Serine/threonine protein kinases and phosphatases in filamentious fungi

Protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are one of the central curren cies by which living cells perceive and respond to environmental cues. A nu mber of fundamental processes in fungi such as the cell cycle, transcriptio n, and mating have been shown to require protein phosphorylation. The analy sis of protein kinases and phosphatases in filamentous fungi is in its infa ncy; however, it has already become clear that kinases and phosphatases are likely to be important mediators of fungal proliferation and development a s well as signal transduction and infection-related morphogenesis, In this review, we describe, summarize, and consider the rapidly expanding field of protein phosphorylation/ dephosphorylation in various aspects of filamento us fungal growth and development. (C) 1999 Academic Press.