Hyphal homing, fusion and mycelial interconnectedness

Hyphal fusion is a ubiquitous phenomenon in filamentous fungi. Although morphological aspects of hyphal fusion during vegetative growth are well described, molecular mechanisms associated with self-signaling and the cellular machinery required for hyphal fusion are just beginning to be revealed. Genetic analyses suggest that signal transduction pathways are conserved between mating cell fusion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and vegetative hyphal fusion in filamentous fungi. However, the mechanism of self-signaling and the role of vegetative hyphal fusion in the biology of filamentous fungi require further study. Understanding hyphal fusion in model genetic systems, such as Neurospora crassa, provides a paradigm for self-signaling mechanisms in eukaryotic microbes and might also provide a model for somatic cell fusion events in other eukaryotic species.