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Bacterial endosymbionts influence host sexuality and reveal reproductive genes of early divergent fungi

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [2]
  1. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States)
  2. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
  3. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States)
  4. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Many heritable mutualisms, in which beneficial symbionts are transmitted vertically between host generations, originate as antagonisms with parasite dispersal constrained by the host. Only after the parasite gains control over its transmission is the symbiosis expected to transition from antagonism to mutualism. Here, we explore this prediction in the mutualism between the fungus Rhizopus microsporus (Rm, Mucoromycotina) and a beta-proteobacterium Burkholderia, which controls host asexual reproduction. We show that reproductive addiction of Rm to endobacteria extends to mating, and is mediated by the symbiont gaining transcriptional control of the fungal ras2 gene, which encodes a GTPase central to fungal reproductive development. We also discover candidate G-protein-coupled receptors for the perception of trisporic acids, mating pheromones unique to Mucoromycotina. Our results demonstrate that regulating host asexual proliferation and modifying its sexual reproduction are sufficient for the symbiont’s control of its own transmission, needed for antagonism-to-mutualism transition in heritable symbioses. These properties establish the Rm-Burkholderia symbiosis as a powerful system for identifying reproductive genes in Mucoromycotina.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Univ. of California, Oakland, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1543744
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1619081
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 8; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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