Scholars@Duke
Sheng Sun

Sheng Sun

Associate Research Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
sheng.sun@duke.edu
213 Research Drive, CARL Building Room 320, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710

Scholarly Works - Preprints

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

The pheromone and pheromone receptor mating-type locus is involved in controlling uniparental mitochondrial inheritance in Cryptococcus

Preprint · 2019 ABSTRACT Mitochondria are inherited uniparentally during sexual reproduction in the majority of eukaryotic species studied, including humans, mice, nematodes, as well as many fungal species. Mitochondrial uniparental inheritance (mito-UPI) could ... Full text Cite