Journal
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 11, Issue 3, Pages 721-730Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz027
Keywords
lichen-forming fungi; mating system; heterothallism; MAT; sexual reproduction
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Funding
- Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion [CGL2013-42498-P]
- Negaunee Foundation (The greatest radiation in the fungal kingdom)
- Grainger Bioinformatics Center
- Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-Oekonomischer Exzellenz (LOEWE) of Hesse's Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts through the Senckenberg Centre for Translational BiodiversityGenomics (TBG)
- Ayudas para la contratacion de personal posdoctoral de formacion en docencia e investigacion-Convocatoria [UCM CT65/16]
- Spanish Juan de la Cierva-incorporacion program [IJCI-2016-29149]
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Fungal reproduction is regulated by the mating-type (MAT1) locus, which typically comprises two idiomorphic genes. The presence of one or both allelic variants at the locus determines the reproductive strategy in fungi-homothallism versus heterothallism. It has been hypothesized that self-fertility via homothallism is widespread in lichen-forming fungi. To test this hypothesis, we characterized the MAT1 locus of 41 genomes of lichen-forming fungi representing a wide range of growth forms and reproductive strategies in the class Lecanoromycetes, the largest group of lichen-forming fungi. Our results show the complete lack of genetic homothallism suggesting that lichens evolved from a heterothallic ancestor. We argue that this may be related to the symbiotic lifestyle of these fungi, and may be a key innovation that has contributed to the accelerated diversification rates in this fungal group.
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