REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiotechnology
This article is part of the Research TopicMetabolic Engineering for the Production of Bioactive CompoundsView all 8 articles
The global regulator LaeA controls expression of genes involved in diverse primary and secondary metabolites biosynthesis and their secretion in fungi
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of León, León, Spain
- 2Instituto de Biotecnologia de Leon, León, Spain
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LaeA is a global transcriptional regulator that differentially modulates expression of an impressive variety of secondary metabolite gene clusters in fungi, acting as a positive regulator fo some while repressing others. This regulator controls the production of fungal cellulolytic/ligninolytic enzymes and citric acid secretion in Ascomycetes. Also, it regulates the biosynthesis of siderophores and the antitumor agent ganoderic acid in Basidiomycetes. This regulator contains an S-adenosylmethionine-binding motif, suggesting a function as a methyltransferase, although its specific methylation substrate has not been identified. LaeA is a core component of the velvet complex, a five-membered proteins assembly that regulates fungal responses to light and environmental stresses. Within this complex, LaeA interacts with VeA, VosA and other velvet components forming dimers and trimers and the complexes bind to an eleven-nucleotide consensus sequence in the promoter of target genes (Ahmed et al., 2013). This article reviews current knowledge of LaeA and VeA mediated regulation, discusses outstanding challenges in the field, and highlights its potential in optimizing fungal metabolism, its biotechnological applications and its role in the control of fungal infections.
Keywords: Fungi, LaeA, Metabolites secretion, pathogenicity, secondary metabolites, Siderophores, VeA, Velvet complex
Received: 09 Dec 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Martin, Kosalková and Liras. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Juan Francisco Martin
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