Epistatic genetic interactions govern morphogenesis during sexual reproduction and infection in a global human fungal pathogen.

ABSTRACT: Cellular development is orchestrated by evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways, which are often pleiotropic and involve intra- and interpathway epistatic interactions that form intricate, complex regulatory networks. Cryptococcus species are a group of closely related human fungal pathogens that grow as yeasts yet transition to hyphae during sexual reproduction. Additionally, during infection they can form large, polyploid titan cells that evade immunity and develop drug resistance. Multiple known signaling pathways regulate cellular development, yet how these are coordinated and interact with genetic variation is less well understood. Here, we conducted quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses of a mapping population generated by sexual reproduction of two parents, only one of

SUBMITTER: Sun S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8872808 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature