Meiotic Silencing in Dothideomycetous Bipolaris maydis

The filamentous ascomycete Bipolaris maydis is a plant pathogen that causes corn leaf blight and has been used in cytological studies of sexual reproduction. In this fungus, when null mutants each septin are crossed with the wild-type strain, all ascospores derived from same asci show abnormal morphology. phenomenon was remarkably similar to event known as “ascus dominance” Neurospora crassa , which be caused by MSUD (meiotic silencing unpaired DNA). However, it not clear whether B. possesses functional MSUD. object study elucidate fungus carries system ascus dominance crosses strain. results homozygous heterozygous crossing tests mutants, having insertional CDC10 -septin gene sequence into genome, suggested triggered DNA N. . To investigate mechanism an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, one essential factors MSUD, identified disrupted (? rdr1 ) When ? strain mutant septins, did occur crosses. These suggest gene, genes were affected silencing. date, although found only Fusarium graminearum classified Sordariomycetes, showed also Dothideomycete. possibility posttranscriptional regulation extensively conserved among ascomycetes.