Reader Comments
Post a new comment on this article
Post Your Discussion Comment
Please follow our guidelines for comments and review our competing interests policy. Comments that do not conform to our guidelines will be promptly removed and the user account disabled. The following must be avoided:
- Remarks that could be interpreted as allegations of misconduct
- Unsupported assertions or statements
- Inflammatory or insulting language
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to flag this posting; we review flagged postings on a regular basis.
closeCopy of the press release originally distributed on October 12th 2007
Posted by PLOS_Genetics on 29 Jan 2009 at 17:11 GMT
*Evidence of same-sex mating in nature: the story of Cryptococcus neoformans*
Cryptococcus neoformans is a major cause of fungal meningitis in predominantly immunocomprised individuals. This fungus has two mating-types/sexes, and mating typically requires two individuals with opposite mating types. It had been a mystery why one mating type is overwhelmingly predominant in nature and how the capacity for sexual reproduction is maintained in a largely unisex population.
In an article published in PLoS Genetics, Xiaorong Lin and colleagues from Duke University Medical Center analyzed natural Cryptococcus diploid hybrid isolates containing two α alleles of different serotypic origins. Natural αADα hybrids that arose by fusion between two α cells of different serotypes (A and D) were identified and characterized, demonstrating that same-sex mating transpires in nature. Same-sex mating had been observed under laboratory conditions, but direct evidence for naturally occurring same-sex mating was lacking. This study provides the first evidence of this and sheds light on the genetic and environmental factors that play important roles in the evolution of the current population structure of this pathogenic fungus.
Press Coverage
PLOS_Genetics replied to PLOS_Genetics on 29 Jan 2009 at 17:11 GMT
- Nature News: http://www.nature.com/nat...
- New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/20...