The molecular mechanisms of conidial germination

The asexual spore, or conidium, is critical in the life cycle of many fungi because it is the primary means for dispersion and serves as a 'safe house ' for the fungal genome in adverse environmental conditions. This review di scusses the physiological process of germination, conidial adhesion and ini tiation of protein synthesis and also the regulatory pathways used to activ ate conidial germination. These include Ca2+/ calmodulin-mediated signaling , the cyclic AMP/protein kinase A and the ras/mitogen-activated protein kin ase pathways, insights into the process of conidial germination will increa se our understanding of the mechanisms of dormancy and sensing of environme ntal stimuli, and permit identification of novel therapeutic targets for th e treatment of spore-borne fungal infections in plants and animals. (C) 200 1 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.