Aronstein K A, Murray K D, de León J H, Qin X, Weinstock G M
Honey Bee Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Weslaco, Texas 78596, USA.
Mycologia. 2007 Jul-Aug;99(4):553-61. doi: 10.3852/mycologia.99.4.553.
The genome of the honeybee fungal pathogen Ascosphaera apis (Maassen) encodes three putative high mobility group (HMG-box) transcription factors. The predicted proteins (MAT1-2, STE11 and HTF), each of which contain a single strongly conserved HMG-box, exhibit high similarity to mating type proteins and STE11-like transcription factors previously identified in other ascomycete fungi, some of them important plant and human pathogens. In this study we characterized the A. apis HMG-box containing genes and analyzed the structure of the mating type locus (MAT1-2) and its flanking regions. The MAT1-2 locus contains a single gene encoding a protein with an HMG-box. We also have determined the transcriptional patterns of all three HMG-box containing genes in both mating type idiomorphs and discuss a potential role of these transcription factors in A. apis development and reproduction. A multiplex PCR method with primers amplifying mat1-2-1 and Ste11 gene fragments is described. This new method allows for identification of a single mating type idiomorph and might become an essential tool for applied and basic research of chalkbrood disease in honeybees.
蜜蜂真菌病原体蜜蜂球囊菌（Maassen）的基因组编码三种假定的高迁移率族（HMG-box）转录因子。预测的蛋白质（MAT1-2、STE11和HTF），每个都包含一个高度保守的单一HMG-box，与先前在其他子囊菌中鉴定的交配型蛋白和STE11样转录因子具有高度相似性，其中一些是重要的植物和人类病原体。在本研究中，我们对蜜蜂球囊菌中含HMG-box的基因进行了表征，并分析了交配型位点（MAT1-2）及其侧翼区域的结构。MAT1-2位点包含一个编码具有HMG-box蛋白的单一基因。我们还确定了两种交配型异型中所有三个含HMG-box基因的转录模式，并讨论了这些转录因子在蜜蜂球囊菌发育和繁殖中的潜在作用。描述了一种用引物扩增mat1-2-1和Ste11基因片段的多重PCR方法。这种新方法可以鉴定单一的交配型异型，可能成为蜜蜂白垩病应用研究和基础研究的重要工具。
