External Signal-Mediated Overall Role of Hormones/Pheromones in Fungi

The communication via signaling of chemicals is perhaps one of the earliest forms of communications. The most commonly known interspecific chemical substance such as pheromones is often known to engage in the attraction of mates in insects. Hence, the sensing of environmental and interindividual communication via pheromone systems is fundamental to most organisms that help in guiding the interactional behavior, development, and overall physiological activities. Likewise, the role of pheromones is revealed in fungal species in terms of their role in several cellular activities. The role of pheromones in fungi has been largely unexplored. However, there are few fungal hormones/pheromones such as sirenin, trisporic acid, antheridiol, oogoniol, and peptide hormone in yeast that were documented. Further studies are still underway for their significance in the biology of fungi as a whole and implications they might have on the overall ecosystem. In this chapter, we discuss various progresses made in understanding pheromone related to mating in kingdom fungi and the role of pheromone receptors.