This most recent work from the Umen lab gets at the critical control mechanism for sex determination in single-celled and multicellular algae. The capacity to produce distinct mating types (e.g. male and female) is the foundation for reshuffling of genetic material within a species, which maintains genetic diversity and capacity to adapt in different environments. Geng et al. discovered that the key regulatory protein VSR1 either interacts with itself (VSR1-VSR1 complex) to induce female gametes, or with MID protein (VSR1-MID) to induce male gametes. The data show elegantly why either male or female gametes form, and they give reasons why this mechanism may also occur throughout the plant kingdom.
- Geng, S., Hamaji, T., Ferris, P.J., and Umen, J. A conserved RWP-RK transcription factor VSR1 controls gametic differentiation in volvocine algae. (2023). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305099120.
