ABSTRACT
Spore formation is a common mechanism among most fungi to reproduce, to spread in the environment, or to survive unfavorable conditions. For many pathogenic fungi, such as Aspergillus fumigatus or rust fungi spores are the propagule to infect host organisms. In addition, every year thousands of tons of stored agricultural products are contaminated with spores of saprophytic fungi, which cause dramatic losses of feed and food. Therefore, the understanding of sporulation is an important issue with the aim to control spreading of fungi and to prevent infections. In addition, differentiation of reproductive structures in filamentous fungi is a fascinating process. The principal question is how a complex structure develops from an omnipotent vegetative cell. Since the end product of A. nidulans asexual development is rather simple, this mold serves as an excellent model to unravel the basic processes of temporal and spatial differential gene expression.
