WD40 repeat (WDR) proteins are pleiotropic molecular hubs. We identify a WDR gene that is a conserved genomic neighbor of a chitin synthase gene in Ascomycetes. The WDR gene is unique to fungi and plants, and was called Fungal Plant WD (FPWD). FPWD is within a cell wall metabolism gene cluster in the Ascomycetes (Pezizomycotina) comprising chsD, a Chs activator and a GH17 glucanase. The FPWD, A...

Filamentous ascomycetous fungi possess many histidine kinases and two conserved response regulators, Ssk1p and Skn7p, in their two-component signaling systems. We previously reported that the fungus unique group III histidine kinase regulates high-osmolarity adaptation and iprodione/fludioxonil fungicide sensitivity by controlling the phosphorylation of Hog1-type mitogen-activated protein kinas...

Though light induced reproduction, both sexual an(l asexual, is common to many fungi (15), the mlechanisnm ;of this phenomenon is not un(lerstood. Suggestions have been made on the possible nature of a photoreceptor pigment involved (5) but there has been little experimental evidence to support or refute these views. Recent studies with .4scochyta pisi, Lib. (9), Pleospora herbarunm (Pers.) Rab...

Sexual reproduction in filamentous ascomycetes is controlled by the mating type (MAT) locus, including two idiomorphs MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 Understanding the MAT locus can provide clues for unveiling the sexual development and virulence factors for fungal pathogens. The genus Valsa (Sordariomycetes, Diaporthales) contains many tree pathogens responsible for destructive canker diseases. The sexual s...

The mode of evolution of the biologically diverse forms of ascomycetes is not well understood, largely because the descent relationships remain unresolved. By using sequences of the nuclear gene RPB2, we have inferred with considerable resolution the phylogenetic relationships between major groups within the phylum Ascomycota. These relationships allow us to deduce a historical pattern of body ...

Fruiting body formation in ascomycetes is a highly complex process that is under polygenic control and is a fundamental part of the fungal sexual life cycle. However, the molecular determinants regulating this cellular process are largely unknown. Here we show that the sterile pro40 mutant is defective in a 120-kDa WW domain protein that plays a pivotal role in fruiting body maturation of the h...

A new group of transposable elements, which the authors have named cryptons, was detected in several pathogenic fungi, including the basidiomycete Cryptococcus neoformans, and the ascomycetes Coccidioides posadasii and Histoplasma capsulatum. These elements are unlike any previously described transposons. An archetypal member of the group, crypton Cn1, is 4 kb in length and is present at a low ...

A starch-based ethanol facility producing 200,000 m 3 ethanol/year also produces ca. 2 million m 3 thin stillage, which can be used to improve the entire process. In this work, five food-grade filamentous fungi, including a Zygomycete and four Ascomycetes were successfully grown in thin stillage containing 9% solids. Cultivation with Neurospora intermedia led to the production of ca. 16 g·L −1 ...

Traditional fruiting body-based classification of ascomycetes has been under attack for 2 decades. Fruiting-body types can converge, and few researchers now assume that either the closed fruiting bodies (cleistothecia) characterizing the class Plectomycetes or the flask-shaped fruiting bodies (perithecia) characterizing the class Pyrenomycetes are stable, unifying characters. Unless we identify...