Divergence of protein kinase A catalytic subunits in Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii illustrates evolutionary reconfiguration of a signaling cascade.

ABSTRACT: Gene duplication and divergence via both the loss and gain of gene activities are powerful evolutionary forces underlying the origin of new biological functions. Here a comparative genetics approach was applied to examine the roles of protein kinase A (PKA) catalytic subunits in three closely related varieties or sibling species of the pathogenic fungus genus Cryptococcus. Previous studies revealed that two PKA catalytic subunits, Pka1 and Pka2, control virulence factor production and mating. However, only one of the two plays the predominant physiological role, and this function has been exchanged between Pka1 and Pka2 in strains of the Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii serotype A lineage compared to divergent C. neoformans var. neoformans serotype D isolates. To understand the basis fo

SUBMITTER: Hicks JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1828938 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature