Crosstalk between Three Fungus-specific Transcription Factors, WetA, VosA, and VelB, in Asexual Spores of Aspergillus nidulans
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Aspergillus nidulans
PROVIDER: GSE154640 | GEO | 2021/01/11
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:In filamentous fungi, asexual sporulation involves morphological differentiation and metabolic changes. The process of asexual spore formation is tightly regulated by a variety of transcription factors including VosA, VelB, and WetA. A number of studies have demonstrated that these three transcription factors are key regulators of asexual spore formation and maturation in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. To gain a more mechanistic view of the roles these transcription factors play in asexual spores, genome-wide and metabolomic analyses were conducted in A. nidulans conidia. RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation-based sequencing data suggested that the three transcription factors directly or indirectly regulate the expression of genes associated with spore-wall integrity, asexual development, and secondary metabolism. In addition, metabolomics analysis of conidia extracts showed strikingly different primary and secondary metabolite profiles for wild-type and mutant conidia. These results suggest that WetA, VosA, and VelB play key roles in the morphological development of and metabolic changes in conidia. This entry is for the RNA-seq data.
2021-01-11 | GSE154639 | GEO
Project description:In filamentous fungi, asexual sporulation involves morphological differentiation and metabolic changes. The process of asexual spore formation is tightly regulated by a variety of transcription factors including VosA, VelB, and WetA. A number of studies have demonstrated that these three transcription factors are key regulators of asexual spore formation and maturation in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. To gain a more mechanistic view of the roles these transcription factors play in asexual spores, genome-wide and metabolomic analyses were conducted in A. nidulans conidia. RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation-based sequencing data suggested that the three transcription factors directly or indirectly regulate the expression of genes associated with spore-wall integrity, asexual development, and secondary metabolism. In addition, metabolomics analysis of conidia extracts showed strikingly different primary and secondary metabolite profiles for wild-type and mutant conidia. These results suggest that WetA, VosA, and VelB play key roles in the morphological development of and metabolic changes in conidia. This entry is for the ChIP-seq data.
2021-01-11 | GSE154630 | GEO
Project description:Crosstalk between Three Fungus-specific Transcription Factors, WetA, VosA, and VelB, in Asexual Spores of Aspergillus nidulans
| PRJNA646921 | ENA
Project description:In filamentous fungi, asexual development involves cellular differentiation and metabolic remodeling leading to the formation of intact asexual spores. The development of asexual spores (conidia) in Aspergillus is precisely coordinated by multiple transcription factors (TFs), including VosA, VelB, and WetA. Notably, these three TFs are essential for the structural and metabolic integrity, i.e., proper maturation, of conidia in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans To gain mechanistic insight into the complex regulatory and interdependent roles of these TFs in asexual sporogenesis, we carried out multi-omics studies on the transcriptome, protein-DNA interactions, and primary and secondary metabolism employing A. nidulans conidia. RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analyses have revealed that the three TFs directly or indirectly regulate the expression of genes associated with heterotrimeric G-protein signal transduction, mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, spore wall formation and structural integrity, asexual development, and primary/secondary metabolism. In addition, metabolomics analyses of wild-type and individual mutant conidia indicate that these three TFs regulate a diverse array of primary metabolites, including those in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, certain amino acids, and trehalose, and secondary metabolites such as sterigmatocystin, emericellamide, austinol, and dehydroaustinol. In summary, WetA, VosA, and VelB play interdependent, overlapping, and distinct roles in governing morphological development and primary/secondary metabolic remodeling in Aspergillus conidia, leading to the production of vital conidia suitable for fungal proliferation and dissemination.IMPORTANCE Filamentous fungi produce a vast number of asexual spores that act as efficient propagules. Due to their infectious and/or allergenic nature, fungal spores affect our daily life. Aspergillus species produce asexual spores called conidia; their formation involves morphological development and metabolic changes, and the associated regulatory systems are coordinated by multiple transcription factors (TFs). To understand the underlying global regulatory programs and cellular outcomes associated with conidium formation, genomic and metabolomic analyses were performed in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans Our results show that the fungus-specific WetA/VosA/VelB TFs govern the coordination of morphological and chemical developments during sporogenesis. The results of this study provide insights into the interdependent, overlapping, or distinct genetic regulatory networks necessary to produce intact asexual spores. The findings are relevant for other Aspergillus species such as the major human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus and the aflatoxin producer Aspergillus flavus.
| S-EPMC7885118 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Crosstalk between Three Fungus-specific Transcription Factors, WetA, VosA, and VelB, in Asexual Spores of Aspergillus nidulans [ChIP-seq]
| PRJNA646900 | ENA
Project description:Crosstalk between Three Fungus-specific Transcription Factors, WetA, VosA, and VelB, in Asexual Spores of Aspergillus nidulans [RNA-seq]
| PRJNA646925 | ENA
Project description:The formation of mitotically derived spores, called conidia, is a common reproductive mode in filamentous fungi, particularly among the large fungal class Ascomycetes. Asexual sporulation strategies are nearly as varied as fungal species; however, the formation of conidiophores, specialized multicellular reproductive structures, by the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans has emerged as the leading model for understanding the mechanisms that control fungal sporulation. Initiation of A. nidulans conidiophore formation can occur either as a programmed event in the life cycle in response to intrinsic signals or to environmental stresses such as nutrient deprivation. In either case, a development-specific set of transcription factors is activated and these control the expression of each other as well as genes required for conidiophore morphogenesis. Recent progress has identified many of the earliest-acting genes needed for initiating conidiophore development and shown that there are at least two antagonistic signaling pathways that control this process. One pathway is modulated by a heterotrimeric G protein that when activated stimulates growth and represses both asexual and sexual sporulation as well as production of the toxic secondary metabolite, sterigmatocystin. The second pathway apparently requires an extracellular signal to induce sporulation-specific events and to direct the inactivation of the first pathway, removing developmental repression. A working model is presented in which the regulatory interactions between these two pathways during the fungal life cycle determine whether cells grow or develop.
| S-EPMC98905 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (CARS) is performed on single spores (conidia) of the fungus Aspergillus nidulans in order to establish a baseline measurement for fungal spores. Chemical maps of single spores are generated and spectral differentiation between the cell wall and the cytoplasm is achieved. Principal Component Analysis of the measured spectra is then completed as a means to quantify spore heterogeneity. Applications range from the quick and accurate diagnosis of public health concerns to real-time agricultural and environmental sensing of fungal symbionts and pathogens.
| S-EPMC6370834 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The Aspergillus nidulans wetA gene is required for synthesis of cell wall layers that make asexual spores (conidia) impermeable. In wetA mutant strains, conidia take up water and autolyze rather than undergoing the final stages of maturation. wetA is activated during conidiogenesis by sequential expression of the brlA and abaA regulatory genes. To determine whether wetA regulates expression of other sporulation-specific genes, its coding region was fused to a nutritionally regulated promoter that permits gene activation in vegetative cells (hyphae) under conditions that suppress conidiation. Expression of wetA in hyphae inhibited growth and caused excessive branching. It did not lead to activation of brlA or abaA but did cause accumulation of transcripts from genes that are normally expressed specifically during the late stages of conidiation and whose mRNAs are stored in mature spores. Thus, wetA directly or indirectly regulates expression of some spore-specific genes. At least one gene (wA), whose mRNA does not occur in spores but rather accumulates in the sporogenous phialide cells, was activated by wetA, suggesting that wetA may have a regulatory function in these cells as well as in spores. We propose that wetA is responsible for activating a set of genes whose products make up the final two conidial wall layers or direct their assembly and through this activity is responsible for acquisition of spore dormancy.
| S-EPMC359587 | biostudies-other
Project description:Morphogenesis encompasses programmed changes in gene expression that lead to the development of specialized cell types. In the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans, asexual development involves the formation of characteristic cell types, collectively known as the conidiophore. With the aim of determining the transcriptional changes that occur upon induction of asexual development, we have applied massive mRNA sequencing to compare the expression pattern of 19-h-old submerged vegetative cells (hyphae) with that of similar hyphae after exposure to the air for 5 h. We found that the expression of 2,222 (20.3%) of the predicted 10,943 A. nidulans transcripts was significantly modified after air exposure, 2,035 being downregulated and 187 upregulated. The activation during this transition of genes that belong specifically to the asexual developmental pathway was confirmed. Another remarkable quantitative change occurred in the expression of genes involved in carbon or nitrogen primary metabolism. Genes participating in polar growth or sexual development were transcriptionally repressed, as were those belonging to the HogA/SakA stress response mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway. We also identified significant expression changes in several genes purportedly involved in redox balance, transmembrane transport, secondary metabolite production, or transcriptional regulation, mainly binuclear-zinc cluster transcription factors. Genes coding for these four activities were usually grouped in metabolic clusters, which may bring regulatory implications for the induction of asexual development. These results provide a blueprint for further stage-specific gene expression studies during conidiophore development.
| S-EPMC3571305 | biostudies-literature