{"title":"Pheromone Response and Mating Behavior in Fission Yeast.","authors":"Taisuke Seike, Hironori Niki","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00130-22","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most ascomycete fungi, including the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, secrete two peptidyl mating pheromones: C-terminally modified and unmodified peptides. S. pombe has two mating types, plus and minus, which secrete two different pheromones, P-factor (unmodified) and M-factor (modified), respectively. These pheromones are specifically recognized by receptors on the cell surface of cells of opposite mating types, which trigger a pheromone response. Recognition between pheromones and their corresponding receptors is important for mate discrimination; therefore, genetic changes in pheromone or receptor genes affect mate recognition and cause reproductive isolation that limits gene flow between populations. Such genetic variation in recognition via the pheromone/receptor system may drive speciation. Our recent studies reported that two pheromone receptors in S. pombe might have different stringencies in pheromone recognition. In this review, we focus on the molecular mechanism of pheromone response and mating behavior, emphasizing pheromone diversification and its impact on reproductive isolation in S. pombe and closely related fission yeast species. We speculate that the \"asymmetric\" system might allow flexible adaptation to pheromone mutational changes while maintaining stringent recognition of mating partners. The loss of pheromone activity results in the extinction of an organism's lineage. Therefore, genetic changes in pheromones and their receptors may occur gradually and/or coincidently before speciation. Our findings suggest that the M-factor plays an important role in partner discrimination, whereas P-factor communication allows flexible adaptation to create variations in S. pombe. Our inferences provide new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms underlying pheromone diversification.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":8.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9769774/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1128/mmbr.00130-22","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/12/5 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Most ascomycete fungi, including the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, secrete two peptidyl mating pheromones: C-terminally modified and unmodified peptides. S. pombe has two mating types, plus and minus, which secrete two different pheromones, P-factor (unmodified) and M-factor (modified), respectively. These pheromones are specifically recognized by receptors on the cell surface of cells of opposite mating types, which trigger a pheromone response. Recognition between pheromones and their corresponding receptors is important for mate discrimination; therefore, genetic changes in pheromone or receptor genes affect mate recognition and cause reproductive isolation that limits gene flow between populations. Such genetic variation in recognition via the pheromone/receptor system may drive speciation. Our recent studies reported that two pheromone receptors in S. pombe might have different stringencies in pheromone recognition. In this review, we focus on the molecular mechanism of pheromone response and mating behavior, emphasizing pheromone diversification and its impact on reproductive isolation in S. pombe and closely related fission yeast species. We speculate that the "asymmetric" system might allow flexible adaptation to pheromone mutational changes while maintaining stringent recognition of mating partners. The loss of pheromone activity results in the extinction of an organism's lineage. Therefore, genetic changes in pheromones and their receptors may occur gradually and/or coincidently before speciation. Our findings suggest that the M-factor plays an important role in partner discrimination, whereas P-factor communication allows flexible adaptation to create variations in S. pombe. Our inferences provide new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms underlying pheromone diversification.
期刊介绍:
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews (MMBR), a journal that explores the significance and interrelationships of recent discoveries in various microbiology fields, publishes review articles that help both specialists and nonspecialists understand and apply the latest findings in their own research. MMBR covers a wide range of topics in microbiology, including microbial ecology, evolution, parasitology, biotechnology, and immunology. The journal caters to scientists with diverse interests in all areas of microbial science and encompasses viruses, bacteria, archaea, fungi, unicellular eukaryotes, and microbial parasites. MMBR primarily publishes authoritative and critical reviews that push the boundaries of knowledge, appealing to both specialists and generalists. The journal often includes descriptive figures and tables to enhance understanding. Indexed/Abstracted in various databases such as Agricola, BIOSIS Previews, CAB Abstracts, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Service, Current Contents- Life Sciences, EMBASE, Food Science and Technology Abstracts, Illustrata, MEDLINE, Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science), Summon, and Scopus, among others.