Discovery of a sexual cycle in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus

Céline M. O’Gorman (), Hubert T. Fuller and Paul S. Dyer ()
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Céline M. O’Gorman: UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Hubert T. Fuller: UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Paul S. Dyer: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park

Nature, 2009, vol. 457, issue 7228, 471-474

Abstract: A long wait for sex The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic human pathogen in immunocompromised individuals and is associated with severe asthma and sinusitis. Despite accumulating evidence that recombination and gene flow occur in Aspergillus, until now only asexual reproduction has been observed in the species. Now, 145 years after it was first characterized, Aspergillus is shown to reproduce sexually. Isolates of two complementary mating types are reported. Implications of this demonstration include a possibility of classical genetic analyses that in turn will facilitate research into the genetic basis of pathogenicity and fungicide resistance.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07528

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