-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: April 6, 2007 9:28:18 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Global Warming Micro-scale: Fungus Among Us, Now Having Sex
Fungus May Be Having Sex Among Us
Live Science, 13 July 2005
01:32 pm ET
http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/050713_fungal_sex.html
Sex was once thought to be the domain of higher life forms. But now
a common fungus -- one that causes deadly infections in humans --
appears to reproduce sexually.
The fungus, aspergillus fumigatus, has also been linked to asthma.
Scientists always thought it reproduced asexually, a method of
simple cell division used by many microbial creatures.
A new study finds the fungus has a series of genes required for
sexual reproduction. An analysis of 290 specimens revealed nearly
equal proportions of two different sexes or 'mating types,' which
in theory could have sex with each other, the researchers said.
That might provide clues for treating people infected by the fungus.
"The possible presence of sex in the species is highly significant
as it affects the way we try and control disease," said David
Denning of the University of Manchester."If the fungus does
reproduce sexually as part of its life cycle, then it might evolve
more rapidly to become resistant to antifungal drugs -- sex might
create new strains with increased ability to cause disease and
infect humans."
The discovery, announced today, is detailed in the journal Current
Biology. The work was led by Paul Dyer at the University of
Nottingham.
The study also found that genes had been, or were being, exchanged
between individuals of the fungus and that some key genes involved
with detecting a partner were active in the fungus.
"Taken as a whole, the results indicate that the fungus has a
recent evolutionary history of sexual activity and might still be
having sex so far 'unseen' by human eyes," Dyer said.
An offbeat thought: "The fungus is very common in compost heaps so
these might be a hotbed of fungal sex," Dyer said.
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