Interaction between mating-type proteins from the homothallic fungus Sordaria macrospora
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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Microscopy of Fission Yeast Sexual Lifecycle
Published on: March 9, 2016
Sabine Jacobsen1, Michael Wittig, Stefanie Pöggeler
1Department for General and Molecular Botany, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
Mating-type genes control sexual development in ascomycetes. Little is known about their function in homothallic species, which are self-fertile and do not require a mating partner for sexual reproduction. The function of mating-type genes in the homothallic fungus Sordaria macrospora was assayed using a yeast system in order to find properties typical of eukaryotic transcription factors. We were able to demonstrate that the mating-type proteins SMTA-1 and SMTa-1 have domains capable of activating transcription of yeast reporter genes. Two-hybrid analysis for heterodimerization and homodimerization revealed the ability of SMTA-1 to interact with SMTa-1 and vice versa. These two proteins are encoded by different mating types in the related heterothallic species Neurospora crassa. The interaction between SMTA-1 and SMTa-1 was defined by experiments with truncated versions of SMTA-1 and in vitro by means of protein cross-linking. Moreover, we gained evidence for homodimerization of SMTA-1. Possible functions of mating-type proteins in the homothallic ascomycete S. macrospora are discussed.
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