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Updated: Apr 1, 2026

Microfluidic Tools for Probing Fungal-Microbial Interactions at the Cellular Level
Published on: June 23, 2022
VelB/VeA/LaeA complex coordinates light signal with fungal development and secondary metabolism
Ozgür Bayram1, Sven Krappmann, Min Ni
1Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg August University, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Abstract:
Differentiation and secondary metabolism are correlated processes in fungi that respond to light. In Aspergillus nidulans, light inhibits sexual reproduction as well as secondary metabolism. We identified the heterotrimeric velvet complex VelB/VeA/LaeA connecting light-responding developmental regulation and control of secondary metabolism. VeA, which is primarily expressed in the dark, physically interacts with VelB, which is expressed during sexual development. VeA bridges VelB to the nuclear master regulator of secondary metabolism, LaeA. Deletion of either velB or veA results in defects in both sexual fruiting-body formation and the production of secondary metabolites.
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