Home • Pyronema confluens CBS100304
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Different stages of the life cycle (fruiting bodies). Photo by Minou Nowrousian
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Different stages of the life cycle (mycelium). Photo by Minou Nowrousian

The genome sequence and gene predictions of Pyronema confluens were not determined by the JGI, but were downloaded from ENA and have been published (Stefanie Traeger et al,, 2013). Please note that this copy of the genome is not maintained by the author and is therefore not automatically updated.

This species also called Pyronema omphalodes.

P. confluens was established as a model organism for the analysis of cell biology and fruiting body development in filamentous ascomycetes during the first half of the 20th century. It was instrumental in the elucidation of the dikaryotic phase during sexual development of higher ascomycetes. In the last decade, P. confluens was used in comparative studies of gene expression during sexual development of ascomycetes. It is a soil-living saprobe found in forests in temperate climates. In nature, its fruiting bodies (apothecia) usually appear on the ground after forest fires. Under laboratory conditions, P. confluens has a short life cycle where typical apothecia containing eight-spored asci are formed within six days. This is rare among members of the Pezizomycetes, many of which do not easily reproduce sexually in the laboratory. Also, P. confluens is homothallic (self-fertile), therefore no crossing partner of different mating type is needed for the fungus to complete its sexual cycle. In addition, P. confluens can also be used to study the effects of light on fruiting body formation, because in contrast to many other filamentous ascomycetes, fruiting body development in this fungus is strictly light-dependent. A previous analysis based on sequence data from 15 proteins showed that the P. confluens lineage is positioned at the base of the filamentous ascomycetes in a phylogenetic tree. Phylogenomic analysis based on the genome data from this study and including sequences from T. melanosporum and A. oligospora confirms this basal position with the Pezizomycetes as sister group to the Orbiliomycetes.

 

Genome Reference(s)