Evolutionary Dynamics and Functional Bifurcation of the C2H2 Gene Family in Basidiomycota
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Researchers studied C2H2 genes, which are master regulators controlling important processes in fungal cells, across 30 different mushroom and fungal species. They found that these genes evolved differently depending on whether fungi were decomposers (saprotrophs) or pathogens, with decomposers maintaining more complex gene structures. During mushroom development in Sarcomyxa edulis, different C2H2 genes became active at different stages, controlling temperature adaptation, fruiting body formation, and other developmental processes.