DNA Methylation on N6-Adenine Regulates the Hyphal Development during Dimorphism in the Early-Diverging Fungus Mucor lusitanicus

The epigenetic modifications control the pathogenicity of human pathogenic fungi, which have been poorly studied in Mucorales, causative agents mucormycosis. This order belongs to a group referred as early-diverging fungi that are characterized by high levels N6-methyldeoxy adenine (6mA) their genome with dense 6mA clusters associated actively expressed genes. AlkB enzymes can act demethylases DNA, most remarkable eukaryotic examples being mammalian ALKBH1 and Caenorhabditis elegans NMAD-1. Mucor lusitanicus (formerly M. circinelloides f. lusitanicus) contains one gene, dmt1, two genes, dmt2 dmt3, encoding proteins similar C. NMAD-1 ALKBH1, respectively. function these three genes was analyzed generation single double deletion mutants for each gene. Multiple processes were mutants, but defects only found dmt1. In contrast wild-type strain, dmt1 showed an increase during dimorphic transition, suggesting is dimorphism lusitanicus. Furthermore, spores challenged macrophages underwent reduction polar growth, also has role spore–macrophage interaction could be important infection process.