A homolog of Ste6, the a-factor transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is required for mating but not for monokaryotic fruiting in Cryptococcus neoformans.

ABSTRACT: Fungal pheromones function during the initial recognition stage of the mating process. One type of peptide pheromone identified in ascomycetes and basidiomycetes terminates in a conserved CAAX motif and requires extensive posttranslational modifications to become mature and active. A well-studied representative is the a-factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Unlike the typical secretory pathway utilized by most peptides, an alternative mechanism involving the ATP-binding cassette transporter Ste6 is used for the export of mature a-factor. Cryptococcus neoformans, a bipolar human pathogenic basidiomycete, produces CAAX motif-containing lipopeptide pheromones in both MATa and MATalpha cells. Virulence studies with a congenic pair of C. neoformans serotype D strains have shown that MATalpha cell

SUBMITTER: Hsueh YP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC544149 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature