Non-coding RNAs drive transcriptional network rewiring underlying thermal dimorphism in a human pathogenic fungus
- 1Peking University
Abstract
As fungal pathogens pose mounting global challenges, decoding their complex adaptive traits remains a paramount academic priority. While previous studies have provided foundational insights into protein-coding variations and orphan genes, fully understanding such traits requires exploring upstream non-coding regulatory networks. Here, we present a high-resolution, rRNA-depleted temporal transcriptomic framework across reciprocal dimorphic transitions to decode how non-coding network rewiring involving in fungal adaption. Integrating temporal profiling with comparative genomics reveals that early ATP-related metabolic reprogramming and melanin biosynthesis direct morphogenesis via species-specific motifs. Further temporal network modeling uncovers a functional stratification where long non-coding RNAs orchestrate early stress responses, whereas circular RNAs drive morphological conversion. Functional validation confirms that hub non-coding transcripts mediate stress adaptation, with cross-species perturbation in the closest non-pathogen species altering phenotypic outcomes. Together, these findings demonstrate how system-level non-coding dynamics underlie the evolutionary innovation of thermal dimorphism, establishing a robust paradigm for understanding specialized fungal pathogenicity and evolution adaption.
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BibTeX
@misc{hu2026noncoding,
title = {{Non-coding RNAs drive transcriptional network rewiring underlying thermal dimorphism in a human pathogenic fungus}},
author = {X. Hu and J. Wang and E. Yang},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.29.755541},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755541v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Non-coding RNAs drive transcriptional network rewiring underlying thermal dimorphism in a human pathogenic fungus
AU - X. Hu
AU - J. Wang
AU - E. Yang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.29.755541
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755541v1
AB - As fungal pathogens pose mounting global challenges, decoding their complex adaptive traits remains a paramount academic priority. While previous studies have provided foundational insights into protein-coding variations and orphan genes, fully understanding such traits requires exploring upstream non-coding regulatory networks. Here, we present a high-resolution, rRNA-depleted temporal transcriptomic framework across reciprocal dimorphic transitions to decode how non-coding network rewiring involving in fungal adaption. Integrating temporal profiling with comparative genomics reveals that early ATP-related metabolic reprogramming and melanin biosynthesis direct morphogenesis via species-specific motifs. Further temporal network modeling uncovers a functional stratification where long non-coding RNAs orchestrate early stress responses, whereas circular RNAs drive morphological conversion. Functional validation confirms that hub non-coding transcripts mediate stress adaptation, with cross-species perturbation in the closest non-pathogen species altering phenotypic outcomes. Together, these findings demonstrate how system-level non-coding dynamics underlie the evolutionary innovation of thermal dimorphism, establishing a robust paradigm for understanding specialized fungal pathogenicity and evolution adaption.
ER -