WWW.NATURE.COM/NATURE
This press release is copyright Nature.
VOL.438 NO.7071 DATED 22 DECEMBER 2005
This press release contains:
* Genetics: Fungal trio sequenced
Editorial contacts: While the best contacts for stories will always be the
authors themselves, in some cases the Nature editor who handled the paper
will be available for comment if an author is unobtainable. Editors are
contactable via Ruth Francis on +44 20 7843 4562. Feel free to get in touch
with Nature's press contacts in London, Washington and Tokyo (as listed at
the end of this release) with any general editorial inquiry.
Warning: This document, and the Nature papers to which it refers, may
contain information that is price sensitive (as legally defined, for
example, in the UK Criminal Justice Act 1993 Part V) with respect to
publicly quoted companies. Anyone dealing in securities using information
contained in this document or in advanced copies of Nature's content may be
guilty of insider trading under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The Nature journals press site is at <http://press.nature.com>
* PDFs for the Articles, Letters, Progress articles, Review articles,
Insights and Brief Communications in this issue will be available on the
Nature journals press site from 1400 London time / 0900 US Eastern time on
the Friday before publication.
* PDFs of News & Views, News Features, Correspondence and Commentaries
will be available from 1400 London time / 0900 US Eastern time on the Monday
before publication
PICTURES: While we are happy for images from Nature to be reproduced for the
purposes of contemporaneous news reporting, you must also seek permission
from the copyright holder (if named) or author of the research paper in
question (if not).
HYPE: We take great care not to hype the papers mentioned on our press
releases, but are sometimes accused of doing so. If you ever consider that a
story has been hyped, please do not hesitate to contact us at
[email protected] citing the specific example.
PLEASE CITE NATURE AND OUR WEBSITE www.nature.com/nature AS THE SOURCE OF
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO
http://www.nature.com/nature
[2], [3], & [4] Genetics: Fungal trio sequenced (pp1105-1115, 1151-1156 &
1157-1161)
Three papers in this week's Nature present the almost complete genome
sequences of three fungus species: Aspergillus oryzae, used for food
production; Aspergillus fumigatus, a common pathogen; and Aspergillus
nidulans, a model organism used by many fungus geneticists.
Masayuki Machida and colleagues have sequenced A. oryzae, a fungus used to
ferment traditional foods and beverages in Japan such as Sake and soy sauce.
Its genome is roughly one-third larger than that of Aspergillus fumigatus or
A. nidulans. Many of the additional genes explain the particular biology of
this species. It has, for example, enzymes for the fermentation of food. The
sequence also explains why this fungus doesn't produce the toxic aflatoxin -
the aflatoxin gene was inactivated after it was passed from the related
fungus A. flavus, the researchers speculate.
William Nierman and colleagues present the sequence of A. fumigatus - a
pathogen and major allergen that can cause severe asthma. They identify
potential drug targets that may help fight infection, as well as nine
previously unknown allergens that it produces.
James Galagan and colleagues present the sequence of A. nidulans, and
compare it to the other two fungal genomes. The three genomes are quite
different from each other in that even related genes differ to the same
degree as genes between mammals and fish. What's more, they don't evolve at
similar rates when it comes to large-scale rearrangements of DNA.
The comparison also reveals that A. fumigatus and A. oryzae reproduce
sexually. Previously, researchers had thought that they reproduce asexually
by cell division. This opens the possibility to generate better strains for
industrial production or to better understand fungal infections, the
researchers say. A related News & Views article from Andre Goffeau
accompanies this research.
CONTACT:
Masayuki Machida (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan)
Tel: +81 29 861 6164, E-mail: [email protected] - paper no: [2]
William Nierman (The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), Rockville, MD,
USA)
Tel: +1 301 795 7559, E-mail: [email protected] - paper no: [3]
James Galagan (Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 258 0479, E-mail: [email protected] - paper no: [4]
Andre Goffeau (Universite de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)
Tel: +32 10 47 36 14, E-mail: [email protected]
PRESS CONTACTS...
For North America and Canada
Katie McGoldrick, Nature Washington
Tel: +1 202 737 2355; E-mail: [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
For Japan, Korea, China, Singapore and Taiwan
Rinoko Asami, Nature Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 3267 8751; E-mail: [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
For the UK/Europe/other countries not listed above
Katharine Mansell, Nature London
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail: [email protected]
Sophie Hebden, Nature London
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd,
dedicated to serving the academic and professional scientific community.
NPG's flagship title, Nature, is the world's most highly-cited weekly
multidisciplinary journal and was first published in 1869. Other
publications include Nature research journals, Nature Reviews, Nature
Clinical Practice, and a range of prestigious academic journals, including
society-owned publications.
NPG is a global company, with headquarters in London and offices in New
York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Tokyo, Paris, Munich and
Basingstoke. For more information, please go to www.nature.com
