The role of homeodomain transcription factors in fungal development

The role of homeodomain (HD) transcription factors during development in animals is well established since the identification of the homeobox gene clusters. In the kingdom Fungi homeodomain genes also play a crucial role during multicellular development. They were first identified in mating type loci, which regulate sexual development. Later, other HD genes were shown to be involved in fruiting body development in several members of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. In this review we describe recent research on HD transcription factors in fungi. An evolutionary framework is provided by reanalyzing 222 previously published fungal genomes to identify potential functions of HD transcription factors in multicellular development and fructification.