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Target of Rapamycin Pathway in the White-Rot Fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Summary

This research explores how a key cellular control system called the TOR pathway works in wood-decomposing fungi. The study reveals that this pathway regulates important functions like growth and protein production in these fungi. This has implications for understanding how fungi break down wood and adapt to their environment. Key impacts on everyday life: – Helps understand how fungi decompose wood in nature – Could lead to better methods for wood preservation – May improve industrial applications of fungi for breaking down plant material – Provides insights into controlling fungal growth – Could contribute to development of new antifungal treatments

Background

The Target Of Rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway is highly conserved among eukaryotes and regulates essential cellular processes including protein synthesis, ribosome biogenesis, autophagy, and cytoskeleton organization. In fungi, the TOR pathway is involved in the response to nutrient resources availability and stress responses. Most studies on fungal TOR signaling pathways have been conducted in ascomycetes, while data on basidiomycetes are scarce.

Objective

To investigate the TOR pathway in the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium and determine its role in regulating growth and protein secretion.

Results

The study found that P. chrysosporium is sensitive to rapamycin, which affects conidia germination and hyphal growth. The secreted protein content was also affected by rapamycin treatment. Homologs of TOR pathway components were identified in P. chrysosporium, including two distinct FRB domain sequences. The TOR pathway of P. chrysosporium appears more closely related to S. pombe than S. cerevisiae.

Conclusion

The TOR pathway plays a central role in P. chrysosporium, controlling conidia germination, vegetative growth and secreted protein composition. The study identified proteins secreted in response to rapamycin, including PcFKBP12. The components of the TOR pathway in P. chrysosporium show greater similarity to S. pombe than S. cerevisiae.
  • Published in:PLoS One,
  • Study Type:Laboratory Research,
  • Source: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224776
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