Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Using Ustilago maydis as a Trojan Horse for In Situ Delivery of Maize Proteins
05:38

Using Ustilago maydis as a Trojan Horse for In Situ Delivery of Maize Proteins

Published on: February 8, 2019

Differential gene expression in filamentous cells of Ustilago maydis

Mohan R Babu1, Kristen Choffe, Barry J Saville

  • 1Department of Botany, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd. N., Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6, Canada.

Current Genetics
|April 6, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Fungal plant interactions alter cell structure and gene expression. Ustilago maydis showed significant metabolic gene changes, with the dikaryon being more virulent than the diploid.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Plant Pathology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Fungal interactions with plants, as pathogens or symbionts, induce changes in fungal cell morphology and nuclear state.
  • Understanding these cellular changes is crucial for deciphering fungal-plant relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate gene expression alterations in Ustilago maydis cells with varying structures and nuclear content.
  • To compare the virulence and gene expression profiles of different Ustilago maydis developmental stages.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized cDNA microarrays to detect differential gene expression in Ustilago maydis.
  • Categorized differentially expressed genes based on their functions.
  • Compared gene expression patterns between budding cells, filamentous dikaryons, and filamentous diploids.

Main Results:

  • Metabolism-related genes showed the most significant expression variations across Ustilago maydis cell types.
  • The filamentous dikaryon exhibited higher gene upregulation and greater virulence compared to the filamentous diploid.
  • Identified cell-specific differences in nutrient acquisition, metabolism, and signal transduction pathways.

Conclusions:

  • Gene expression changes are integral to Ustilago maydis cell type biology during plant interactions.
  • The dikaryotic stage of Ustilago maydis is more adapted for pathogenic development.
  • Differential gene expression underlies distinct cellular functions, including metabolism and virulence.

More Related Videos

Genetic Manipulation of the Plant Pathogen Ustilago maydis to Study Fungal Biology and Plant Microbe Interactions11:42

Genetic Manipulation of the Plant Pathogen Ustilago maydis to Study Fungal Biology and Plant Microbe Interactions

Published on: September 30, 2016

High Throughput Yeast Strain Phenotyping with Droplet-Based RNA Sequencing07:55

High Throughput Yeast Strain Phenotyping with Droplet-Based RNA Sequencing

Published on: May 21, 2020

Related Concept Videos

Yeast Signaling01:28

Yeast Signaling

Yeasts are single-celled organisms, but unlike bacteria, they are eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Cell signaling in yeast is similar to signaling in other eukaryotic cells. A ligand, such as a protein or a small molecule released from a yeast cell, attaches to a receptor on the cell surface. The binding stimulates second-messenger kinases to activate or inactivate transcription factors that further regulate gene expression. Many of the yeast intracellular signaling cascades have similar...
Position-effect Variegation02:32

Position-effect Variegation

In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.