Caldwell G A, Naider F, Becker J M
Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-0845, USA.
Microbiol Rev. 1995 Sep;59(3):406-22. doi: 10.1128/mr.59.3.406-422.1995.
In a variety of fungal species, mating between haploid cells is initiated by the action of peptide pheromones. The identification and characterization of several fungal pheromones has revealed that they have common structural features classifying them as lipopeptides. In the course of biosynthesis, these pheromones undergo a series of posttranslational processing events prior to export. One common modification is the attachment of an isoprenoid group to the C terminus of the pheromone precursor. Genetic and biochemical investigations of this biosynthetic pathway have led to the elucidation of genes and enzymes which are responsible for isoprenylation of other polypeptides including the nuclear lamins, several vesicular transport proteins, and the oncogene product Ras. The alpha-factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae serves as a model for studying the biosynthesis, export, and bioactivity of lipopeptide pheromones. In addition to being isoprenylated with a farnesyl group, the alpha-factor is secreted by a novel peptide export pathway utilizing a yeast homolog of the mammalian multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein. The identification of putative lipopeptide-encoding loci within other fungi, including the human immunodeficiency virus-associated opportunistic pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans and the plant pathogen Ustilago maydis, has stimulated much interest in understanding possible roles for pheromones in fungal proliferation and pathogenicity. Knowledge of variations within the processing, export, and receptor-mediated signal transduction pathways associated with different fungal lipopeptide pheromones will continue to provide insights into similar mechanisms which exist in higher eukaryotes.
在多种真菌物种中，单倍体细胞之间的交配由肽类信息素的作用引发。对几种真菌信息素的鉴定和表征表明，它们具有共同的结构特征，可归类为脂肽。在生物合成过程中，这些信息素在输出之前会经历一系列翻译后加工事件。一种常见的修饰是类异戊二烯基团连接到信息素前体的C末端。对该生物合成途径的遗传和生化研究已阐明了负责其他多肽异戊二烯化的基因和酶，这些多肽包括核纤层蛋白、几种囊泡运输蛋白和癌基因产物Ras。酿酒酵母的α因子可作为研究脂肽信息素生物合成、输出和生物活性的模型。除了被法尼基化外，α因子还通过一种利用哺乳动物多药耐药性P-糖蛋白酵母同源物的新型肽输出途径分泌。在包括人类免疫缺陷病毒相关机会性病原体新型隐球菌和植物病原体玉米黑粉菌在内的其他真菌中鉴定出假定的脂肽编码基因座，激发了人们对了解信息素在真菌增殖和致病性中可能作用的浓厚兴趣。对与不同真菌脂肽信息素相关的加工、输出和受体介导的信号转导途径内变异的了解，将继续为高等真核生物中存在的类似机制提供见解。
