het-B allorecognition in Podospora anserina is determined by pseudo-allelic interaction of genes encoding a HET and lectin fold domain protein and a PII-like protein.

Filamentous fungi display allorecognition genes that trigger regulated cell death (RCD) when strains of unlike genotype fuse. Podospora anserina is one of several model species for the study of this allorecognition process termed heterokaryon or vegetative incompatibility. Incompatibility restricts transmission of mycoviruses between isolates.

Genome-scale phylogeny and comparative genomics of the fungal order Sordariales.

The order Sordariales is taxonomically diverse, and harbours many species with different lifestyles and large economic importance. Despite its importance, a robust genome-scale phylogeny, and associated comparative genomic analysis of the order is lacking. In this study, we examined whole-genome data from 99 Sordariales, including 52 newly sequenced genomes, and seven outgroup taxa.

Stage-specific transposon activity in the life cycle of the fairy-ring mushroom .

Genetic variability can be generated by different mechanisms, and across the life cycle. Many basidiomycete fungi have an extended somatic stage, during which each cell carries two genetically distinct haploid nuclei (dikaryosis), resulting from fusion of two compatible monokaryotic individuals. Recent findings have revealed remarkable genome stability at the nucleotide level during dikaryotic growth in these organisms, but whether this pattern extends to mutations affecting large genomic regions remains unknown.

The Dynamics of Adaptation to Stress from Standing Genetic Variation and de novo Mutations.

Adaptation from standing genetic variation is an important process underlying evolution in natural populations, but we rarely get the opportunity to observe the dynamics of fitness and genomic changes in real time. Here, we used experimental evolution and Pool-Seq to track the phenotypic and genomic changes of genetically diverse asexual populations of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in four environments with different fitness costs. We found that populations rapidly and in parallel increased in fitness in stressful environments.

To self or not to self? Absence of mate choice despite costly outcrossing in the fungus Podospora anserina.

Fungi have a large potential for flexibility in their mode of sexual reproduction, resulting in mating systems ranging from haploid selfing to outcrossing. However, we know little about which mating strategies are used in nature, and why, even in well-studied model organisms. Here, we explored the fitness consequences of alternative mating strategies in the ascomycete fungus Podospora anserina.

The Assembled and Annotated Genome of the Fairy-Ring Fungus Marasmius oreades.

Marasmius oreades is a basidiomycete fungus that grows in so called "fairy rings," which are circular, underground mycelia common in lawns across temperate areas of the world. Fairy rings can be thought of as natural, long-term evolutionary experiments. As each ring has a common origin and expands radially outwards over many years, different sectors will independently accumulate mutations during growth.

The Plot Thickens: Haploid and Triploid-Like Thalli, Hybridization, and Biased Mating Type Ratios in .

The study of the reproductive biology of lichen fungal symbionts has been traditionally challenging due to their complex lifestyles. Against the common belief of haploidy, a recent genomic study found a triploid-like signal in . Here, we infer the genome organization and reproduction in by analyzing genomic data from a pure culture and from thalli, and performing a PCR survey of the MAT locus in natural populations.

Size Variation of the Nonrecombining Region on the Mating-Type Chromosomes in the Fungal Podospora anserina Species Complex.

Sex chromosomes often carry large nonrecombining regions that can extend progressively over time, generating evolutionary strata of sequence divergence. However, some sex chromosomes display an incomplete suppression of recombination. Large genomic regions without recombination and evolutionary strata have also been documented around fungal mating-type loci, but have been studied in only a few fungal systems.