Functional analysis of Sec14-family proteins in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans.

SecN, a Sec14-family protein in Aspergillus nidulans, is essential for normal growth, development, and phospholipid balance, with deletion causing severe defects.

• Why it matters: Understanding Sec14-family proteins in filamentous fungi fills a critical knowledge gap, as their roles in these organisms are less studied compared to yeasts, impacting fungal biology and pathogenicity research.
• What they did: Researchers identified eight Sec14-family orthologs in A. nidulans and performed phenotypic and lipidomic analyses on single-deletion strains, focusing on secN and sfh genes.
• The result: Deletion of secN led to significant growth retardation, abnormal hyphal branching, defective conidiation, and altered phospholipid composition, highlighting its key role in fungal physiology.