Fungal oxylipins direct programmed developmental switches in filamentous fungi

Mengyao Niu, Breanne N. Steffan, Gregory J. Fischer, Nandhitha Venkatesh, Nicholas L. Raffa, Molly A. Wettstein, Jin Woo Bok, Claudio Greco, Can Zhao, Erwin Berthier, Ernst Oliw, David Beebe, Michael Bromley and Nancy P. Keller ()
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Mengyao Niu: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Breanne N. Steffan: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Gregory J. Fischer: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Nandhitha Venkatesh: University of Wisconsin—Madison
Nicholas L. Raffa: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Molly A. Wettstein: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Jin Woo Bok: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Claudio Greco: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Can Zhao: Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester
Erwin Berthier: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Ernst Oliw: Uppsala University
David Beebe: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Michael Bromley: Manchester Fungal Infection Group, Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester
Nancy P. Keller: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Filamentous fungi differentiate along complex developmental programs directed by abiotic and biotic signals. Currently, intrinsic signals that govern fungal development remain largely unknown. Here we show that an endogenously produced and secreted fungal oxylipin, 5,8-diHODE, induces fungal cellular differentiation, including lateral branching in pathogenic Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus, and appressorium formation in the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe grisea. The Aspergillus branching response is specific to a subset of oxylipins and is signaled through G-protein coupled receptors. RNA-Seq profiling shows differential expression of many transcription factors in response to 5,8-diHODE. Screening of null mutants of 33 of those transcription factors identifies three transcriptional regulators that appear to mediate the Aspergillus branching response; one of the mutants is locked in a hypo-branching phenotype, while the other two mutants display a hyper-branching phenotype. Our work reveals an endogenous signal that triggers crucial developmental processes in filamentous fungi, and opens new avenues for research on the morphogenesis of filamentous fungi.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18999-0

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