The pheromone receptor system of the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune is capable of ligand discrimination to confer mating specificity. The pheromone receptors of the B alpha locus were investigated for ligand discrimination in a strategy of domain swapping experiments. Several altered phenotypes of chimeric receptors have been found. These include constitutive pheromone receptors which need no ligand for activation of the downstream cascade of events. In addition, receptors still dependent on ligand were identified that had altered pheromone activation profiles, including promiscuous receptors that are activated by pheromones of all nine specificities, including the former self. In addition, highly discriminative receptors were created which are activated by only two of the eight non-self-specificities. The chimeric receptors identify the last third of the receptor as the determinant for B alpha 1 specificity, whereas B alpha 2 specificity resides in noncontiguous domains covering the first and middle parts of the receptor molecule.
Copyright 2000 Academic Press.