Schiesaro, G.; Undabarrena, A.; Sorensen, M. B.; Wäneskog, M.; Jönsson, M.; Tenente, R.; Rago, D.; Deichmann, M.; Hoch-Schneider, E.; Kandasamy, V.; Özdemir, E.; Cruz-Morales, P.; Frimurer, T. M.; Clemmensen, L. K. H.; Jensen, M. K.; Jensen, E. D.

Fungi are essential members of natural ecosystems and industrial biotechnology, yet they also pose significant risks to crops and human health. To thrive in microbial consortia a fungal organism must integrate the perception of both inter- and intra-species signals from the environment. Here we present a Yeast Mating Platform (YeMaP) to decipher cell-cell communication between fungal G protein-coupled receptors and short pheromone peptides. We use YeMaP to investigate the influence of abiotic factors on cell-cell communication in multiplex and for high-throughput screening of natural and synthetic pheromones to identify peptides with either improved potency or antagonism action. Additionally, we demonstrate that the plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum possesses a robust cell-cell communication mechanism, which can, however, be disrupted by supplementing pheromones to promote the communication of non-pathogenic organisms. Taken together, we envision that YeMaP could be applied to uncover the complexity of fungal communication and lead the application of future crop pest- and disease-management programs.