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. 2009 Jun 19;5(6):e1000526. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1000526

Figure 1. A dispersed septal plug (Woronin body [WB]) may facilitate rapid cytoplasmic streaming and hyphal growth in N. crassa.

Figure 1

(A) Legend illustrates the ancestral form of Leashin found in most filamentous ascomycetes and the split versions (LAH-1 and LAH-2) found in N. crassa. (B) Model for localization of Woronin bodies in the majority of filamentous ascomycetes. Note that LAH connects Woronin bodies to the septal pore rim. In these ascomycetes, cytoplasmic streaming occurs at slow rates, and hyphal diameters and growth rates are reduced relative to N. crassa. (C) Model for localization of Woronin bodies in the filamentous ascomycetes N. crassa. Note that LAH-1 localizes the Woronin body to the cell cortex and not the septal pore rim; however, LAH-2, lacking the large Woronin body complex, does localize to the septal pore rim. The double-headed arrow indicates the ability of cytoplasm to flow through septal pores in an unimpeded manner. Ng et al. suggest that this modification of LAH tethering protein structure and function may have been a determining event in allowing N. crassa to evolve extreme rates of cytoplasmic streaming and hyphal growth. This figure was adapted from Figure 7 of [10].