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© 2009 Ng et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited: Ng SK, Liu F, Lai J, Low W, Jedd G (2009) A Tether for Woronin Body Inheritance Is Associated with Evolutionary Variation in Organelle Positioning. PLoS Genet 5(6): e1000521. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000521

Abstract

Eukaryotic organelles evolve to support the lifestyle of evolutionarily related organisms. In the fungi, filamentous Ascomycetes possess dense-core organelles called Woronin bodies (WBs). These organelles originate from peroxisomes and perform an adaptive function to seal septal pores in response to cellular wounding. Here, we identify Leashin, an organellar tether required for WB inheritance, and associate it with evolutionary variation in the subcellular pattern of WB distribution. In Neurospora, the leashin (lah) locus encodes two related adjacent genes. N-terminal sequences of LAH-1 bind WBs via the WB-specific membrane protein WSC, and C-terminal sequences are required for WB inheritance by cell cortex association. LAH-2 is localized to the hyphal apex and septal pore rim and plays a role in colonial growth. In most species, WBs are tethered directly to the pore rim, however, Neurospora and relatives have evolved a delocalized pattern of cortex association. Using a new method for the construction of chromosomally encoded fusion proteins, marker fusion tagging (MFT), we show that a LAH-1/LAH-2 fusion can reproduce the ancestral pattern in Neurospora. Our results identify the link between the WB and cell cortex and suggest that splitting of leashin played a key role in the adaptive evolution of organelle localization.

Details

Title
A Tether for Woronin Body Inheritance Is Associated with Evolutionary Variation in Organelle Positioning
Author
Ng, Seng Kah; Liu, Fangfang; Lai, Julian; Low, Wilson; Jedd, Gregory
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2009
Publication date
Jun 2009
Publisher
Public Library of Science
ISSN
15537390
e-ISSN
15537404
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1313519075
Copyright
© 2009 Ng et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited: Ng SK, Liu F, Lai J, Low W, Jedd G (2009) A Tether for Woronin Body Inheritance Is Associated with Evolutionary Variation in Organelle Positioning. PLoS Genet 5(6): e1000521. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000521