A Fungal Diterpene Synthase Is Responsible for Sterol Biosynthesis for Growth

A conserved open reading frame, , is described in , sharing a remarkable similarity with fungal diterpene synthases whose function is less studied. Loss-of-function approach manifested that was necessary for the growth and the development of the fungus. A deletion strain, Δ, showed a fundamental retardation in growth, which could deliberately be restored by the addition of exogenous sterols to the media. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the loss of the ability to produce certain sterols. Thus, the tolerance and the resistance of Δ to several stress conditions were impaired. Secondary metabolites, such as the polyketide derivative dibenzodioxocinones, were significantly diminished. At the molecular level, the deletion of even affected the expression of genes in the mevalonate pathway. This report adds knowledge about fungal diterpene synthases in .