Pyruvate Decarboxylase Filaments Are Associated with the Cortical Cytoskeleton of Asci and Spores over the Sexual Cycle of Filamentous Ascomycetes

We show that pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) 8- to 10-nm-diameter filaments, first described in vegetative cells ofNeurospora crassa,are ubiquitously present in filamentous fungi. The cellular arrangement of these structures was examined over the entire sexual cycle of the ascomycetesN. crassa, N. tetr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fungal genetics and biology 1999-02, Vol.26 (1), p.71-80
Main Authors: Thompson-Coffe, Catherine, Borioli, Graciela, Zickler, Denise, Rosa, Alberto L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actins - analysis
asci
Ascomycota - drug effects
Ascomycota - enzymology
Ascomycota - physiology
ascospores
Chromatin
cortical microtubules
cytoskeleton
development
filamentous fungi
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
microfilaments
microtubules
Microtubules - enzymology
Neurospora
Neurospora crassa
Neurospora tetraesperma
Nocodazole - pharmacology
Podospora
podospora anersina
Podospora anserina
pyruvate decarboxylase
Pyruvate Decarboxylase - metabolism
sexual cycle
sexual reproduction
Sordaria
Sordaria macrospora
Sordariales
Spores - enzymology
Tubulin - analysis
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Summary:We show that pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) 8- to 10-nm-diameter filaments, first described in vegetative cells ofNeurospora crassa,are ubiquitously present in filamentous fungi. The cellular arrangement of these structures was examined over the entire sexual cycle of the ascomycetesN. crassa, N. tetraesperma, Podospora anserina,andSordaria macrospora.PDC-filaments were found associated with the cortical microtubule array of asci and ascospores and absent from the vicinity of spindles and spindle pole bodies. Nocodazole-induced depolymerization of the cortical microtubules results in the loss of PDC-filaments. Moreover, aS. macrosporamutant defective in cortical MT distribution shows abnormal PDC organization. Neurospora asci generated on various metabolic conditions, which modify the presence and relative abundance of PDC-filaments in vegetative cells, have identical patterns of subcellular distribution of these structures. AN. crassamutant (snowflake) that accumulates giant bundles of PDC-filaments during vegetative growth, shows normal distribution of the filaments during ascogenesis. Thus, the regulation conditioning the presence and supramolecular assembly of PDC-filaments in Neurospora differs between vegetative and sexual cells. Taken together, these results suggest that PDC in filamentous fungi may perform two functions, intervening as an enzyme in vegetative metabolism and as a structural protein associated with the cytoskeleton during sexual development.
ISSN:1087-1845
1096-0937
DOI:10.1006/fgbi.1998.1106