Scholars@Duke
Joseph Heitman

Joseph Heitman

Chair, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Duke Box 3546, Durham, NC 27710
322 Clin & Res Labs, Durham, NC 27710

Scholarly Works - Preprints

Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase promotes thermotolerance by governing glycolytic flux in Cryptococcus deneoformans.

Preprint · July 20, 2026 Growth at physiologically relevant temperatures is essential for fungal pathogenesis and is controlled by several cellular factors. The evolution of fungal thermotolerance is concerning as warming environments may promote the emergence of new pathogens. Tr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Distinct STRIPAK subunits drive conserved and subunit-specific signaling programs in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Preprint · July 15, 2026 The striatin-interacting phosphatase and kinase (STRIPAK) complex is a conserved PP2A-associated signaling hub that integrates kinase-phosphatase networks, yet its roles in human fungal pathogens remain poorly defined. Here, we dissected STRIPAK functions ... Full text Link to item Cite

Host skin lipids trigger MAT-dependent mating, pathogenic hyphal growth, and parasexual reproduction of Malassezia furfur

Preprint · 2026 AbstractThe lipophilic yeast genus Malassezia dominates the human skin mycobiome and, while typically commensal, is associated with skin disorders in which hyphal cells are frequently observed. However, the mechanisms underlying hyphal ... Full text Cite

Dissecting the homeodomain MAT locus and engineering novel tripolar and bipolar mating systems in Cryptococcus amylolentus.

Preprint · November 15, 2025 Sex in fungi is governed by the mating-type (MAT) locus, which exists as bipolar, pseudobipolar, or tetrapolar systems. The significance and impact of MAT on sexual reproduction, however, remain understudied. Furthermore, the evolution of fungal MAT loci s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genomic and phenotypic insights into the expanding phylogenetic landscape of the Cryptococcus genus.

Preprint · October 28, 2025 The fungal genus Cryptococcus includes several life-threatening human pathogens as well as diverse saprobic species whose genome architecture, ecology, and evolutionary history remain less well characterized. Understanding how some lineages evolved into ma ... Full text Link to item Cite

Whole-chromosome duplications drive antimicrobial resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus.

Preprint · September 29, 2025 Aneuploidy causes genome plasticity and enables adaptive responses that confer drug resistance in eukaryotes ranging from fungal pathogens to human cancer cells. Aspergillus fumigatus is a soil-resident fungus and the most common cause of invasive fungal i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Tracing the evolution and genomic dynamics of mating-type loci in Cryptococcus pathogens and closely related species.

Preprint · August 30, 2025 Sexual reproduction in basidiomycete fungi is governed by MAT loci (P/R and HD), which exhibit remarkable evolutionary plasticity, characterized by expansions, rearrangements, and gene losses often associated with mating system transitions. The sister gene ... Full text Link to item Cite

Homeodomain protein Sxi1α independently controls cell-cell fusion and gene expression during sexual reproduction in Cryptococcus deneoformans.

Preprint · August 27, 2025 Sex-specific homeodomain (HD) proteins are key regulators of cell identity and sexual development in fungi, typically functioning as heterodimers to govern transcription. In the human fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus deneoformans, ... Full text Link to item Cite

Thermoregulation network governing virulence of a critical human fungal pathogen.

Preprint · August 18, 2025 Cryptococcus neoformans is an environmental fungal pathogen that causes meningoencephalitis in humans, requiring thermal adaptation to human body temperature. We employed several orthogonal complementary approaches to elucidate molecular mechanisms of calc ... Full text Link to item Cite