• Mycobiology
• /
• v.49 no.6
• /
• pp.582-588
• /
• 2021

The interaction of mating pheromone and pheromone receptor from the B mating-type locus is the first step in the activation of the mushroom mating signal transduction pathway. The B mating-type locus of Lentinula edodes is composed of Bα and Bβ subloci, each of which contains genes for mating pheromone and pheromone receptor. Allelic variations in both subloci generate multiple B mating-types through which L. edodes maintains genetic diversity. In addition to the B mating-type locus, our genomic sequence analysis revealed the presence of a novel chromosomal locus 43.3 kb away from the B mating-type locus, containing genes for a pair of mating pheromones (PHBN1 and PHBN2) and a pheromone receptor (RCBN). The new locus (Bα-N) was homologous to the Bα sublocus, but unlike the multiallelic Bα sublocus, it was highly conserved across the wild and cultivated strains. The interactions of RcbN with various mating pheromones from the B and Bα-N mating-type loci were investigated using yeast model that replaced endogenous yeast mating pheromone receptor STE2 with RCBN. The yeast mating signal transduction pathway was only activated in the presence of PHBN1 or PHBN2 in the RcbN producing yeast, indicating that RcbN interacts with self-pheromones (PHBN1 and PHBN2), not with pheromones from the B mating-type locus. The biological function of the Bα-N locus was suggested to control the expression of A mating-type genes, as evidenced by the increased expression of two A-genes HD1 and HD2 upon the treatment of synthetic PHBN1 and PHBN2 peptides to the monokaryotic strain of L. edodes.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2014.10a
• /
• pp.42-42
• /
• 2014

Mating of tetrapolar mushrooms is regulated by to chromosomal loci, A and B. A locus contains A gene that expresses a homeodomain protein whereas B locus contains multiple pheromones and receptor genes. In order to characterize the mating loci in Korean cultivated strains of Lentinula edodes, one hundred monokaryotic myclelia were isolated from the basidiospores of cultivated strains, including Cham-A-Ram, Sanjo701, and Sanjo707. Both mating loci were amplified using primer sets targeting conserved sequence regions for homeodomain (HD), pheromone, and receptor genes. Subsequent sequence analysis revealed that the Korean strains contained significant variations in the homeodomain of A locus, even within the same A1 or A2 mating type. Similarly, B locus was also highly diversified in the sequences of pheromones and receptors as well as gene organization. These results enabled us to design mating type-specific probes which can distinguish mating type of each strain. The specificity was confirmed by between intra- and inter-strain mating experiment.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.173-181
• /
• 2002

This study was conducted to do the comparative analysis of mating type locus controlling the direct formation of fruiting body in Schizophyllum commune which is indigenous to North America with that of other identified mating locus. The 3120 bp Y-region nucleotide of A $\alpha$ 3 mating locus activating a developmental pathway in S. commune was determined, and appeared to have about 96% homology to S. commune 1-71 $A\alpha$3 allele indigenous to South America, showing strongly a conservative feature. This nucleotide analysis also showed above 96% homology highly in the seven presumed exons, and about 97% in the acidic rich region (AR), about 99% in homeodomain (H7), about 97% in the basic rich region (BR), about 95% in the serine rich region (Ser) respectively. In the comparative analysis to the translated polypeptide sequence, S. commune A $\alpha$ 3 mating locus containing Y-region also showed about 97% homology to the region of S. commune indigenous to North America, but the identity ratio to Y1 including Y4, Y5, Y6 different allele types was declined to about 41~49%. In the analysis of functional loci controlling mating activity, it is assumed to have a highly conservative feature showing about 98% homology in homeodomain polypeptide. Especially, it is notable that the homology ratio of above 85% in homeodomain motif between mating type alleles was higher than in the AR, BR, Ser showing about 10~50% homology.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2018.05a
• /
• pp.37-37
• /
• 2018

Mating type of Lentinula edodes is determined by two unlinked genetic loci, A and B. To better understand mating behavior of L. edodes, we investigated variations in mating type genes in129 dikaryotic strains collected from East Asia. Through sequence analysis of A locus, we discovered that hypervariable region spanning N-term of HD2-intergenic region-N-term of HD1 could represent A mating type. Mating and hypervariable region analyses revealed 70 unique A mating types: 27 from 98 cultivated strains, 53 from 31 wild strains, and 10 commonly found. It was also revealed that only a few A mating type alleles such as A1, A4, A5, and A7 were prevalent in cultivated strains. Contrarily, A mating type in wild strains was highly diverse: 23 unique A alleles were discovered in small mountainous area in Korean peninsula, suggesting rapid evolution of A mating type in nature. The B locus was assessed by allelic variations in pheromone (PHB) and pheromone receptor (RCB) pairs which constituted subloci Ba and Bb. Sequence analyses and mating assay revealed 5 alleles of RCB1 with 9 associated PHBs in Ba sublocus and 3 alleles of RCB2 with 5 associated PHBs in Bb sublocus. Each RCB was primarily associated with two PHBs. Each PHB-RCB pair was always discovered as a distinct unit. This allowed us to propose 15 B mating types via combinations of five Ba and three Bb subloci. Further investigation on 129 strains confirmed that the B locus, unlike the A locus, was indeed restricted to 15 mating types. Thus, the total number of mating types became 1,050 in L. edodes through a combination of 70 A and 15 B. This number will further increase because of rapid diversification of A mating type. Our findings provide a comprehensive and practical knowledge on mating behaviors of L. edodes.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2015.11a
• /
• pp.35-35
• /
• 2015

Pleurotus eryngii has recently become a major cultivated mushroom; it uses tetrapolar heterothallism as a part of its reproductive process. Sexual development progresses only when the A and B mating types are compatible. Such mating incompatibility occasionally limits the efficiency of breeding programs in which crossing within loci-shared strains or backcrossing strategies are employed. Therefore, understanding the mating system in edible mushroom fungi will help provide a short cut in the development of new strains. We isolated and identified pheromone and receptor genes in the B3 locus of P. eryngii and performed a functional analysis of the genes in the mating process by transformation. A genomic DNA library was constructed to map the entire mating-type locus. The B3 locus was found to contain four pheromone precursor genes and four receptor genes. Remarkably, receptor PESTE3.3.1 has just 34 amino acid residues in its C-terminal cytoplasmic region; therefore, it seems likely to be a receptor-like gene. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR (real-time qRT-PCR) revealed that most pheromone and receptor genes showed significantly higher expression in monokaryotic cells than dikaryotic cells. The pheromone genes PEphb3.1 and PEphb3.3 and the receptor gene PESTE3.3.1 were transformed into P5 (A3B4). The transformants were mated with a tester strain (A4B4), and the progeny showed clamp connections and a normal fruiting body, which indicates the proposed role of these genes in mating and fruiting processes. This result also confirms that PESTE3.3.1 is a receptor gene. In this study, we identified pheromone and receptor genes in the B3 locus of P. eryngii and found that some of those genes appear to play a role in the mating and fruiting processes. These results might help elucidate the mechanism of fruiting differentiation and improve breeding efficiency.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.200-206
• /
• 2019

Allelic differences in A and B mating-type loci are a prerequisite for the progression of mating in the genus Pleurotus eryngii; thus, the crossing is hampered by this biological barrier in inbreeding. Molecular markers linked to mating types of P. eryngii KNR2312 were investigated with randomly amplified polymorphic DNA to enhance crossing efficiency. An A4-linked sequence was identified and used to find the adjacent genomic region with the entire motif of the A locus from a contig sequenced by PacBio. The sequence-characterized amplified region marker $7-2_{299}$ distinguished A4 mating-type monokaryons from KNR2312 and other strains. A BLAST search of flanked sequences revealed that the A4 locus had a general feature consisting of the putative HD1 and HD2 genes. Both putative HD transcription factors contain a homeodomain sequence and a nuclear localization sequence; however, valid dimerization motifs were found only in the HD1 protein. The ACAAT motif, which was reported to have relevance to sex determination, was found in the intergenic region. The SCAR marker could be applicable in the classification of mating types in the P. eryngii breeding program, and the A4 locus could be the basis for a multi-allele detection marker.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.247-253
• /
• 1994

This study was carried out to isolate and characterize $A{\alpha}$ mating locus controlling fruiting body formation directly in the Basidiomycete Schzophyllum commune growing in the North America. Total numbers of genomic library of S. commune UVM1-34 was about $2{\times}10^4$ cells. About 90% library was appeared to have about 35 kb inserted genome DNA in cosmid pTC20 vector. 6 clones were proved to have positive signal to probes within Z and Y region in colony and southern hybridization. In the mating activity test, all the 6 positive clones were appeared to have $A{\alpha}3$ mating activity although they had two different restriction patterns. pSC13 containing 5.7 Kb PstI-fragment of UVM 1-34 $A{\alpha}3$ allele showed about 50% clamp cell formation indicating mating activity when cotransformation was done together with cosmid pTC20.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.724-730
• /
• 2006

A sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker, which was tightly linked with the A1 mating type locus in Phytophthora infestans, was developed. During the random amplified polymorphic DNA-based phylogenic studies of 33 isolates of P infestans collected from year 2002 to 2004, we found an A1 mating type-specific DNA fragment. This 573-bp DNA fragment was generated only in the genomic DNA of the A1 mating types, when OPC-5 primer was used. Based on the specific DNA sequence, we designed the primer sets for generating the A1 mating type-specific 569-bp DNA fragment. When 33 genomic DNAs of P. infestans were subjected to PCR amplification using different primer combinations, the A1 mating type-specific DNA was amplified, when LB-1F and LB-2R primers were used. The specific 569-bp DNA fragment was generated only from all 18 A1 strains, but not from 15 A2 mating type strains. These results corresponded to the mating type discriminating bioassay of 33 isolates of P. infestans. Therefore, the primer combination of LB-1F/LB2R was chosen as a SCAR marker. Overall, this study indicates that the SCAR marker could be developed into a useful tool for mating type determination of P. infestans.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.24-30
• /
• 2015

The effects of monokaryotic strains on fruiting body formation of Lentinula edodes were examined through mating and cultivation of the mated dikaryotic mycelia in sawdust medium. To accomplish this, monokaryotic strains of L. edodes were isolated from basidiospores of the commercial dikaryotic strains, Chamaram (Cham) and Sanjo701 (SJ701). A total of 703 matings (538 self-matings and 165 outcrosses) were performed, which generated 133 self-mates and 84 outcross mates. The mating rate was 25% and 50% for self-mating and outcross, respectively. The bipolarity of the outcross indicated the multi-allelic nature of the mating type genes. The mating was only dependent on the A mating type locus, while the B locus showed no effect, implying that the B locus is multi-allelic. Next, 145 selected dikaryotic mates were cultivated in sawdust medium. The self-mated dikaryotic progenies showed 51.3% and 69.5% fruiting rates for Cham and SJ701, respectively, while the fruiting rate of the outcross mates was 63.2%. The dikaryotic mates generated by mating with one of the monokaryotic strains, including A20, B2, E1, and E3, showed good fruiting performance and tended to yield high fruiting body production, while many of the monokaryotic strains failed to form fruiting bodies. Overall, these findings suggest that certain monokaryotic strains have traits enabling better mating and fruiting.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.407-415
• /
• 2018

Pheromone (PHB)-receptor (RCB) interaction in the mating pheromone response pathway of Lentinula edodes was investigated using synthetic PHBs. Functionality of the C-terminally carboxymethylated synthetic PHBs was demonstrated by concentration-dependent induction of a mating-related gene (znf2) expression and by pseudoclamp formation in a monokaryotic strain S1-11 of L. edodes. Treatment with synthetic PHBs activated the expression of homeodomain genes (HDs) residing in the A mating type locus, and of A-regulated genes, including znf2, clp1, and priA, as well as genes in the B mating type locus, including pheromone (phb) and receptor (rcb) genes. The synthetic PHBs failed to discriminate self from non-self RCBs. PHBs of the B4 mating type (B4 PHBs) were able to activate the mating pheromone response pathway in both monokaryotic S1-11 and S1-13 strains, whose B mating types were B4 (self) and B12 (non-self), respectively. The same was true for B12 PHBs in the B4 (non-self) and B12 (self) mating types. The synthetic PHBs also promoted the mating of two monokaryotic strains carrying B4-common incompatible mating types ($A5B4{\times}A1B4$). However, the dikaryon generated by this process exhibited abnormally high content of hyphal branching and frequent clamp connections and, more importantly, was found to be genetically unstable due to overexpression of mating-related genes such as clp1. Although synthetic PHBs were unable to discriminate self from non-self RCBs, they showed a higher affinity for non-self RCBs, through which the mating pheromone response pathway in non-self cells may be preferentially activated.