Fus3 regulates asexual development and trap morphogenesis in the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora

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Meihua Xie1,2, Na Bai1, Xuewei Yang1

  • 1State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources, Key Laboratory for Microbial Resources of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, P.R. China.

Iscience
|August 23, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) Fus3 regulates fungal development and predation. This study reveals Fus3

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Fungal Pathogenesis

Background:

  • Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) Fus3 is crucial for fungal differentiation and virulence.
  • The role of MAPK signaling in nematode-trapping (NT) fungi, particularly their predatory lifestyle, is largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the function and regulatory mechanism of the Fus3 ortholog in the NT fungus *Arthrobotrys oligospora*.
  • To elucidate the role of Fus3 in asexual development, stress response, and predatory behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Multi-phenotypic analysis
  • Multi-omics approaches (transcriptomics)
  • Yeast two-hybrid assays

Main Results:

  • Fus3 is vital for *Arthrobotrys oligospora*'s asexual growth, conidiation, stress tolerance, and secondary metabolism.
  • Fus3 is indispensable for hyphal fusion, trap formation, and nematode predation.
  • Regulatory networks of Fus3 were elucidated through transcriptomic and yeast two-hybrid analyses.

Conclusions:

  • Fus3 plays a critical role in the asexual development and pathogenicity of NT fungi.
  • This research provides key insights into MAPK signaling in the evolution of predatory fungal lifestyles.
Keywords:
Microbial physiologyMicrobiologyMolecular biology

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