FIG 1.

Overview of VeA- and LaeA-mediated regulation in A. nidulans and a schematic presentation of this study. (A) In the dark, VeA enters nucleus with the other velvet protein VelB and forms different velvet complexes, including the VelB/VeA/LaeA heterotrimer, which regulates sexual development and secondary metabolism. VeA is considered a major partner of LaeA, yet LaeA may also interact with other proteins for controlling the production of various secondary metabolites. (B) VeA and LaeA expression during the life cycle: conidia (C), vegetative growth (Vege), asexual (Asex), and sexual (Sex) development. (C) In this study, we have integrated transcriptomic profiling (RNA-seq), chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq), and known protein–protein interaction (PPI; STRING) data to construct the gene regulatory networks.