Progress in research on apoptosis in filamentous fungi—— A Review

Abstract:

Apoptosis is a conserved mechanism that plays an essential role in eukaryotes. Malfunction of apoptosis contributes to many human diseases including cancer and AIDS. Compared with yeast, a monocellular eukaryote, which is the model organism for apoptosis research, investigation on filamentous fungi apoptosis has particular advantages, which remained unrecognized until recent years. Filamentous fungi, especially Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus Fumigatus, are expected to become new model species. Research on filamentous fungi apoptosis also has important value in agriculture and medical care, providing new ideas for the biocontrol and therapies of human mycosis. This review describes progress regarding the phenotypes, exogenous /endogenous inducers and signal pathways of apoptosis in filamentous fungi.