Initiation of development requires differential gene expression and metabolic adaptations. Here we show in the nematode-trapping fungus, Arthrobotrys flagrans, that both are achieved through a dual-function G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). A. flagrans develops adhesive traps and recognizes its prey, Caenorhabditis elegans, through nematode-specific pheromones (ascarosides). Gene-expression analyses revealed that ascarosides activate the fungal GPCR, GprC, at the plasma membrane and together with the G-protein alpha subunit GasA, reprograms the cell. However, GprC and GasA also reside in mitochondria and boost respiration. This dual localization of GprC in A. flagrans resembles the localization of the cannabinoid receptor CB1 in humans. The C. elegans ascaroside-sensing GPCR, SRBC66 and GPCRs of many fungi are also predicted for dual localization, suggesting broad evolutionary conservation. An SRBC64/66-GprC chimaeric protein was functional in A. flagrans, and C. elegans SRBC64/66 and DAF38 share ascaroside-binding sites with the fungal GprC receptor, suggesting 400-million-year convergent evolution.

发育的启动需要差异基因表达和代谢适应。在这里，我们在捕获线虫的真菌Arthrobotrys flagrans中证明，这两者都是通过双功能 G 蛋白偶联受体 (GPCR) 实现的。 A. flagrans会形成粘性陷阱，并通过线虫特异性信息素（蛔苷）识别其猎物秀丽隐杆线虫。基因表达分析表明，蛔苷可激活质膜上的真菌 GPCR、GprC，并与 G 蛋白 α 亚基 GasA 一起重新编程细胞。然而，GprC 和 GasA 也驻留在线粒体中并促进呼吸。 GprC 在A. flagrans中的双重定位类似于人类大麻素受体 CB1 的定位。线虫蛔苷感应 GPCR、SRBC66 和许多真菌的 GPCR 也被预测为双重定位，这表明广泛的进化保守性。 SRBC64/66-GprC 嵌合蛋白在A. flagrans中具有功能，而秀丽隐杆线虫 SRBC64/66 和 DAF38 与真菌 GprC 受体共享蛔苷结合位点，这表明 4 亿年的趋同进化。