Two-component phosphorelays in fungal mitochondria and beyond.

Prokaryotes, eukaryotic microorganisms and plants utilize two-component signal transduction pathways to detect and respond to various environmental cues. These signaling cascades were acquired by eukaryotes via horizontal gene transfer events from ancestral bacteria. Recent exciting discoveries have identified two-component signaling systems in mitochondria and chloroplasts of several eukaryotic microorganisms and plants, therefore providing important clues to the evolutionary transition of these signaling cascades from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. This review will focus on the role of two-component signal transduction pathways in fungal pathogenesis and also discuss key new discoveries of presence of proteins participating in these signaling pathways in mitochondrion. Before addressing these issues, I first briefly describe the magnitude and the economic impact of the healthcare problems caused by fungal pathogens.