Cellular effects of misscheduled brlA, abaA, and wetA expression in Aspergillus nidulans

1994 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 1035-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy C. Sewall
Keyword(s):  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Regulatory Pathway ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Cellular Effects ◽  
Asexual Sporulation ◽  
Anomalous Deposition ◽  
Hyphal Apex

Asexual sporulation in the fungus Aspergillus nidulans is controlled, in part, by a central regulatory pathway composed of the brlA, abaA, and wetA genes. The coding region of each of these genes was fused, in frame, to the threonine-inducible alcohol dehydrogenase promoter then stably incorporated into the A. nidulans genome at the argB locus. Misscheduled expression of each of these developmental genes interfered with normal growth and sporulation. Expression of brlA or abaA terminated vegetative growth and led to anomalous deposition of wall material at the hyphal apex and septa. brlA alone induced the formation of phialide-like structures and the production of conidia.Key words: Aspergillus nidulans, conidiogenesis, sporulation, gene regulation.

scholarly journals Aspergillus nidulans wetA activates spore-specific gene expression.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Marshall ◽  
W E Timberlake
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Gene Activation ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Vegetative Cells ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Late Stages

The Aspergillus nidulans wetA gene is required for synthesis of cell wall layers that make asexual spores (conidia) impermeable. In wetA mutant strains, conidia take up water and autolyze rather than undergoing the final stages of maturation. wetA is activated during conidiogenesis by sequential expression of the brlA and abaA regulatory genes. To determine whether wetA regulates expression of other sporulation-specific genes, its coding region was fused to a nutritionally regulated promoter that permits gene activation in vegetative cells (hyphae) under conditions that suppress conidiation. Expression of wetA in hyphae inhibited growth and caused excessive branching. It did not lead to activation of brlA or abaA but did cause accumulation of transcripts from genes that are normally expressed specifically during the late stages of conidiation and whose mRNAs are stored in mature spores. Thus, wetA directly or indirectly regulates expression of some spore-specific genes. At least one gene (wA), whose mRNA does not occur in spores but rather accumulates in the sporogenous phialide cells, was activated by wetA, suggesting that wetA may have a regulatory function in these cells as well as in spores. We propose that wetA is responsible for activating a set of genes whose products make up the final two conidial wall layers or direct their assembly and through this activity is responsible for acquisition of spore dormancy.

scholarly journals Putative PmrA and PmcA are important for normal growth, morphogenesis and cell wall integrity, but not for viability in Aspergillus nidulans

Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (11) ◽  
pp. 2387-2395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hechun Jiang ◽  
Feifei Liu ◽  
Shizhu Zhang ◽  
Ling Lu
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Cell Wall Integrity ◽  
Plasma Membrane Atpase ◽  
Growth Defects ◽  
Double Deletion ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
P Type

P-type Ca2+-transporting ATPases are Ca2+ pumps, extruding cytosolic Ca2+ to the extracellular environment or the intracellular Ca2+ store lumens. In budding yeast, Pmr1 (plasma membrane ATPase related), and Pmc1 (plasma membrane calcium-ATPase) cannot be deleted simultaneously for it to survive in standard medium. Here, we deleted two putative Ca2+ pumps, designated AnPmrA and AnPmcA, from Aspergillus nidulans, and obtained the mutants ΔanpmrA and ΔanpmcA, respectively. Then, using ΔanpmrA as the starting strain, the promoter of its anpmcA was replaced with the alcA promoter to secure the mutant ΔanpmrAalcApmcA or its anpmcA was deleted completely to produce the mutant ΔanpmrAΔpmcA. Different from the case in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, double deletion of anpmrA and anpmcA was not lethal in A. nidulans. In addition, deletion of anpmrA and/or anpmcA had produced growth defects, although overexpression of AnPmc1 in ΔanpmrAalcApmcA could not restore the growth defects that resulted from the loss of AnPmrA. Moreover, we found AnPmrA was indispensable for maintenance of normal morphogenesis, especially in low-Ca2+/Mn2+ environments. Thus, our findings suggest AnPmrA and AnPmcA might play important roles in growth, morphogenesis and cell wall integrity in A. nidulans in a different way from that in yeasts.

scholarly journals Suppressor Mutations Bypass the Requirement of fluG for Asexual Sporulation and Sterigmatocystin Production in Aspergillus nidulans

Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (3) ◽  
pp. 1083-1093
Author(s):  
Jeong-Ah Seo ◽  
Yajun Guan ◽  
Jae-Hyuk Yu
Keyword(s):  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dominant Mutation ◽  
Site Mutation ◽  
Asexual Sporulation ◽  
Dominant Negative Mutation ◽  
Suppressor Mutations ◽  
Early Developmental

Abstract Asexual sporulation (conidiation) in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans requires the early developmental activator fluG. Loss of fluG results in the blockage of both conidiation and production of the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin (ST). To investigate molecular mechanisms of fluG-dependent developmental activation, 40 suppressors of fluG (SFGs) that conidiate without fluG have been isolated and characterized. Genetic analyses showed that an individual suppression is caused by a single second-site mutation, and that all sfg mutations but one are recessive. Pairwise meiotic crosses grouped mutations to four loci, 31 of them to sfgA, 6 of them to sfgB, and 1 each to sfgC and sfgD, respectively. The only dominant mutation, sfgA38, also mapped to the sfgA locus, suggesting a dominant negative mutation. Thirteen sfgA and 1 sfgC mutants elaborated conidiophores in liquid submerged culture, indicating that loss of either of these gene functions not only bypasses fluG function but also results in hyperactive conidiation. While sfg mutants show varying levels of restored conidiation, all recovered the ability to produce ST at near wild-type levels. The fact that at least four loci are defined by recessive sfg mutations indicates that multiple genes negatively regulate conidiation downstream of fluG and that the activity of fluG is required to remove such repressive effects.

Characterization of the Role of the FluG Protein in Asexual Development of Aspergillus nidulans

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 158 (3) ◽  
pp. 1027-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cletus A D'Souza ◽  
Bee Na Lee ◽  
Thomas H Adams
Keyword(s):  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Asexual Development ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Significant Similarity ◽  
Developmental Defects ◽  
Asexual Sporulation ◽  
Type Strains

Abstract We showed previously that a ΔfluG mutation results in a block in Aspergillus nidulans asexual sporulation and that overexpression of fluG activates sporulation in liquid-submerged culture, a condition that does not normally support sporulation of wild-type strains. Here we demonstrate that the entire N-terminal region of FluG (∼400 amino acids) can be deleted without affecting sporulation, indicating that FluG activity resides in the C-terminal half of the protein, which bears significant similarity with GSI-type glutamine synthetases. While FluG has no apparent role in glutamine biosynthesis, we propose that it has an enzymatic role in sporulation factor production. We also describe the isolation of dominant suppressors of ΔfluG(dsg) that should identify components acting downstream of FluG and thereby define the function of FluG in sporulation. The dsgA1 mutation also suppresses the developmental defects resulting from ΔflbA and dominant activating fadA mutations, which both cause constitutive induction of the mycelial proliferation pathway. However, dsgA1 does not suppress the negative influence of these mutations on production of the aflatoxin precursor, sterigmatocystin, indicating that dsgA1 is specific for asexual development. Taken together, our studies define dsgA as a novel component of the asexual sporulation pathway.

The 5'-flanking region of the mouse thymidylate synthase gene is necessary but not sufficient for normal regulation in growth-stimulated cells

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1023-1029
Author(s):  
Y Li ◽  
D Li ◽  
K Osborn ◽  
L F Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Thymidylate Synthase ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Simian Virus 40 ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Housekeeping Gene ◽  
Simian Virus ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Proliferating Cells ◽  
Early Promoter

The thymidylate synthase (TS) gene is a housekeeping gene that is expressed at much higher levels in proliferating cells than in quiescent cells. We have studied the role of the TS 5'-flanking sequences in regulating the level of expression of the mouse TS gene. A variety of chimeric TS minigenes that contain different promoters linked either to the TS coding region (with or without introns) or to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) coding region were constructed. The activities of the minigenes were determined by transfecting them into cultured cells and measuring the levels of mRNA or enzyme derived from the chimeric genes. We found that the mouse TS promoter had about the same strength as the simian virus 40 early promoter but was significantly stronger than the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase promoter. Stable transfection studies revealed that minigenes consisting of the normal TS promoter (extending to -1 kb), coding region, and polyadenylation signal were regulated normally in response to growth stimulation. When the TS promoter was replaced by the simian virus 40 early promoter or by a TS promoter that retained only 60 nucleotides upstream of the first transcriptional start site, the minigene was expressed constitutively. A minigene consisting of the TS promoter (extending to -1 kb) linked to the CAT coding region was also expressed constitutively. These observations indicate that sequences upstream of the transcriptional start sites of the TS gene are necessary, although not sufficient, for normal growth-regulated expression of the mouse TS gene.

scholarly journals Distinct expression of select and transcriptome-wide isolated 3’UTRs suggests critical roles in development and transition states

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoyi Ji ◽  
Ze Yang ◽  
Leonardi Gozali ◽  
Thomas Kenney ◽  
Arif Kocabas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Ontology ◽  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Rna Binding Proteins ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Proliferating Cells ◽  
Coding Regions ◽  
Micro Rnas

AbstractMature mRNA molecules are typically considered to be comprised of a 5’UTR, a 3’UTR and a coding region (CDS), all attached until degradation. Unexpectedly, however, there have been multiple recent reports of widespread differential expression of mRNA 3’UTRs and their cognate coding regions, resulting in the expression of isolated 3’UTRs (i3’UTRs); these i3’UTRs can be highly expressed, often in reciprocal patterns to their cognate CDS. Similar to the role of other lncRNAs, isolated 3’UTRs are likely to play an important role in gene regulation but little is known about the contexts in which they are deployed. To begin to parse the functions of i3’UTRs, here we carry out in vitro, in vivo and in silico analyses of differential 3’UTR/CDS mRNA ratio usage across tissues, development and cell state changes both for a select list of developmentally important genes as well as through unbiased transcriptome-wide analyses. Across two developmental paradigms we find a distinct switch from high i3’UTR expression of stem cell related genes in proliferating cells compared to newly differentiated cells. Our unbiased transcriptome analysis across multiple gene sets shows that regardless of tissue, genes with high 3’UTR to CDS ratios belong predominantly to gene ontology categories related to cell-type specific functions while in contrast, the gene ontology categories of genes with low 3’UTR to CDS ratios are similar and relate to common cellular functions. In addition to these specific findings our data provide critical information from which detailed hypotheses for individual i3’UTRs can be tested-with a common theme that i3’UTRs appear poised to regulate cell-specific gene expression and state.Significance StatementThe widespread existence and expression of mRNA 3’ untranslated sequences in the absence of their cognate coding regions (called isolated 3’UTRs or i3’UTRs) opens up considerable avenues for gene regulation not previously envisioned. Each isolated 3’UTR may still bind and interact with micro RNAs, RNA binding proteins as well as other nucleic acid sequences, all in the absence or low levels of cognate protein production. Here we document the expression, localization and regulation of i3’UTRs both within particular biological systems as well as across the transcriptome. As this is an entirely new area of experimental investigation these early studies are seminal to this burgeoning field.

scholarly journals Asexual Sporulation in Aspergillus nidulans

1998 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Adams ◽  
Jenny K. Wieser ◽  
Jae-Hyuk Yu
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Reproductive Mode ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Intrinsic Signals ◽  
Regulatory Interactions ◽  
Asexual Sporulation ◽  
Extracellular Signal ◽  
Sporulation Initiation ◽  
Fungal Life Cycle

SUMMARY The formation of mitotically derived spores, called conidia, is a common reproductive mode in filamentous fungi, particularly among the large fungal class Ascomycetes. Asexual sporulation strategies are nearly as varied as fungal species; however, the formation of conidiophores, specialized multicellular reproductive structures, by the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans has emerged as the leading model for understanding the mechanisms that control fungal sporulation. Initiation of A. nidulans conidipohore formation can occur either as a programmed event in the life cycle in response to intrinsic signals or to environmental stresses such as nutrient deprivation. In either case, a development-specific set of transcription factors is activated and these control the expression of each other as well as genes required for conidiophore morphogenesis. Recent progress has identified many of the earliest-acting genes needed for initiating conidiophore development and shown that there are at least two antagonistic signaling pathways that control this process. One pathway is modulated by a heterotrimeric G protein that when activated stimulates growth and represses both asexual and sexual sporulation as well as production of the toxic secondary metabolite, sterigmatocystin. The second pathway apparently requires an extracellular signal to induce sporulation-specific events and to direct the inactivation of the first pathway, removing developmental repression. A working model is presented in which the regulatory interactions between these two pathways during the fungal life cycle determine whether cells grow or develop.

A putative APSES transcription factor is necessary for normal growth and development of Aspergillus nidulans

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 800-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Yeon Lee ◽  
Lee-Han Kim ◽  
Ha-Eun Kim ◽  
Jae-Sin Park ◽  
Kap-Hoon Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Normal Growth

scholarly journals Developmental regulators FlbE/D orchestrate the polarity site-to-nucleus dynamics of the fungal bZIP FlbB

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainara Otamendi ◽  
Elixabet Perez-de-Nanclares-Arregi ◽  
Elixabet Oiartzabal ◽  
Marc S. Cortese ◽  
Eduardo A. Espeso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Nuclear Accumulation ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Developmental Transitions ◽  
Viral Peptide ◽  
Lxxll Motif ◽  
Polarized Cells ◽  
Transduction Mechanisms

AbstractPermanently polarized cells have developed transduction mechanisms linking polarity-sites with gene regulation in the nucleus. In neurons, one mechanism is based on long-distance retrograde migration of transcription factors (TFs).Aspergillus nidulansFlbB is the only known fungal TF shown to migrate retrogradely to nuclei from the polarized region of fungal cells known as hyphae. There, FlbB controls developmental transitions by triggering the production of asexual multicellular structures. FlbB dynamics in hyphae is orchestrated by regulators FlbE and FlbD. At least three FlbE domains are involved in the acropetal transport of FlbB, with a final MyoE/actin filament-dependent step from the subapex to the apex. Experiments employing a T2A viral peptide-containing chimera (FlbE::mRFP::T2A::FlbB::GFP) suggest that apical FlbB/FlbE interaction is inhibited in order to initiate a dynein-dependent FlbB transport to nuclei. FlbD controls the nuclear accumulation of FlbB through a cMyb domain and a C-terminal LxxLL motif. Overall, results elucidate a highly dynamic pattern of FlbB interactions, which enable timely developmental induction. Furthermore, this system establishes a reference for TF-based long-distance signaling in permanently polarized cells.

scholarly journals Identification of the promoter region involved in the autoregulation of the transcriptional activator ALCR in Aspergillus nidulans

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1932-1939
Author(s):  
P Kulmburg ◽  
D Sequeval ◽  
F Lenouvel ◽  
M Mathieu ◽  
B Felenbok
Keyword(s):  
Dna Binding ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Transcriptional Activator ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Affinity Binding ◽  
Coding Region

The ALCR protein is the transcriptional activator of the ethanol utilization pathway in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. This activator belongs to a family of fungal proteins having a conserved DNA-binding domain containing six cysteines (C6 class) with some striking features. At variance with other motifs of this class, the binding domain of ALCR is strongly asymmetrical in relation to the central cysteines and moreover was predicted to adopt a helix-turn-helix structure. This domain of ALCR was synthesized in Escherichia coli and purified as a glutathione-S-transferase fusion protein. Our results show that the transcriptional activator ALCR is a DNA-binding protein. The DNA-binding motif contains zinc that is necessary for the specific DNA binding. The ALCR peptide binds upstream of the coding region of alcR to two specific targets with different affinities that are characterized by a conserved 5-nucleotide core, 5'-CCGCA-3' (or its reverse). One site, the lower-affinity binding site, is a direct repeat, and the other, the higher-affinity binding site, is a palindromic sequence with dyad symmetry. Therefore, the ALCR binding protein is able to recognize one DNA sequence in two different configurations. An alcR mutant obtained by deletion of the two specific targets in the cis-acting region of the alcR gene is unable to grow on ethanol and does not express any alcohol dehydrogenase activity. These results demonstrate that the binding sites are in vivo functional targets (UASalc) for the ALCR protein in A. nidulans. They corroborate prior evidence that alcR is autoregulated.

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