pore. A specifically evolved fungal organelle Woronin body plugs the septal pore upon wounding, thereby protecting the flanking cell. However, comparative genomic approach between multicellular and unicellular fungal species has not yet been employed to investigate additional components/mechanisms in the regulation of cell-to-cell communication. As Ascomycota, one of fungal divisions, possesses a number of genetically characterized species, we performed a genomic comparison between multicellular and unicellular ascomycetes and subsequent localization screening to find novel proteins regulating the cell-to-cell communication via septal pore.

In this study, we used Aspergillus oryzae due to having a unique experiment system of quantitatively analyzing the ability to protect the flanking cell upon hypotonic shockinduced hyphal wounding1). Here, 776 genes were selected as multicellularity-specific uncharacterized by using BLAST-based genomic comparison between multicellular ascomycetes (A. oryzae, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus nidulans) and unicellular ascomycetes (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Candida albicans) along with gene ontology category “no biological data available”. Proteins encoded by the genes were expressed as EGFP fusion in A. oryzae, and 8% of the proteins tested were found to localize to the septum. Approximately 40% of deletion strains lacking the septum-localizing proteins exhibited lower abilities to protect the flanking cell upon wounding. In conclusion, the present genomic comparison along with localization screening allowed us to successfully find many novel proteins having a role in fungal cell-to-cell communication.

1. Maruyama and Kitamoto (2019) The Mycota VIII, pp. 3-14

Link to conference website:

Link Conference abstract: 

ECFG 15

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