Kinesin Motors in the Filamentous Basidiomycetes in Light of the Schizophyllum commune Genome.

Marjatta Raudaskoski

doi:10.3390/jof8030294

Abstract

Kinesins are essential motor molecules of the microtubule cytoskeleton. All eukaryotic organisms have several genes encoding kinesin proteins, which are necessary for various cell biological functions. During the vegetative growth of filamentous basidiomycetes, the apical cells of long leading hyphae have microtubules extending toward the tip. The reciprocal exchange and migration of nuclei between haploid hyphae at mating is also dependent on cytoskeletal structures, including the microtubules and their motor molecules. In dikaryotic hyphae, resulting from a compatible mating, the nuclear location, synchronous nuclear division, and extensive nuclear separation at telophase are microtubule-dependent processes that involve unidentified molecular motors. The genome of Schizophyllum commune is analyzed as an example of a species belonging to the Basidiomycota subclass, Agaricomycetes. In this subclass, the investigation of cell biology is restricted to a few species. Instead, the whole genome sequences of several species are now available. The analyses of the mating type genes and the genes necessary for fruiting body formation or wood degrading enzymes in several genomes of Agaricomycetes have shown that they are controlled by comparable systems. This supports the idea that the genes regulating the cell biological process in a model fungus, such as the genes encoding kinesin motor molecules, are also functional in other filamentous Agaricomycetes.

Highlights

All these observations indicate an important role for the microtubule cytoskeleton and call for a study of the motors involved in the processes
Schizosaccaromyces pombe Lindner nine [17,18], in the filamentous ascomycetes Aspergillus nidulans (Eidam) Winter and Neurospora crassa Shear et Dodge [18,19], and in the basidiomycete smut U. maydis [20], nine to eleven kinesin motor proteins have been identified, respectively, but an extensive survey of the kinesins found in filamentous basidiomycetes (Agaricomycetes) is missing
Regions, which suggests that they are involved in nuclear division, similar to S. pombe Kpl9, while the Rab6-binding domain (RBD) domain is needed for cytokinesis [127,128]

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cell biological studies have shown that the microtubule cytoskeleton is involved both in the mating and growth of the haploid and dikaryotic hyphae of filamentous basidiomycetes [6] and, in S. commune, the depolymerization of microtubules affects the apical cell morphology and stops the growth [7,8]. B mating-type genes, cytoplasmic and spindle microtubules occur in the hyphal bridges and in the hyphae involved in fusions [4,13]. All these observations indicate an important role for the microtubule cytoskeleton and call for a study of the motors involved in the processes. It starts here by thr analyses of S. commune kinesins in the light of the known functions of animal, yeast, and ascomycete kinesins

The Number of Kinesins in Eukaryotic Organisms

Kinesin Structure and Function

Schizophyllum Commune Kinesins

Kinesin-1, Schcokin1

Kinesin3, Schcokin3

Kinesin-5, Schcokin5

Kinesin-14, Schco14

Kinesin-4, Schcokin4

Kinesin-6, Rab6- Kinesin, Schcokin6

Kinesin 7, Schcokin7A, Schcokin7B

Kinesin-8, Schcokin8

Kinesin-10, Schcokin10