Analysis of the MAT1-2-1 gene of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum

A single MAT1-2-1 gene was identified from a mating pair of the filamentous ascomycete Colletotrichum lindemuthianum. The MAT1-2-1 genes from both mating partners carried an open reading frame (ORF) of 870 bp encoding a putative protein of 290 amino acids that includes the highly conserved high mobility group (HMG) domain typical of the fungal MAT1-2-1 genes. Three introns were confirmed within the C. lindemuthianum ORF, two of which were found to be conserved relative to a previously reported MAT1-2-1 gene from C. gloeosporioides. The amino acid sequence of the HMG domain from C. lindemuthianum MAT1-2-1 was also compared with those from other ascomycetes. These results suggest that although the MAT1-2-1 genes are highly conserved among ascomycetes, the mechanism which defines mating partners in the genus Colletotrichum is distinct to the idiomorph system described for other members of this phylum.