Unisexual reproduction promotes competition for mating partners in the global human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus deneoformans.

ABSTRACT: Courtship is pivotal for successful mating. However, courtship is challenging for the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex, comprised of opportunistic fungal pathogens, as the majority of isolates are α mating type. In the absence of mating partners of the opposite mating type, C. deneoformans can undergo unisexual reproduction, during which a yeast-to-hyphal morphological transition occurs. Hyphal growth during unisexual reproduction is a quantitative trait, which reflects a strain's ability to undergo unisexual reproduction. In this study, we determined whether unisexual reproduction confers an ecological benefit by promoting foraging for mating partners. Through competitive mating assays using strains with different abilities to produce hyphae, we showed that unisexual reproduction p

SUBMITTER: Fu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6772093 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature