The SC15 protein of Schizophyllum commune mediates formation of aerial hyphae and attachment in the absence of the SC3 hydrophobin

Abstract

Disruption of the SC3 gene in the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune affected not only formation of aerial hyphae but also attachment to hydrophobic surfaces. However, these processes were not completely abolished, indicating involvement of other molecules. We here show that the SC15 protein mediates formation of aerial hyphae and attachment in the absence of SC3. SC15 is a secreted protein of 191 aa with a hydrophilic N-terminal half and a highly hydrophobic C-terminal half. It is not a hydrophobin as it lacks the eight conserved cysteine residues found in these proteins. Besides being secreted into the medium, SC15 was localized in the cell wall and the mucilage that binds aerial hyphae together. In a strain in which the SC15 gene was deleted (ΔSC15) formation of aerial hyphae and attachment were not affected. However, these processes were almost completely abolished when the SC15 gene was deleted in the ΔSC3 background. The absence of aerial hyphae in the ΔSC3ΔSC15 strain can be explained by the inability of the strain to lower the water surface tension and to make aerial hyphae hydrophobic.