Hull Christina M, Davidson Robert C, Heitman Joseph
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Genes Dev. 2002 Dec 1;16(23):3046-60. doi: 10.1101/gad.1041402.
Virulence in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans is associated with the alpha mating type. Studies to identify the properties of alpha cells that enhance pathogenesis have led to the identification of a mating-type locus of unusually large size and distinct architecture. Here, we demonstrate that the previously identified MATalpha components are insufficient to regulate sexual differentiation, and we identify a novel alpha-specific regulator, SXI1alpha. Our data show that SXI1alpha establishes alpha cell identity and controls progression through the sexual cycle, and we discover that ectopic expression of SXI1alpha in a cells is sufficient to drive a/alpha sexual development. SXI1alpha is the first example of a key regulator of cell identity and sexual differentiation in C. neoformans, and its identification and characterization lead to a new model of how cell fate and the sexual cycle are controlled in C. neoformans.
人类真菌病原体新生隐球菌的毒力与α交配型有关。旨在确定增强致病性的α细胞特性的研究，已导致鉴定出一个异常大且结构独特的交配型基因座。在此，我们证明先前鉴定出的MATα组件不足以调节性别分化，并且我们鉴定出一种新的α特异性调节因子SXI1α。我们的数据表明，SXI1α确立了α细胞身份并控制有性周期的进程，并且我们发现SXI1α在a细胞中的异位表达足以驱动a/α有性发育。SXI1α是新生隐球菌中细胞身份和性别分化关键调节因子的首个实例，其鉴定和表征导致了一个关于新生隐球菌中细胞命运和有性周期如何受到控制的新模型。
