| dc.description.abstract | Environmental CO2 is recognized to be one of the main factors involved in mushroom formation
in many fungi, including the model fungus Schizophyllum commune. It has been established that
cyclic AMP (cAMP) plays a central role in regulation of fructification, however, it remains unclear
how the intracellular cAMP concentration is regulated and how this affects fructification
throughout the process. cAMP is produced by adenylyl cyclase, whereas breakdown is achieved
by phosphodiesterases (PDEs). An attempt has been made at the deletion of the high-affinity PDE
(Pde2) of S. commune, though no transformants were obtained. Moreover, efforts were made
towards a titratable conditional gene expression in S. commune, by developing the required
constructs for the Tet-on system. In this initial setup, the reporter gene dTomato is used to show
the viability of the system in S. commune. The Tet-on system may prove useful as a novel strategy
in interference with genes, Pde2 being a prime candidate. Additionally, the use ring plates has
been introduced for phenotyping of colonies. Altogether, valuable tools have been prepared
which will improve future research methods. Finally, some colonies were mutated into the streak
morphology during transformation by accident. Evidently, streak colonies show red autofluorescence, whereas WT colonies do not. | |
