A proposed adhesin AoMad1 helps nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora recognizing host signals for life-style switching.

The nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora is an important natural enemy of nematodes. It can capture nematodes by producing a special mycelial structure called adhesive network or trap. The trap is also a signature of the fungus switching from the saprophytic lifestyle to the predacious lifestyle. At present, little is known about the mechanism of lifestyle switch in nematode-trapping fungi. Here we describe the effect of a cell wall protein called AoMad1 on lifestyle switch. The disruption of the AoMad1-encoding gene in A. oligospora resulted in the formation of more traps in the presence of nematodes. Interestingly, the mutant strain was more sensitive to certain nitrogen sources as trap inducers than the wild type strain. The microscopic examinations revealed that the AoMad1-deletion mutant lacked cell surface adhesive materials and the cell wall structures were more porous than wild-type strains. A great of genes were differentially expressed by transcriptomic analysis when trap formation was induced by sodium nitrate compared to the wild type strain, many of them were related to nitrogen metabolism, host-pathogen interaction and mycelia development. The results suggest that AoMad1 plays an important role in life style switching in A. oligospora.