Possible additional roles in mating for Ustilago maydis Rho1 and 14-3-3 homologues

Both the Rho GTPases and 14-3-3 proteins each belong to ubiquitous families of proteins involved in a variety of cellular processes, including cytokinesis, cell polarity, cellular differentiation and apoptosis. In fungi, these components of signaling pathways are involved in cell cycle regulation, cytokinesis and virulence. We study cellular differentiation and pathogenesis for Ustilago maydis, the dimorphic fungal pathogen of maize. We have reported on the interactions of Pdc1, a U. maydis homologue of human 14-3-3varepsilon, with Rho1, a small GTP binding protein; these proteins participate in cell polarity and filamentation pathways that include another small G protein, Rac1, and its effector PAK kinase, Cla4. Here we describe additional experiments that explore possible relationships of Pdc1 and Rho1 with another PAK-like kinase pathway and with the a matingtype locus.