UrdA Controls Secondary Metabolite Production and the Balance between Asexual and Sexual Development in Aspergillus nidulans.

ABSTRACT: The genus Aspergillus includes important plant pathogens, opportunistic human pathogens and mycotoxigenic fungi. In these organisms, secondary metabolism and morphogenesis are subject to a complex genetic regulation. Here we functionally characterized urdA, a gene encoding a putative helix-loop-helix (HLH)-type regulator in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. urdA governs asexual and sexual development in strains with a wild-type veA background; absence of urdA resulted in severe morphological alterations, with a significant reduction of conidial production and an increase in cleistothecial formation, even in the presence of light, a repressor of sex. The positive effect of urdA on conidiation is mediated by the central developmental path

SUBMITTER: Pandit SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6316066 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature