scholarly journals Fungal cobalamin-independent methionine synthase: Insights from the model organism, Neurospora crassa

2016 ◽  
Vol 590 ◽  
pp. 125-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Wheatley ◽  
Kenneth K.S. Ng ◽  
Manju Kapoor
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Methionine Synthase

Synchronizing the Neurospora crassa circadian clock with the rhythmic environment

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 949-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Price-Lloyd ◽  
M. Elvin ◽  
C. Heintzen
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Circadian Clocks ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Signalling Pathways ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Natural Cycles

The metronomic predictability of the environment has elicited strong selection pressures for the evolution of endogenous circadian clocks. Circadian clocks drive molecular and behavioural rhythms that approximate the 24 h periodicity of our environment. Found almost ubiquitously among phyla, circadian clocks allow preadaptation to rhythms concomitant with the natural cycles of the Earth. Cycles in light intensity and temperature for example act as important cues that couple circadian clocks to the environment via a process called entrainment. This review summarizes our current understanding of the general and molecular principles of entrainment in the model organism Neurospora crassa, a simple eukaryote that has one of the best-studied circadian systems and light-signalling pathways.

scholarly journals Establishment of Neurospora crassa as a model organism for fungal virology

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Honda ◽  
Ana Eusebio-Cope ◽  
Shuhei Miyashita ◽  
Ayumi Yokoyama ◽  
Annisa Aulia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Viral Replication ◽  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Model System ◽  
Double Stranded Rna ◽  
Antiviral Responses ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Host Virus Interactions ◽  
Virus Interactions

Abstract The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa is used as a model organism for genetics, developmental biology and molecular biology. Remarkably, it is not known to host or to be susceptible to infection with any viruses. Here, we identify diverse RNA viruses in N. crassa and other Neurospora species, and show that N. crassa supports the replication of these viruses as well as some viruses from other fungi. Several encapsidated double-stranded RNA viruses and capsid-less positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses can be experimentally introduced into N. crassa protoplasts or spheroplasts. This allowed us to examine viral replication and RNAi-mediated antiviral responses in this organism. We show that viral infection upregulates the transcription of RNAi components, and that Dicer proteins (DCL-1, DCL-2) and an Argonaute (QDE-2) participate in suppression of viral replication. Our study thus establishes N. crassa as a model system for the study of host-virus interactions.

scholarly journals Identification of a PRC2 Accessory Subunit Required for Subtelomeric H3K27 Methylation in Neurospora crassa

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. McNaught ◽  
Elizabeth T. Wiles ◽  
Eric U. Selker
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Transcriptional Repression ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 ◽  
H3k27 Methylation ◽  
Accessory Subunit ◽  
Genomic Regions ◽  
Similarity Searches

ABSTRACT Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) catalyzes methylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) in genomic regions of most eukaryotes and is critical for maintenance of the associated transcriptional repression. However, the mechanisms that shape the distribution of H3K27 methylation, such as recruitment of PRC2 to chromatin and/or stimulation of PRC2 activity, are unclear. Here, using a forward genetic approach in the model organism Neurospora crassa, we identified two alleles of a gene, NCU04278, encoding an unknown PRC2 accessory subunit (PAS). Loss of PAS resulted in losses of H3K27 methylation concentrated near the chromosome ends and derepression of a subset of associated subtelomeric genes. Immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry confirmed reciprocal interactions between PAS and known PRC2 subunits, and sequence similarity searches demonstrated that PAS is not unique to N. crassa. PAS homologs likely influence the distribution of H3K27 methylation and underlying gene repression in a variety of fungal lineages.

scholarly journals The so Locus Is Required for Vegetative Cell Fusion and Postfertilization Events in Neurospora crassa

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 920-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Fleißner ◽  
Sovan Sarkar ◽  
David J. Jacobson ◽  
M. Gabriela Roca ◽  
Nick D. Read ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Cell Fusion ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Female Sterility ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Hyphal Fusion ◽  
Filamentous Ascomycete ◽  
Ascomycete Yeast

ABSTRACT The process of cell fusion is a basic developmental feature found in most eukaryotic organisms. In filamentous fungi, cell fusion events play an important role during both vegetative growth and sexual reproduction. We employ the model organism Neurospora crassa to dissect the mechanisms of cell fusion and cell-cell communication involved in fusion processes. In this study, we characterized a mutant with a mutation in the gene so, which exhibits defects in cell fusion. The so mutant has a pleiotropic phenotype, including shortened aerial hyphae, an altered conidiation pattern, and female sterility. Using light microscopy and heterokaryon tests, the so mutant was shown to possess defects in germling and hyphal fusion. Although so produces conidial anastomosis tubes, so germlings did not home toward wild-type germlings nor were wild-type germlings attracted to so germlings. We employed a trichogyne attraction and fusion assay to determine whether the female sterility of the so mutant is caused by impaired communication or fusion failure between mating partners. so showed no defects in attraction or fusion between mating partners, indicating that so is specific for vegetative hyphal fusion and/or associated communication events. The so gene encodes a protein of unknown function, but which contains a WW domain; WW domains are predicted to be involved in protein-protein interactions. Database searches showed that so was conserved in the genomes of filamentous ascomycete fungi but was absent in ascomycete yeast and basidiomycete species.

scholarly journals Shannon Entropy as a metric for conditional gene expression in Neurospora crassa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail J. Ameri ◽  
Zachary A. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Shannon Entropy ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Transcriptional Responses ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractNeurospora crassa has been an important model organism for molecular biology and genetics for over 60 years. N. crassa has a complex life cycle, with over 28 distinct cell types and is capable of transcriptional responses to many environmental conditions including nutrient availability, temperature, and light. To quantify variation in N. crassa gene expression, we analyzed public expression data from 97 conditions and calculated the Shannon Entropy value for Neurospora’s approximately 11,000 genes. Entropy values can be used to estimate the variability in expression for a single gene over a range of conditions and be used to classify individual genes as constitutive or condition-specific. Shannon entropy has previously been used measure the degree of tissue specificity of multicellular plant or animal genes. We use this metric here to measure variable gene expression in a microbe and provide this information as a resource for the N. crassa research community. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of this approach by using entropy values to identify genes with constitutive expression across a wide range of conditions and to identify genes that are activated exclusively during sexual development.

scholarly journals Shannon entropy as a metric for conditional gene expression in Neurospora crassa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail J Ameri ◽  
Zachary A Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Shannon Entropy ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Transcriptional Responses ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Neurospora crassa has been an important model organism for molecular biology and genetics for over 60 years. Neurospora crassa has a complex life cycle, with over 28 distinct cell types and is capable of transcriptional responses to many environmental conditions including nutrient availability, temperature, and light. To quantify variation in N. crassa gene expression, we analyzed public expression data from 97 conditions and calculated the Shannon Entropy value for Neurospora’s approximately 11,000 genes. Entropy values can be used to estimate the variability in expression for a single gene over a range of conditions and be used to classify individual genes as constitutive or condition-specific. Shannon entropy has previously been used measure the degree of tissue specificity of multicellular plant or animal genes. We use this metric here to measure variable gene expression in a microbe and provide this information as a resource for the N. crassa research community. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of this approach by using entropy values to identify genes with constitutive expression across a wide range of conditions and to identify genes that are activated exclusively during sexual development.

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