A dialogue-like cell communication mechanism is conserved in filamentous ascomycete fungi and mediates interspecies interactions

In many filamentous fungi, germinating spores cooperate by fusing into supracellular structures, which develop into the mycelial colony. In the model fungus Neurospora crassa, this social behavior is mediated by an intriguing mode of communication, in which two fusing cells take turns in signal sending and receiving. Here we show that this dialogue-like cell communication mechanism is highly conserved in distantly related fungal species and mediates interspecies interactions. In mixed populations, cells of N. crassa and the phytopathogenic gray mold Botrytis cinerea coordinate their behavior over a spatial distance and establish physical contact. Subsequent cell–cell fusion is, however, restricted to germlings of the same species, indicating that species specificity of germling fusion has evolved not on the level of the signal/receptor but at subsequent levels of the fusion process. In B. cinerea, fusion and infectious growth are mutually exclusive cellular programs. Remarkably, the presence of N. crassa can reprogram this behavior and induce fusion of the gray mold on plant surfaces, potentially weakening its pathogenic potential. In a third fungal species, the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys flagrans, the conserved signaling mechanism mediates vegetative fusion within mycelial colonies but has also been repurposed for the formation of nematode-catching traps. In summary, this study identified the cell dialogue mechanism as a conserved complex trait and revealed that even distantly related fungi possess a common molecular language, which promotes cellular contact formation across species borders.