Aspergillus nidulans

Aspergillus nidulans
A. nidulans with wild-type green spores, grown under laboratory conditions.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukarya
Kingdom:	Fungi
Phylum:	Ascomycota
Class:	Eurotiomycetes
Order:	Eurotiales
Family:	Trichocomaceae
Genus:	Aspergillus
Species:	A. nidulans
Binomial name
Aspergillus nidulans G Winter 1884
Synonyms
Emericella nidulans

Aspergillus nidulans (also called Emericella nidulans when referring to its sexual form, or teleomorph) is one of many species of filamentous fungi in the phylum Ascomycota. It has been an important research organism for studying eukaryotic cell biology^[1] for over 50 years,^[2] being used to study a wide range of subjects including recombination, DNA repair, mutation, cell cycle control, tubulin, chromatin, nucleokinesis, pathogenesis, metabolism^[3], and experimental evolution^[4]. It is one of the few species in its genus able to form sexual spores through meiosis, allowing crossing of strains in the laboratory. A. nidulans is a homothallic fungus, meaning it is able to self-fertilize and form fruiting bodies in the absence of a mating partner.

Genome

The A. nidulans genome was sequenced in a collaboration between Monsanto and the Broad Institute.^[5] A sequence with 13-fold coverage was publicly released in March 2003;^[5] analysis of the annotated genome was published in Nature in December 2005.^[6] It is 30 million base pairs in size and is predicted to contain around 9,500 protein-coding genes on eight chromosomes.

Recently, several caspase-like proteases were isolated from A.nidulans samples under which programmed cell death had been induced. Findings such as these play a key role in determining the evolutionary conservation of the mitochondrion within the eukaryotic cell, and its role as an ancient proteobacterium capable of inducing cell death.

Septate hyphae, radiating conidial morphology, green colour in colonies is due to green spores, woolly colony texture, white mycelia as detailed by Lindani Moyo

References

1. ^ Osmani SA, Mirabito PM (2004). "The early impact of genetics on our understanding of cell cycle regulation in Aspergillus nidulans". Fungal Genet Biol 41 (4): 401–10. doi:10.1016/j.fgb.2003.11.009. PMID 14998523. 
2. ^ Martinelli, S. D.; J. R. Kinghorn (1994). Aspergillus: 50 years on. Elsevier. ISBN 0-444-81762-X. 
3. ^ Nierman WC, May G, Kim HS, Anderson MJ, Chen D, Denning DW (2005). "What the Aspergillus genomes have told us". Med Mycol. 43 Suppl 1 (s1): S3–5. doi:10.1080/13693780400029049. PMID 16110785. 
4. ^ Schoustra SE, Slakhorst, M,Debets, AJM, Hoekstra, RF (2005). "Comparing artificial and natural selection in rate of adaptation to genetic stress in Aspergillus nidulans". J Evol Biol 18 (4): 771-778. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.00934.x. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Aspergillus nidulans Project Information". Broad Institute. http://www.broadinstitute.org/annotation/fungi/aspergillus_nidulans_old/background.html. Retrieved 2011-01-28. 
6. ^ Galagan JE et al. (2005). "Sequencing of Aspergillus nidulans and comparative analysis with A. fumigatus and A. oryzae". Nature 438 (7071): 1105–15. doi:10.1038/nature04341. PMID 16372000. 

External links

• Aspergillus nidulans genome
• CADRE
• Fungal Genetics Stock Center