Articles of Significant Interest Selected from This Issue by the Editors

Functional genomics studies are rapidly uncovering the genetic regulatory networks governing biological processes in fungi, including secondary metabolism. The light-dependent veA regulatory system has been shown to be central to these networks. Cary et al. (p. 983–997) use this approach to examine the regulatory output of VeA in Aspergillus flavus, an aflatoxin producer and an opportunistic pathogen of agriculturally important crops worldwide. Their results reveal that hundreds of genes, including numerous secondary metabolite gene clusters, are regulated by veA and by light. Some of these gene clusters are orphans, such as uncharacterized cluster 39. By using metabolomics analysis, the authors demonstrate that the product associated with this cluster is aflavarin, known for its anti-insectan activity associated with A. flavus sclerotia. Their study provides key information on global regulation controlling secondary metabolism and other aspects of fungal biology, with possible applications in reducing the detrimental effects of fungi, or in enhancing their beneficial traits.