Sending mixed signals: Redundancy vs. uniqueness of signaling components in the plant pathogen, Ustilago maydis

The ability to respond to a changing environment separates successful organisms from their competitors. Thus, signal transduction is a crucial aspect of an organism’s growth, development, differentiation, and reproduction. Nowhere is this more evident than in the co-evolution of obligate pathogens with their host organisms. The genome sequence of Ustilago maydis, the pathogen of maize, has provided a powerful tool in the assessment and characterization of signaling pathways for this organism. Inspection of the sequence reveals that while U. maydis has a streamlined gene content, it appears to contain a full repertoire of the standard signaling cascades present in other fungi. A full range of paralogues are present to provide redundancy of function on the one hand while, on the other, distinct strategies for survival. This review explores signaling based on the conserved mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) pathways as well as ancillary functions, with emphasis on the unique aspects of the U. maydis approach to utilizing this architecture.