Mechanisms of Uniparental Mitochondrial DNA Inheritance in Cryptococcus neoformans.
Mechanisms of Uniparental Mitochondrial DNA Inheritance in Cryptococcus neoformans.
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DOI：
10.5941/myco.2011.39.4.235
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发表时间：
2011-12
期刊：
影响因子：
1.9
通讯作者：
Lin X
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gyawali R;Lin X
与核基因组相反，线粒体基因组不遵循孟德尔遗传定律。减数分裂后代的核基因组来自亲本双方基因组的重组，而减数分裂后代可以从亲本一方、另一方或双方遗传线粒体。事实上，一个令人着迷的现象是，大多数真核生物的线粒体DNA只遗传自一个特定的亲本。通常，这种线粒体DNA的单向和单代遗传可以用参与交配的配子的大小来解释，较大的配子有助于线粒体DNA的遗传。然而，在人类真菌病原体新型隐球菌中，双性交配涉及交配型（MAT） a和MATα两个异配子细胞的融合，但线粒体DNA主要遗传自MATa亲本。尽管这种真菌中这种单代线粒体遗传的确切机制尚不清楚，但已经提出了各种假设。阐明这种临床上重要的、遗传上可适应的真核微生物的线粒体遗传机制，将有助于深入了解可能在高等真核生物中保守的一般机制。本文综述了隐球菌线粒体遗传的研究进展，并指出了今后需要解决的一些重要问题。
In contrast to the nuclear genome, the mitochondrial genome does not follow Mendelian laws of inheritance. The nuclear genome of meiotic progeny comes from the recombination of both parental genomes, whereas the meiotic progeny could inherit mitochondria from one, the other, or both parents. In fact, one fascinating phenomenon is that mitochondrial DNA in the majority of eukaryotes is inherited from only one particular parent. Typically, such unidirectional and uniparental inheritance of mitochondrial DNA can be explained by the size of the gametes involved in mating, with the larger gamete contributing towards mitochondrial DNA inheritance. However, in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, bisexual mating involves the fusion of two isogamous cells of mating type (MAT) a and MATα, yet the mitochondrial DNA is inherited predominantly from the MATa parent. Although the exact mechanism underlying such uniparental mitochondrial inheritance in this fungus is still unclear, various hypotheses have been proposed. Elucidating the mechanism of mitochondrial inheritance in this clinically important and genetically amenable eukaryotic microbe will yield insights into general mechanisms that are likely conserved in higher eukaryotes. In this review, we highlight studies on Cryptococcus mitochondrial inheritance and point out some important questions that need to be addressed in the future.