Characterization of the dynamic reorganization of the spindle pole body from a microtubule- to an actin organization center and its contribution to fungal spore morphology

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Fungal spores play an important role for dispersal of fungi and fungal disease. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes that are often specialized for a specific route of dispersal. How more complex spore morphologies that differ from a simple round shape are generated is not understood. Using the needle shaped spores of the filamentous growing ascomycete Ashbya gossypii as a model, we could show that for formation of needle shaped spores the remodeling of the outer layers of the spindle pole body (SPB, the fungal analog to the centrosome, which is the microtubule organization center during vegetative growth) to an actin organization center is an essential step. The actin cables formed by this center are necessary to correctly form the tip-region of the needle-shaped spore. A key factor for this remodeling process is the binding of the formin protein AgBnr2 to the SPB, which in turn connects actin cables to the SPB. The experiments outlined in this proposal are designed to understand the precise nature and the timing of the reorganization of the SPB during sporulation.