Differential gene expression during teliospore germination in Ustilago maydis

Ustilago maydis is a model fungal pathogen that induces the formation of tumors in maize. The tumor provides an environment for hyphal differentiation, leading to the formation of thick-walled, diploid teliospores. Such spores serve as a dispersal agent for smut and rust fungi, and their germination leads to new rounds of infection. The morphological changes that occur during teliospore germination in U. maydis have been described in detail. However, the specific molecular events that facilitate this process have not been identified. Through the construction and hybridization of microarrays containing a set of 3918 non-redundant cDNAs, we have identified genes that are differentially regulated during teliospore germination. Teliospores induced to germinate for 4 and 11 h were selected for comparison with dormant teliospores. Genes identified as differentially expressed included many that are presumably involved in as yet undescribed molecular events during teliospore germination, as well as characterized genes previously shown to be required for the process. This study represents the first large-scale investigation of changes in gene expression during teliospore germination.