Polarized gene expression determines woronin body formation at the leading edge of the fungal colony.

ABSTRACT: The Woronin body (WB) is a peroxisome-related organelle that is centered on a crystalline core of the HEX-1 protein, which functions to seal septal pores of filamentous ascomycetes in response to cellular damage. Here, we investigate the cellular and genetic control of WB-formation and show that polarized hex-1 gene expression determines WB-biogenesis at the growing hyphal apex. We find that intron splicing is coupled to efficient hex-1 gene expression and strikingly, when the yellow fluorescent protein was expressed from hex-1 regulatory sequences, we observed a fluorescent gradient that was maximal in apical cells. Moreover, endogenous hex-1 transcripts were specifically enriched at the leading edge of the fungal colony, whereas other transcripts accumulated in basal regions. Time-lapse

SUBMITTER: Tey WK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1142413 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature