Abstract
Sexual reproduction in fungi is regulated by relatively small genomic regions containing the mating-type loci. In this chapter we describe the genomic traits and evolutionary features of the mating-type loci and the mating-type chromosomes in model systems of filamentous ascomycetes. The main focus of the chapter lies in the recent scientific advances from studies in Neurospora, particularly N. tetrasperma. The N. tetrasperma mat chromosomes contain a young region of suppressed recombination over the majority of its length and have marked parallels to animal/plant sex chromosomes, making them an effective model system for the study of early sex chromosome divergence and evolution. Factors that may drive the evolution of mating-type genomic regions are also presented (e.g., recombination suppression, altered recombination rates near mating-type loci, gene conversion), based on findings from filamentous ascomycetes as well as certain basidiomycetes and basal fungi. Future research directions are described which may further reveal the evolutionary steps inherent to mating-type loci and mating-type chromosomes.
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