title: Exploitation of reactive oxygen species by fungi: roles in host-fungus interaction and fungal development.
abstract: In the past, reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been considered a harmful byproduct of aerobic metabolism. However, accumulating evidence implicates redox homeostasis, which maintains appropriate ROS levels, in cell proliferation and differentiation in plants and animals. Similarly, ROS generation and signaling are instrumental in fungal development and host-fungus interaction. In fungi, NADPH oxidase, a homolog of human gp91(phox), generates superoxide and is the main source of ROS. The mechanism of activation and signaling by NADPH oxidases in fungi appears to be largely comparable to those in plants and animals. Recent studies have shown that the fungal NADPH oxidase homologs NoxA (Nox1), NoxB (Nox2), and NoxC (Nox3) have distinct functions. In particular, these studies have consistently demonstrated the impact of NoxA on the development of fungal multicellular structures. Both NoxA and NoxB (but not NoxC) are involved in host-fungus interactions, with the function of NoxA being more critical than that of NoxB.
authors.affiliation: Fermentation Research Center, Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam-Si 463-746, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D005658:Fungi / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D019255:NADPH Oxidases; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D019255:NADPH Oxidases