Affiliation:
1. Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Septins are cytoskeletal proteins found in fungi, animals, and microsporidia, where they form multiseptin complexes that act as scaffolds recruiting and organizing other proteins to ensure normal cell division and development. Here we characterize the septins AspA and AspC in the multicellular, filamentous fungus
A
spergillus nidulans
. Mutants with deletions of
aspA
,
aspC
, or both
aspA
and
aspC
show early and increased germ tube and branch emergence, abnormal septation, and disorganized conidiophores. Strains in which the native
aspA
has been replaced with a single copy of
aspA-GFP
driven by the native septin promoter or in which
aspC
has been replaced with a single copy of
aspC-GFP
driven by the native promoter show wild-type phenotypes. AspA-GFP and AspC-GFP show identical localization patterns as discrete spots or bars in dormant and expanding conidia, as rings at forming septa and at the bases of emerging germ tubes and branches, and as punctate spots and filaments in the cytoplasm and at the cell cortex. In conidiophores, AspA-GFP and AspC-GFP localize as diffuse bands or rings at the bases of emerging layers and conidial chains and as discrete spots or bars in newly formed conidia. AspA-GFP forms abnormal structures in
ΔaspC
strains while AspC-GFP does not localize in
ΔaspA
strains. Our results suggest that AspA and AspC interact with each other and are important for normal development, especially for preventing the inappropriate emergence of germ tubes and branches. This is the first report of a septin limiting the emergence of new growth foci in any organism.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Molecular Biology,General Medicine,Microbiology
Cited by
66 articles.
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