Structure of the Mating-Type Genes and Mating Systems of <i>Verpa bohemica</i> and <i>Verpa conica</i> (Ascomycota, Pezizomycotina)

oleh: Wenhua Sun, Wei Liu, Yingli Cai, Xiaofei Shi, Liyuan Wu, Jin Zhang, Lingfang Er, Qiuchen Huang, Qi Yin, Zhiqiang Zhao, Peixin He, Fuqiang Yu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-12-01

Deskripsi

<i>Verpa</i> spp. are potentially important economic fungi within Morchellaceae. However, fundamental research on their mating systems, the key aspects of their life cycle, remains scarce. Fungal sexual reproduction is chiefly governed by mating-type genes, where the configuration of these genes plays a pivotal role in facilitating the reproductive process. For this study, de novo assembly methodologies based on genomic data from <i>Verpa</i> spp. were employed to extract precise information on the mating-type genes, which were then precisely identified in silico and by amplifying their single-ascospore populations using MAT-specific primers. The results suggest that the <i>MAT</i> loci of the three tested strains of <i>V. bohemica</i> encompassed both the <i>MAT1-1-1</i> and <i>MAT1-2-1</i> genes, implying homothallism. On the other hand, amongst the three <i>V. conica</i> isolates, only the <i>MAT1-1-1</i> or <i>MAT1-2-1</i> genes were present in their <i>MAT</i> loci, suggesting that <i>V. conica</i> is heterothallic. Moreover, bioinformatic analysis reveals that the three tested <i>V. bohemica</i> strains and one <i>V. conica</i> No. 21110 strain include a <i>MAT1-1-10</i> gene in their <i>MAT</i> loci, while the other two <i>V. conica</i> strains contained <i>MAT1-1-11</i>, exhibiting high amino acid identities with those from corresponding <i>Morchella</i> species. In addition, MEME analysis shows that a total of 17 conserved protein motifs are present among the <i>MAT1-1-10</i> encoded protein, while the <i>MAT1-1-11</i> protein contained 10. Finally, the mating type genes were successfully amplified in corresponding single-ascospore populations of <i>V. bohemica</i> and <i>V. conica</i>, further confirming their life-cycle type. This is the first report on the mating-type genes and mating systems of <i>Verpa</i> spp., and the presented results are expected to benefit further exploitation of these potentially important economic fungi.