2 Nuclear Dynamics and Cell Growth in Fungi
Fungal systems provide an especially excellent model for understanding the fundamentals of nuclear behavior in all cells. Fungal nuclei are highly dynamic organelles capable of long-range movements and rapid changes in gene expression as well as large-sca
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Nuclear Dynamics and Cell Growth in Fungi
SAMANTHA E. ROBERTS1, AMY S. GLADFELTER1
CONTENTS I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. Physical Nuclear Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. Mechanics of Nuclear Movement . . . . . . . . . . B. Functions of Movement in Reproduction . . C. Functions of Nuclear Movement During Vegetative Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. Genome Content Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. Inter-organism Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B. Intra-organism Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. Open Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. Nucleus-Cytoplasm Communication . . . . . . . B. Nucleus-Nucleus Communication . . . . . . . . . . C. Coupling of Cell Growth, Size Control, and Nuclear Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V. Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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I. Introduction Nuclei are the repositories of genetic information in eukaryotic cells. These organelles are highly dynamic in terms of both physical movement and genetic change from the level of gene expression to large-scale genome alterations. Fungal systems provide an especially excellent model for understanding the fundamentals of nuclear behavior in all cells and display a range of strategies for manipulating both the position and content of genetic information to adapt to the external environment as well as the constantly changing cellular context during growth. From the first characterizations of nuclear motility within basidiomycete mycelia to the present day, fungal cells have provided
researchers with countless complex problems, many still awaiting inquiry. Investigations into fundamental activities within fungi have yielded insights into processes such as the mechanical dynamics of growth, evolution, and mechanisms of pathogenesis that have furthered our understanding of eukaryotic cell biology as a whole. While there are numerous excellent reviews on various aspects of nuclear mobility, exchange of genetic material, the interplay between nuclear behavior and cell growth, and principles of evolution in the fungal kingdom, we seek in this chapter to communicate a more integrative view of these processes to illustrate the remarkable adaptability and dynamic behaviors of nuclei.
II. Physical Nuclear Mobility Throughout the entire spectrum of morphologies exhibited by fungi from uninucleate baker’s yeast only microns in diameter to multinucleate mycelia of mushroom species that can cover multiple square miles, nuclei are strategically and actively positioned to facilitate their interactions with other cellular components and contribute to successful growth and reproduction of the organism. Nuclei are transported throughout the cell for a variety of purposes by a combination of precise active a
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