What is it about?
Light controls important biological processes in fungi by regulating transcriptional gene-activation. We found that, beyond the regulation of mRNA transcript abundance, light regulates alternative splicing in the filamentous fungi. This study unravels another level of complexity of fungal environmental sensing and responses and also first describes the entire cascade from an environmental signal to the splicing machinery.
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Why is it important?
Light is a pivotal environmental signal that controls various fungal biological processes by regulating gene transcript abundances. This study unravels a novel regulatory mechanism whereby light signals regulate alternative splicing (AS) in the filamentous fungi. We showed that AS regulates important fungal biological processes, including ergothioneine biosynthesis and conidiation in Trichoderma guizhouense. In addition, this is the first study showing how an extracellular signal reaches the splicing machinery through a sensor protein and downstream signaling pathway to regulate AS in fungi. This study reveals a previously uncharacterized post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanism of light signaling.
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This page is a summary of: Light controls gene functions through alternative splicing in fungi, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2500966122.
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