title: Multiple sex pheromones and receptors of a mushroom-producing fungus elicit mating in yeast.
abstract: The mushroom-producing fungus Schizophyllum commune has thousands of mating types defined, in part, by numerous lipopeptide pheromones and their G protein-linked receptors. Compatible combinations of pheromones and receptors encoded by different mating types regulate a pathway of sexual development leading to mushroom formation and meiosis. A complex set of pheromone-receptor interactions maximizes the likelihood of outbreeding; for example, a single pheromone can activate more than one receptor and a single receptor can be activated by more than one pheromone. The current study demonstrates that the sex pheromones and receptors of Schizophyllum, when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, can substitute for endogenous pheromone and receptor and induce the yeast pheromone response pathway through the yeast G protein. Secretion of active Schizophyllum pheromone requires some, but not all, of the biosynthetic machinery used by the yeast lipopeptide pheromone a-factor. The specificity of interaction among pheromone-receptor pairs in Schizophyllum was reproduced in yeast, thus providing a powerful system for exploring molecular aspects of pheromone-receptor interactions for a class of seven-transmembrane-domain receptors common to a wide range of organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: DeSimone
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Mitton
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurjan
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Raper
mesh_terms: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002262:Carboxy-Lyases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D000072235:Mating Factor; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010675:Pheromones; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D051964:Receptors, Mating Factor; D043563:Receptors, Pheromone; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D012567:Schizophyllum / Q000502:physiology*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020710:RGS Proteins
chemical_list: D018528:ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; D002262:Carboxy-Lyases; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D000072235:Mating Factor; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D010675:Pheromones; D011498:Protein Precursors; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D051964:Receptors, Mating Factor; D043563:Receptors, Pheromone; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D012724:Sex Attractants; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; C121512:BBR2 protein, Schizophyllum commune; C490024:FUS1 protein, S cerevisiae; C118411:MFA1 protein, S cerevisiae; C094301:SST2 protein, S cerevisiae; D020710:RGS Proteins; C081863:STE3 protein, S cerevisiae; C489277:STE6 protein, S cerevisiae; C121513:bbp2-4 protein, Schizophyllum commune; C021532:malonyl-CoA decarboxylase