DUKE MYCOLOGY RESEARCH UNIT
Faculty and Research

Heitman Lab Members

Yen-Ping Hsueh Post-Doctoral Fellow 315 CARL Building Box 3546 DUMC Durham, N.C. 27710 Phone: 919.684.2809 Fax: 919.684.5458 Email: yenping.hsueh@duke.edu

I joined the Heitman lab as a PhD student in the summer of 2004 and graduated in spring 2008. My research focus on the evolution of Cryptococcus MAT locus and the signaling pathways involved in C. neoformans sexual development. In 2005, I attended the Molecular Mycology course at Woods Hole. My projects involve the identification of MAT-linked recombination hotspots, recapitulation of the ancestral tri-and tetra-polar MAT loci, characterization of the function of G proteins in the pheromone signaling pathway and identification of a constitutively active GPCR. More recently, I discovered a repeat-induced silencing phenomenon that occurs during mating. I am studying the underlying mechanism and am interested in further exploring the role of silencing pathway in genome defense of C. neoformans.

Publications

Hsueh YP, Shen WC (2005) A homolog of Ste6, the a-factor transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is required for mating but not for monokaryotic fruiting in Cryptococcus neoformans. Eukaryot Cell 4: 147-155.

Hsueh YP, Idnurm A, Heitman J (2006) Recombination hotspots flank the Cryptococcus mating-type locus: implications for the evolution of a fungal sex chromosome. PLoS Genet 2: e184.

Hsueh YP, Xue C, Heitman J (2007) G protein signaling governing cell fate decisions involves opposing Galpha subunits in Cryptococcus neoformans. Mol Biol Cell 18: 3237-3249.

Hsueh YP, Fraser JA, Heitman J (2008) Transitions in sexuality: recapitulation of an ancestral tri- and tetrapolar mating system in Cryptococcus neoformans. Eukaryot Cell 7: 1847-1855.

Xue C, Hsueh YP, Chen L, Heitman J (2008) The RGS protein Crg2 regulates both pheromone and cAMP signalling in Cryptococcus neoformans. Mol Microbiol 70: 379-395.

Hsueh YP, Heitman J (2008) Orchestration of sexual reproduction and virulence by the fungal mating-type locus. Curr Opin Microbiol 11: 517-524.

Xue C, Hsueh YP, Heitman J (2008) Magnificent seven: roles of G protein-coupled receptors in extracellular sensing in fungi. FEMS Microbiol Rev 32: 1010-1032.

Jain N, Li L, Hsueh YP, Guerrero A, Heitman J, Goldman DL, Fries BC (2009) Loss of allergen 1 confers a hypervirulent phenotype that resembles mucoid switch variants of Cryptococcus neoformans. Infect Immun 77: 128-140.

Hsueh YP, Xue C, Heitman J (2009) A constitutively active GPCR governs morphogenic transitions in Cryptococcus neoformans. EMBO J28: 1220-1233.