Biology:Plasmogamy
Plasmogamy is a stage of sexual reproduction (most frequently seen in fungi), where the protoplasm of two parent cells (usually from the mycelia) fuse without the fusion of nuclei, effectively bringing two different, haploid nuclei, close together in the same cell. This state is followed by karyogamy, where the two nuclei fuse and then undergo meiosis to produce spores.[1][2] The dikaryotic state that comes after plasmogamy will often persist for many generations before the fungi undergoes karyogamy. In lower fungi however, plasmogamy is usually immediately followed by karyogamy.[1]
Plasmogamy can also occur in protists such as Amoebozoa (Myxomycetes), and is suspected to be involved in the sexual reproduction of Leishmania .[3][4][5] It has also been seen to occur in flowering plants as the gametes fuse to generate a zygote.[6]
A comparative genomic study indicated the presence of the machinery for plasmogamy, karyogamy and meiosis in the Amoebozoa.[5]
History
The fusion of the protoplasms of two cells, without the nuclei fusing, appears to be first described by the mycologist John R. Raper, in his book, Genetics of Sexuality in Higher Fungi, in 1966.[7] Through the analysis of Schizophyllum commune, he identified that the mycelia of two fungal species growing together can result in their fusion upon "hyphal contact", whether or not the strains of the fungi were compatible. This resulted in the fusion of the cells in contact, whilst their two nuclei remained separate.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "fungus (biology) :: Sexual reproduction". Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/222357/fungus/57957/Sexual-reproduction. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ↑ Abedon, Stephen. "Plasmogamy". Biology as Poetry. http://www.biologyaspoetry.com/terms/plasmogamy.html.
- ↑ Ababa, Girma (2023). "Biology, taxonomy, genetics, and management of Zymoseptoria tritici: the causal agent of wheat leaf blotch". Mycology 14 (4): 292–315. doi:10.1080/21501203.2023.2241492. ISSN 2150-1203. PMID 38187886.
- ↑ Catta-Preta, Carolina M. C.; Sacks, David L. (Oct 2025). "Genetic Exchange in Leishmania: Understanding the Cryptic Sexual Cycle". Annual Review of Microbiology 79 (1): 105–128. doi:10.1146/annurev-micro-050724-091231. ISSN 1545-3251. PMID 40527332.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Comparative Genomics Supports Sex and Meiosis in Diverse Amoebozoa". Genome Biol Evol 10 (11): 3118–3128. November 2018. doi:10.1093/gbe/evy241. PMID 30380054.
- ↑ Ohnishi, Yukinosuke; Kawashima, Tomokazu (2020). "Plasmogamic Paternal Contributions to Early Zygotic Development in Flowering Plants". Frontiers in Plant Science 11. doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.00871. ISSN 1664-462X. PMID 32636867. Bibcode: 2020FrPS...11..871O.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Raper, John R. (1966). Genetics of sexuality in higher fungi. Internet Archive. New York, Ronald Press Co. http://archive.org/details/geneticsofsexual0000rape.
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