An eight-cysteine-containing CFEM domain unique to a group of fungal membrane proteins

CFEM, an eight cysteine-containing domain, has been identified by analyzing over 25 fungal sequences selected from database sequence searches. Features of CFEM suggest that it is a novel domain with characteristics distinct from known cysteine-rich domains. Some CFEM-containing proteins (e.g. Pth11 from Magnaporthe grisea) are proposed to have important roles in fungal pathogenesis.