NR AODF
AU Dalstra,H.J.; Swart,K.; Debets,A.J.; Saupe,S.J.; Hoekstra,R.F.
TI Sexual transmission of the [Het-S] prion leads to meiotic drive in Podospora anserina
QU Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2003 May 27; 100(11): 6616-21
KI Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 May 27;100(11):6292-4. PMID: 12754381
PT journal article
AB In the filamentous fungus Podospora anserina, two phenomena are associated with polymorphism at the het-s locus, vegetative incompatibility and ascospore abortion. Two het-s alleles occur naturally, het-s and het-S. The het-s encoded protein is a prion propagating as a self-perpetuating amyloid aggregate. When prion-infected [Het-s] hyphae fuse with [Het-S] hyphae, the resulting heterokaryotic cells necrotize. [Het-s] and [Het-S] strains are sexually compatible. When, however, a female [Het-s] crosses with [Het-S], a significant percentage of het-S spores abort, in a way similar to spore killing in Neurospora and Podospora. We report here that sexual transmission of the [Het-s] prion after nonisogamous mating in the reproductive cycle of Podospora is responsible for the killing of het-S spores. Progeny of crosses between isogenic strains with distinct wild-type or introduced, ectopic het-s/S alleles were cytologically and genetically analyzed. The effect of het-s/S overexpression, ectopic het-s/S expression, absence of het-s expression, loss of [Het-s] prion infection, and the distribution patterns of HET-s/S-GFP proteins were categorized during meiosis and ascospore formation. This study unveiled a het-S spore-killing system that is governed by dosage of and interaction between the [Het-s] prion and the HET-S protein. Due to this property of the [Het-s] prion, the het-s allele acts as a meiotic drive element favoring maintenance of the prion-forming allele in natural populations.
MH Ascomycota/*cytology; Fungal Proteins/genetics/*physiology; Meiosis/*physiology; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
AD Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Arboretumlaan 4, The Netherlands. Henk.Dalstra@wur.nl
SP englisch
PO USA