Streptomyces induces unisexual reproduction of a major human fungal pathogen
Cryptococcus, a human pathogenic yeast, can undergo unisexual reproduction in the absence of compatible mating partners, yet this developmental program remains poorly understood. Here, we report that tunicamycin, a natural product produced by Streptomyces species, induces a complete unisexual reproductive cycle in different Cryptococcus species. Bacterial confrontation or purified tunicamycin…
Cryptococcus, a human pathogenic yeast, can reproduce unisexually without mating partners. The process, however, is not well understood. Researchers have now discovered that tunicamycin, a substance produced by Streptomyces bacteria, can induce complete unisexual reproduction in various Cryptococcus species. The effect of the bacterial metabolite is confirmed by whole-genome sequencing and SNP analyses, which show hyphal differentiation, meiotic recombination, and basidiospore formation.
The researchers also demonstrate that tunicamycin-induced unisexual development relies on traditional sexual regulators and meiotic machinery. Transcriptomic profiling reveals a staged developmental reprogramming, characterized by the initial activation of stress- and cell cycle-associated genes, followed by an enrichment of genes in filamentation-related pathways.
This capacity varies among natural isolates of C. neoformans and is conserved in Cryptococcus gattii. The findings indicate that a bacterial metabolite can activate meiotically competent unisexual reproduction, suggesting that interkingdom chemical signaling may be a driving force behind fungal evolution in natural environments.
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