Navigation Links
Same-Sex Mating Discovered in a Toxic Fungus

An infectious fungus has been found to defy the most basic tenet of sexual reproduction ?that successful mating requires individuals of the opposite sex, according to Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

In the April 21, 2005, issue of Nature, the researchers reported that, in the infectious fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, members of the same "sex" can mate and produce offspring. Infection with the fungus can prove life-threatening in humans, and the findings might improve understanding of the fungal biology that underlies the infectious process, the researchers said. Discovery of the same-sex mating might also help elucidate basic principles governing the evolution of sex, they said.

"Sex is generally beneficial as a means to produce offspring with different gene combinations that can adapt more rapidly to new environments," said HHMI investigator Joseph Heitman, M.D., Ph.D., of Duke, senior author of the study.

"The findings suggest for the first time that the fungus has developed a novel type of sexual cycle, allowing sexual reproduction between members of the same mating type," he added. "That ability might confer an advantage for the fungus because patients infected with it predominantly harbor a single mating type, reducing the possibility of normal fungal sexual reproduction."

The potentially life-threatening fungus C. neoformans invades the central nervous system to cause disease, most commonly in immune-compromised patients such as organ transplant recipients and cancer patients -- whose immune systems are crippled by immunosuppressive drugs or chemotherapy -- and people with HIV/AIDS. The fungus' global importance as a health threat has therefore risen in parallel with the increased use of such therapies and with the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic.

In plants and animals, sexual identity is governed by sex chromosomes. In fungi, however, sexual identity is determined by so-called
'"/>

Source:DukeMedNews


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Sexual cooperation: Mating increases longevity in ant queens
2. The price of vanity: Mating with showy males may reduce offsprings ability to fight off pathogens
3. Newly Discovered Compound Blocks Known Cancer-Causing Protein
4. A New Species of Monkey is Discovered in Tanzania: The First in Africa for More Than 20 Years
5. Newly Discovered Branding Process Helps Immune System Cells Pick Their Fights
6. New Species of Coral Discovered Off Southern California
7. Newly Discovered Role for Heart Response Enzyme May Yield Better Heart Failure Therapy
8. Solution to Pollution: New Bacteria Eats Toxic Waste
9. Duke Chemists Isolating Individual Molecules Of Toxic Protein In Alzheimers, Parkinsons Disease
10. Toxic flood lifts lid on common urban pollution problem
11. Toxic molecule may cause most common type of muscular dystrophy
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Same Sex Mating Discovered Toxic Fungus

(Date:5/24/2013)... Cancer cells spread and grow by avoiding detection and ... system can help to eliminate cancer cells; however, there ... ignore cancer cells. Regulatory T cells are immune cells ... this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation ... found that regulatory T cells that infiltrate tumors express ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... water scientists from around the world today issued a ... span of one or two generations, the majority of ... under the handicap of severe pressure on fresh water, ... no substitute. This handicap will be self-inflicted and is, ... to chronic underlying problems led by mismanagement and sent ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... ships per year, carrying more than 284 million tons of ... billion dollars in toll fees for the Panama Canal Authority. ... gallons of water are used from Gatun Lake, which is ... living in the isthmus. , However, the advent of ... of the ships at sea, has demanded change. The Panama ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 2A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 3A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 4Reforestation study shows trade-offs between water, carbon and timber 2Reforestation study shows trade-offs between water, carbon and timber 3
... answered one of neuroscience's most vexing questions--how can it ... crystal-clear thoughts, seem to fire in utterly random ways? ... Rochester study shows that the brain's cortex uses seemingly ... the real world--and that this noise dramatically enhances the ...
... Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital turned up ... of these unruly molecules perform critical functions in the ... collection, investigation and classification of these so-called intrinsically unstructured ... vital roles in the daily activities of cells. ...
... life's first cells, Irene Chen, a regional winner from North ... receive the $25,000 GE & Science Prize for Young Life ... , which is published by AAAS, the nonprofit society. , ... 11 December, during an award ceremony. She will also meet ...
Cached Biology News:Mysterious 'neural noise' actually primes brain for peak performance 2Mysterious 'neural noise' actually primes brain for peak performance 3First major study of mammalian 'disorderly' proteins 2American scientist's research of life's first cells 2American scientist's research of life's first cells 3American scientist's research of life's first cells 4
(Date:5/24/2013)... Vestiage, Inc. (stock symbol "VEST") a publicly ... and development, sales and marketing of premium branded ... that it is awarding exclusive Vestiage territories in ... Skin Illuminating Facial Care. Qualified applicants can request ... email to info(at)vestiageinc(dot)com and putting RELUMA in the ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Every day, their baby stopped breathing, his collapsed ... lungs. April and Bryan Gionfriddo watched helplessly, just praying ... a few doctors said he had a good chance ... about her now 20-month-old son, Kaiba. "At that point, ... take it and run with it." , They found ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Can economic incentives such as gift ... of the public to increase their donations of blood? ... Carey Business School Assistant Professor Mario Macis says ... large body of recent research that supports their argument, ... issue of Science that the World Health Organization and ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013 PuraMed ... developer, and marketer of over-the-counter (OTC) medicinal and ... research opinion on the company based on low ... , Non-Prescription, All Natural Product to Treat ... Product Outperforms #1 Prescription Competitor , Currently ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 2Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 3Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 4Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 5Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing 2Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing 3Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 2Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 3PuraMed BioScience (PMBS) Issued Alert Based on Market Cap of $721,756 2PuraMed BioScience (PMBS) Issued Alert Based on Market Cap of $721,756 3
... Wisconsin Department of Commerce has announced that ... businesses for technology development projects. , ,NovaScan, a Milwaukee-based ... materials used to identify different tissue types, will receive ... and test a prototype for clinical application of its ...
... world's most powerful supercomputers are used for biotechtechnology ... surprise to the Wisconsin companies operating at the ... while information technology is extremely important in the ... manufacturing and analysis, enterprise resource planning systems track ...
... Wis. - An education research team at the ... MacArthur Foundation to study the impact of digital ... total $50 million investment will support 24 national studies of ... societal implications. , ,"What MacArthur is actually trying to ...
Cached Biology Technology:Proceeding with caution at corner of IT & biotech 2Proceeding with caution at corner of IT & biotech 3Proceeding with caution at corner of IT & biotech 4UW gets $3M to explore educational gaming 2UW gets $3M to explore educational gaming 3
Anti-Flavocytochrome b Monoclonal, FITC Labeled Research Focus: other Storage: 4C Shipping Temperature: 4C...
Chaps Cell Extract Buffer can be used to lyse cells under nondenaturing conditions and is recommendedfor the preparation of cell lysates to be used with our caspase signaling pathway antibodies...
Rabbit polyclonal to Reptin/TIP49B/RUVB2 ( Abpromise for all tested applications). Antigen: Synthetic peptide (Human) Entrez Gene ID: 10856 Swiss Protein ID: Q6FIB9...
Anti-human L-Ficolin, Clone GN4, Monoclonal Antibody...
Biology Products: