In:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 100, No. 11 ( 2003-05-27), p. 6616-6621
Abstract:
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.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0027-8424
,
1091-6490
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.1030058100
Language:
English
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publication Date:
2003
detail.hit.zdb_id:
209104-5
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461794-8
SSG:
11
SSG:
12
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