Wang P, Heitman J
Department of Genetics, Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Microbiology, and Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 1999 Aug;2(4):358-62. doi: 10.1016/S1369-5274(99)80063-0.
Cryptococcus neoformans is a basidiomycetous fungal pathogen that infects the central nervous system. The organism has a defined sexual cycle involving mating between haploid MATalpha and MATa cells. Recent studies have revealed signaling cascades that coordinately regulate differentiation and virulence of C. neoformans. One signaling cascade involves a conserved G-protein alpha subunit and cAMP, and senses nutrients during mating and virulence. The second is a conserved mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade that senses pheromone during mating, and also regulates haploid fruiting and virulence. Interestingly, some of the MAP kinase components are encoded by the MAT locus itself, which may explain the unique association of the MATalpha locus with physiology and virulence.
新型隐球菌是一种感染中枢神经系统的担子菌纲真菌病原体。该生物体具有明确的有性生殖周期，涉及单倍体MATα和MATa细胞之间的交配。最近的研究揭示了协调调节新型隐球菌分化和毒力的信号级联反应。一种信号级联反应涉及保守的G蛋白α亚基和cAMP，并在交配和毒力过程中感知营养物质。第二种是保守的丝裂原活化蛋白（MAP）激酶级联反应，它在交配过程中感知信息素，还调节单倍体子实体形成和毒力。有趣的是，一些MAP激酶组分由MAT基因座本身编码，这可能解释了MATα基因座与生理学和毒力之间的独特关联。
