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Panstruga R, Antonin W, Lichius A. Looking outside the box: a comparative cross-kingdom view on the cell biology of the three major lineages of eukaryotic multicellular life. Cell Mol Life Sci 2023; 80:198. [PMID: 37418047 PMCID: PMC10329083 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-023-04843-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Many cell biological facts that can be found in dedicated scientific textbooks are based on findings originally made in humans and/or other mammals, including respective tissue culture systems. They are often presented as if they were universally valid, neglecting that many aspects differ-in part considerably-between the three major kingdoms of multicellular eukaryotic life, comprising animals, plants and fungi. Here, we provide a comparative cross-kingdom view on the basic cell biology across these lineages, highlighting in particular essential differences in cellular structures and processes between phyla. We focus on key dissimilarities in cellular organization, e.g. regarding cell size and shape, the composition of the extracellular matrix, the types of cell-cell junctions, the presence of specific membrane-bound organelles and the organization of the cytoskeleton. We further highlight essential disparities in important cellular processes such as signal transduction, intracellular transport, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and cytokinesis. Our comprehensive cross-kingdom comparison emphasizes overlaps but also marked differences between the major lineages of the three kingdoms and, thus, adds to a more holistic view of multicellular eukaryotic cell biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Panstruga
- Unit of Plant Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Biology I, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52056, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Wolfram Antonin
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Alexander Lichius
- inncellys GmbH, Dorfstrasse 20/3, 6082, Patsch, Austria
- Department of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
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Barrett LG, Zala M, Mikaberidze A, Alassimone J, Ahmad M, McDonald BA, Sánchez-Vallet A. Mixed infections alter transmission potential in a fungal plant pathogen. Environ Microbiol 2021; 23:2315-2330. [PMID: 33538383 PMCID: PMC8248022 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Infections by more than one strain of a pathogen predominate under natural conditions. Mixed infections can have significant, though often unpredictable, consequences for overall virulence, pathogen transmission and evolution. However, effects of mixed infection on disease development in plants often remain unclear and the critical factors that determine the outcome of mixed infections remain unknown. The fungus Zymoseptoria tritici forms genetically diverse infections in wheat fields. Here, for a range of pathogen traits, we experimentally decompose the infection process to determine how the outcomes and consequences of mixed infections are mechanistically realized. Different strains of Z. tritici grow in close proximity and compete in the wheat apoplast, resulting in reductions in growth of individual strains and in pathogen reproduction. We observed different outcomes of competition at different stages of the infection. Overall, more virulent strains had higher competitive ability during host colonization, and less virulent strains had higher transmission potential. We showed that within‐host competition can have a major effect on infection dynamics and pathogen population structure in a pathogen and host genotype‐specific manner. Consequently, mixed infections likely have a major effect on the development of septoria tritici blotch epidemics and the evolution of virulence in Z. tritici.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke G Barrett
- CSIRO Agriculture and Food, GPO BOX 1700, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Marcello Zala
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Alexey Mikaberidze
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Julien Alassimone
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Muhammad Ahmad
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Bruce A McDonald
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Sánchez-Vallet
- Plant Pathology, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland.,Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
The characteristic growth pattern of fungal mycelia as an interconnected network has a major impact on how cellular events operating on a micron scale affect colony behavior at an ecological scale. Network structure is intimately linked to flows of resources across the network that in turn modify the network architecture itself. This complex interplay shapes the incredibly plastic behavior of fungi and allows them to cope with patchy, ephemeral resources, competition, damage, and predation in a manner completely different from multicellular plants or animals. Here, we try to link network structure with impact on resource movement at different scales of organization to understand the benefits and challenges of organisms that grow as connected networks. This inevitably involves an interdisciplinary approach whereby mathematical modeling helps to provide a bridge between information gleaned by traditional cell and molecular techniques or biophysical approaches at a hyphal level, with observations of colony dynamics and behavior at an ecological level.
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
For the majority of fungal species, the somatic body of an individual is a network of interconnected cells sharing a common cytoplasm and organelles. This syncytial organization contributes to an efficient distribution of resources, energy, and biochemical signals. Cell fusion is a fundamental process for fungal development, colony establishment, and habitat exploitation and can occur between hyphal cells of an individual colony or between colonies of genetically distinct individuals. One outcome of cell fusion is the establishment of a stable heterokaryon, culminating in benefits for each individual via shared resources or being of critical importance for the sexual or parasexual cycle of many fungal species. However, a second outcome of cell fusion between genetically distinct strains is formation of unstable heterokaryons and the induction of a programmed cell death reaction in the heterokaryotic cells. This reaction of nonself rejection, which is termed heterokaryon (or vegetative) incompatibility, is widespread in the fungal kingdom and acts as a defense mechanism against genome exploitation and mycoparasitism. Here, we review the currently identified molecular players involved in the process of somatic cell fusion and its regulation in filamentous fungi. Thereafter, we summarize the knowledge of the molecular determinants and mechanism of heterokaryon incompatibility and place this phenomenon in the broader context of biotropic interactions and immunity.
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Accumulation of specific sterol precursors targets a MAP kinase cascade mediating cell-cell recognition and fusion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:11877-11882. [PMID: 27708165 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1610527113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Sterols are vital components of eukaryotic cell membranes. Defects in sterol biosynthesis, which result in the accumulation of precursor molecules, are commonly associated with cellular disorders and disease. However, the effects of these sterol precursors on the metabolism, signaling, and behavior of cells are only poorly understood. In this study, we show that the accumulation of only ergosterol precursors with a conjugated double bond in their aliphatic side chain specifically disrupts cell-cell communication and fusion in the fungus Neurospora crassa Genetically identical germinating spores of this fungus undergo cell-cell fusion, thereby forming a highly interconnected supracellular network during colony initiation. Before fusion, the cells use an unusual signaling mechanism that involves the coordinated and alternating switching between signal sending and receiving states of the two fusion partners. Accumulation of only ergosterol precursors with a conjugated double bond in their aliphatic side chain disrupts this coordinated cell-cell communication and suppresses cell fusion. These specific sterol precursors target a single ERK-like mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (MAK-1)-signaling cascade, whereas a second MAP kinase pathway (MAK-2), which is also involved in cell fusion, is unaffected. These observations indicate that a minor specific change in sterol structure can exert a strong detrimental effect on a key signaling pathway of the cell, resulting in the absence of cell fusion.
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Strom NB, Bushley KE. Two genomes are better than one: history, genetics, and biotechnological applications of fungal heterokaryons. Fungal Biol Biotechnol 2016; 3:4. [PMID: 28955463 PMCID: PMC5611628 DOI: 10.1186/s40694-016-0022-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterokaryosis is an integral part of the parasexual cycle used by predominantly asexual fungi to introduce and maintain genetic variation in populations. Research into fungal heterokaryons began in 1912 and continues to the present day. Heterokaryosis may play a role in the ability of fungi to respond to their environment, including the adaptation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to different plant hosts. The parasexual cycle has enabled advances in fungal genetics, including gene mapping and tests of complementation, dominance, and vegetative compatibility in predominantly asexual fungi. Knowledge of vegetative compatibility groups has facilitated population genetic studies and enabled the design of innovative methods of biocontrol. The vegetative incompatibility response has the potential to be used as a model system to study biological aspects of some human diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. By combining distinct traits through the formation of artificial heterokaryons, fungal strains with superior properties for antibiotic and enzyme production, fermentation, biocontrol, and bioremediation have been produced. Future biotechnological applications may include site-specific biocontrol or bioremediation and the production of novel pharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noah B Strom
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, 826 Biological Sciences, 1445 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108 USA
| | - Kathryn E Bushley
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, 826 Biological Sciences, 1445 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108 USA
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