Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Carpio y Plan de Ayala s/n. Colonia Santo Tomas, 11340, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
Instituto Universitario del Agua, Universidad de Granada, Ramón y Cajal, 4. Edificio Fray Luís, 18071, Granada, Spain.
Curr Microbiol. 2019 Aug;76(8):917-926. doi: 10.1007/s00284-019-01629-4. Epub 2019 Jan 28.
The basidiomycete Ustilago maydis is a biotrophic organism responsible for corn smut disease. In recent years, it has become one of the most promising models for biochemical and biotechnological research due to advantages, such as rapid growth, and easy genetic manipulation. In some aspects, this yeast is more similar to complex eukaryotes, such as humans, compared to standard laboratory yeast models. U. maydis can be employed as a tool to explore physiological processes with more versatility than other fungi. Previously, U. maydis was only considered as a phytopathogenic fungus, but different studies have shown its potential as a research model. Therefore, numerous promising studies have focused on deepening our understanding of the natural interactions, enzyme production, and biotechnological capacity. In this review, we explore general characteristics of U. maydis, both as pathogenic and "innocuous" basidiomycete. Additionally, a comparison with other yeast models focusing on genetic, biochemical, and biotechnological research are analyzed, to emphasize the versatility, dynamism, and novelty that U. maydis has as a research model. In this review, we highlight the applications of the yeast form of the fungus; however, since the filamentous form is also of relevance, it is addressed in the present work, as well.
担子菌尿囊菌是一种生物营养型生物，可引发玉米黑粉病。近年来，由于其具有生长迅速、遗传操作简单等优点，它已成为生化和生物技术研究中最有前途的模型之一。在某些方面，与标准的实验室酵母模型相比，这种酵母与人类等复杂真核生物更为相似。尿囊菌可以作为一种工具，用于探索比其他真菌更具多样性的生理过程。过去，尿囊菌仅被认为是一种植物病原菌，但不同的研究表明它具有作为研究模型的潜力。因此，许多有前途的研究都集中在加深我们对自然相互作用、酶生产和生物技术能力的理解上。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了尿囊菌作为致病性和“无害”担子菌的一般特征。此外，还对其他酵母模型进行了分析，重点比较了遗传、生化和生物技术研究，以强调尿囊菌作为研究模型的多功能性、动态性和新颖性。在这篇综述中，我们强调了真菌酵母形式的应用；然而，由于丝状形式也很重要，因此在本工作中也进行了讨论。
