A nematode-trapping fungus orchestrates polarity cues, septins, and NOX signaling for trap formation.
- 1Department of Complex Biological Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen, Germany.
- 2Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica , Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract
Reprogramming cell morphogenesis in response to environmental cues is fundamental to microbial adaptation and survival. The nematode-trapping fungus (NTF) Arthrobotrys oligospora exemplifies this plasticity by developing adhesive traps to capture nematodes. However, mechanisms underlying trap morphogenesis and host invasion remain unclear. Using live-cell imaging, genetics, and functional assays, we show trap morphogenesis proceeds through localized redirection of hyphal growth followed by site-specific hyphal fusion, whereas infection development involves a transition from isotropic infection bulb expansion to multipolar invasive growth. These transitions are coordinated by the reorganization of conserved polarity proteins, asymmetric septin localization at the trap cell inner rim, and actin remodeling. Nematode-induced Nox1 signaling is required to recruit polarity and cytoskeletal machinery to the trap cell fusion site. Together, these findings establish NTF as a powerful model for understanding how conserved morphogenetic machinery drives the transition from linear hyphae to hyphal loops to trap nematodes.
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BibTeX
@article{kuo2026nematodetrapping,
title = {{A nematode-trapping fungus orchestrates polarity cues, septins, and NOX signaling for trap formation.}},
author = {Chih-Yen Kuo and Hung-Che Lin and Yun-Zhen Chou and Sheng-An Chen and Hillel Schwartz and Yen-Ping Hsueh},
journal = {The Journal of cell biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1083/jcb.202603155},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42895507},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A nematode-trapping fungus orchestrates polarity cues, septins, and NOX signaling for trap formation.
AU - Chih-Yen Kuo
AU - Hung-Che Lin
AU - Yun-Zhen Chou
AU - Sheng-An Chen
AU - Hillel Schwartz
AU - Yen-Ping Hsueh
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - The Journal of cell biology
DO - 10.1083/jcb.202603155
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42895507
AB - Reprogramming cell morphogenesis in response to environmental cues is fundamental to microbial adaptation and survival. The nematode-trapping fungus (NTF) Arthrobotrys oligospora exemplifies this plasticity by developing adhesive traps to capture nematodes. However, mechanisms underlying trap morphogenesis and host invasion remain unclear. Using live-cell imaging, genetics, and functional assays, we show trap morphogenesis proceeds through localized redirection of hyphal growth followed by site-specific hyphal fusion, whereas infection development involves a transition from isotropic infection bulb expansion to multipolar invasive growth. These transitions are coordinated by the reorganization of conserved polarity proteins, asymmetric septin localization at the trap cell inner rim, and actin remodeling. Nematode-induced Nox1 signaling is required to recruit polarity and cytoskeletal machinery to the trap cell fusion site. Together, these findings establish NTF as a powerful model for understanding how conserved morphogenetic machinery drives the transition from linear hyphae to hyphal loops to trap nematodes.
SN - 0021-9525
SN - 1540-8140
ER -