Fungi have a tremendous impact on human health as allergens, sources of mycotoxins, and as pathogens. They also have broad economic and societal impacts as plant pathogens and agents of post-harvest spoilage. Fungal asexual spores are the main propagules for dispersal and dormancy. Sporulation is widespread among the Ascomycete fungi, thus providing a simple system to test models that explain how developmental processes evolve. There is evidence for sporulation in a common ancestor that has been modified to give rise to the variety of form and function seen in the modern lineages of the Ascomycetes. At the same time, there is evidence that sporulation has evolved to use lineage-specific regulators, such that different regulatory genes were recruited to control spore development in different fungal lineages. We anticipate that mutational analysis and cross-species expression of regulatory genes in the model fungi, Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa will define gene function. Further, analysis of expressed genes of wild type and regulatory mutants will define the relationship of gene expression patterns in the sporulation pathways of these fungi. Comparison of these expression patterns will reveal the relative importance of different possible mechanisms involved in the evolution of fungal development. NSF and matching funds from Texas A&M University will support three PhD students who will be trained to use molecular biology and bioinformatics. These young scientists will explore the evolution of development in this important group of organisms and consider how their discoveries relate to development in other multicellular organisms, such as plants and animals. Furthermore, greater insight into the regulation of sporulation should allow manipulation of fungi for the benefit of society.
