Project description:To identify genes regulated by the homeodomain transcription factors Sxi1α and Sxi2a (Sex Inducer 1α and 2a) in Cryptococcus neoformans, we carried out a whole-genome expression experiment. We performed two independent whole-genome microarray experiments comparing transcript levels in cells that either possessed or were lacking the Sxi proteins. In the first experiment we compared the expression profile of a haploid sxi1αΔ strain to that of a haploid strain expressing both SXI1α and an inducible copy of SXI2a (Sxi +). In the second experiment, we compared the expression profile of a wild type cross (JEC20 x JEC21) to the expression profile of a cross whose mating partners did not possess either of the transcription factors (sxi2a∆ x sxi1α∆)(Sxi -). In both experiments RNA from each condition was harvested, labeled, and hybridized competitively to a spotted oligonucleotide microarray representing the approximately 6,500 genes in the C. neoformans genome. The resulting data was analyzed in Limma using standard methods.