The ability to sense prey-derived cues is essential for predatory lifestyles. Under low-nutrient conditions, Arthrobotrys oligospora and other nematode-trapping fungi develop dedicated structures for nematode capture when exposed to nematode-derived cues, including a conserved family of pheromones, the ascarosides. A. oligospora senses ascarosides via conserved MAPK and cAMP–PKA pathways; however, the upstream receptors remain unknown. Here, using genomic, transcriptomic and functional analyses, we identified two families of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) involved in sensing distinct nematode-derived cues. GPCRs homologous to yeast glucose receptors are required for ascaroside sensing, whereas Pth11-like GPCRs contribute to ascaroside-independent nematode sensing. Both GPCR classes activate conserved cAMP–PKA signalling to trigger trap development. This work demonstrates that predatory fungi use multiple GPCRs to sense several distinct nematode-derived cues for prey recognition and to enable a switch to a predatory lifestyle. Identification of these receptors reveals the molecular mechanisms of cross-kingdom communication via conserved pheromones also sensed by plants and animals.

感知猎物信号的能力对于掠夺性生活方式至关重要。在低营养条件下，节孢寡孢菌和其他捕获线虫的真菌在暴露于线虫衍生的线索（包括保守的信息素家族蛔苷）时，会形成用于捕获线虫的专用结构。A. 少孢菌通过保守的 MAPK 和 cAMP-PKA 途径感知蛔苷；然而，上游受体仍然未知。在这里，通过基因组、转录组和功能分析，我们鉴定了两个参与感知不同线虫来源线索的 G 蛋白偶联受体 (GPCR) 家族。蛔苷感应需要与酵母葡萄糖受体同源的 GPCR，而 Pth11 样 GPCR 有助于不依赖蛔苷的线虫感应。两种 GPCR 类别均激活保守的 cAMP-PKA 信号传导以触发陷阱的形成。这项工作表明，掠食性真菌使用多个 GPCR 来感知几种不同的线虫衍生线索，以识别猎物，并实现向掠食性生活方式的转变。这些受体的识别揭示了通过植物和动物也能感知的保守信息素进行跨界交流的分子机制。