ARS | Publication request: High mobility group (HMG-box) genes in the honeybee fungal pathogen Ascosphaera apis

Submitted to: Mycologia
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: May 17, 2007
Publication Date: November 20, 2007
Citation: Aronstein, K.A., Murray, K.D., De Leon, J.H., Qin, X., Weinstock, G.M. 2007. High mobility group (HMG-box) genes in the honeybee fungal pathogen Ascosphaera apis. Mycologia. 99(4):553-561.

Technical Abstract: The genome of the honey bee fungal pathogen, Ascosphaera apis (Maassen), encodes three putative high mobility group (HMG-box) transcription factors. The predicted proteins (MAT1-2, STE11 and HTF), each of which contain a single strongly conserved HMG-box, exhibit high similarity to mating type proteins and STE11-like transcription factors previously identified in other Ascomycete fungi, some of them important plant and human pathogens. In this study, we characterized the A. apis HMG-box containing genes and analyzed the structure of the mating type locus (MAT1-2) and its flanking regions. The MAT1-2 locus contains a single gene encoding a protein with an HMG-box. We have also determined the transcriptional patterns of all three HMG-box containing genes in both mating type idiomorphs and discussed a potential role of these transcription factors in A. apis development and reproduction. A multiplex PCR method with primers amplifying mat1-2-1 and Ste11 gene fragments is described. This new method allows for identification of a single mating type idiomorph and may become an essential tool for applied and basic research of chalkbrood disease in honey bees.