Dynamic remodeling of centrioles and the microtubule cytoskeleton in the lifecycle of chytrid fungi
Cells reorganize in space and time to move and divide - complex behaviors driven by their internal cytoskeleton. While we have substantial knowledge of the molecular parts and rules of cytoskeletal assembly, we know less about how structures are remodeled, for example to interconvert centrioles from the ciliary base to the centrosome. To study this in an evolutionary context we use the chytrid fungus, Rhizoclosmatium globosum, a member of the zoosporic fungi which have centrioles and cilia, lost in other fungal lineages. Chytrids undergo reorganization of their microtubule cytoskeleton as they cycle from zoospore to multinucleated coenocyte. We use comparative bioinformatics, RNA sequencing, and expansion microscopy to map the microtubule cytoskeleton over the chytrid lifecycle. We find that when zoospores encyst, cilia are retracted into the cytoplasm and degraded, and centrioles detach but are protected from degradation. A shortened proximal centriole then forms the mitotic centrosome and ultimately elongates to form cilia at the end of the mitotic cycles, driven by a conserved transcriptional program. Thus, structural remodeling of the chytrid centriole is coupled temporally to ciliated stages rather than mitotic cycles, which may serve as a mechanism to tune microtubule organization to meet the needs of different lifecycle stages.