Velvet family protein in filamentous fungi

Abstract:

Secondary metabolites including β-lactam antibiotics, flusidic acid, cyclosporine and statins are produced by several groups of filamentous fungi. Secondary metabolism, growth and development process of filamentous fungi are regulated by global regulatory factor and specifically regulating factors, such as LaeA and velvet family. This review elaborates the structural features of the Velvet family proteins (VeA, VelB, VosA, VelC), analyzes the regulation of the sexual and asexual development and the secondary metabolism, and discusses possible molecular mechanisms. These results might provide a significant reference to reveal fungi regulatory networks and activate the silencing gene to produce novel compounds.

Key words:filamentous fungi;Velvet family;secondary metabolism;growth and development