Delta-aminolaevulinate dehydratase, the regulatory enzyme of the haem-biosynthetic pathway in Neurospora crassa.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Muthukrishnan S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1174039 | biostudies-other | 1972 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Similar Datasets
Project description:Delta-aminolaevulinate dehydratase, the second and rate-limiting enzyme of the haem-biosynthetic pathway, was purified 300-fold from induced cultures of Neurospora crassa. The native enzyme has a mol.wt. of about 350000, whereas the salt-treated enzyme after incubation at 37 degrees C for 10 min has a mol.wt. of about 232000. The mol.wt. of the subunit is about 38000. Antibodies to the purified enzyme were raised in rabbits. By using radiolabelling and immunoprecipitation techniques it was shown that addition of iron and laevulinate to iron-deficient cultures brings about a significant increase in the synthesis of the enzyme, and protoporphyrin, the penultimate end product of the pathway, represses enzyme synthesis.
| S-EPMC1162178 | biostudies-other
Project description:Sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) are conserved from yeast to mammalian cells and function in the regulation of sterol homeostasis. In fungi, the SREBP pathway has been implicated in the adaptation to hypoxia and in virulence. In Neurospora crassa and Trichoderma reesei, the SREBP pathway also negatively regulates protein secretion under lignocellulolytic conditions. Here we utilized global transcriptional profiling combined with genetic and physiological analyses to address the regulatory link between the SREBP pathway and protein secretion in N. crassa Our results demonstrated that the function of the SREBP pathway in ergosterol biosynthesis and adaptation to hypoxia was conserved in N. crassa Under lignocellulolytic conditions, the SREBP pathway was highly activated, resulting in the reduced expression of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases, which require molecular oxygen for catalytic activity. Additionally, activation of the SREBP pathway under lignocellulolytic conditions repressed a set of genes predicted to be involved in the endoplasmic reticulum stress response. Here we show that the inability of a hac-1 mutant, which bears a deletion of the major regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR), to efficiently produce cellulases and utilize cellulose was suppressed by mutations in the SREBP pathway. The analyses presented here demonstrated new SREBP pathway functions, including linkages to the UPR, and provide new clues for genetic engineering of filamentous fungi to improve their production of extracellular proteins.IMPORTANCE The role of SREBP transcription factors in the regulation of sterol biosynthesis is conserved from humans to yeast. In filamentous fungi, this pathway regulates the secretion of lignocellulolytic enzymes during plant biomass deconstruction. Here we show that the SREBP pathway in Neurospora crassa regulates the production of specific cellulases, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases that utilize molecular oxygen. Via global transcriptional profile and genetic analyses, a relationship between the SREBP pathway and the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway was revealed, suggesting a regulatory interplay of these two pathways in the trafficking of plant biomass-degrading enzymes. These findings have implications for our understanding of the cross talk of the SREBP and UPR pathways in other organisms and will guide the rational engineering of fungal strains to improve cellulolytic enzyme production.
| S-EPMC5395666 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Transcription factors (TFs) are key nodes of regulatory networks in eukaryotic organisms, including filamentous fungi such as Neurospora crassa. The 178 predicted DNA-binding TFs in N. crassa are distributed primarily among six gene families, which represent an ancient expansion in filamentous ascomycete genomes; 98 TF genes show detectable expression levels during vegetative growth of N. crassa, including 35 that show a significant difference in expression level between hyphae at the periphery versus hyphae in the interior of a colony. Regulatory networks within a species genome include paralogous TFs and their respective target genes (TF regulon). To investigate TF network evolution in N. crassa, we focused on the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) TF family, which contains nine members. We performed baseline transcriptional profiling during vegetative growth of the wild-type and seven isogenic, viable bZIP deletion mutants. We further characterized the regulatory network of one member of the bZIP family, NCU03905. NCU03905 encodes an Ap1-like protein (NcAp-1), which is involved in resistance to multiple stress responses, including oxidative and heavy metal stress. Relocalization of NcAp-1 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus was associated with exposure to stress. A comparison of the NcAp-1 regulon with Ap1-like regulons in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus showed both conservation and divergence. These data indicate how N. crassa responds to stress and provide information on pathway evolution.
| S-EPMC3081083 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Ergothioneine is a histidine thiol derivative. Its mycobacterial biosynthetic pathway has five steps (EgtA-E catalysis) with two novel reactions: a mononuclear nonheme iron enzyme (EgtB) catalyzed oxidative C-S bond formation and a PLP-mediated C-S lyase (EgtE) reaction. Our bioinformatic and biochemical analyses indicate that the fungus Neurospora crassa has a more concise ergothioneine biosynthetic pathway because its nonheme iron enzyme, Egt1, makes use of cysteine instead of γ-Glu-Cys as the substrate. Such a change of substrate preference eliminates the competition between ergothioneine and glutathione biosyntheses. In addition, we have identified the N. crassa C-S lyase (NCU11365) and reconstituted its activity in vitro, which makes the future ergothioneine production through metabolic engineering feasible.
| S-EPMC4201327 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Hemicellulose, the second most abundant plant biomass fraction after cellulose, is widely viewed as a potential substrate for the production of liquid fuels and other value-added materials. Degradation of hemicellulose by filamentous fungi requires production of many different enzymes, which are induced by biopolymers or its derivatives and regulated mainly at the transcriptional level through transcription factors (TFs). Neurospora crassa, a model filamentous fungus, expresses and secretes enzymes required for plant cell wall deconstruction. To better understand genes specifically associated with degradation of hemicellulose, we applied secretome and transcriptome analysis to N. crassa grown on beechwood xylan. We identified 34 secreted proteins and 353 genes with elevated transcription on xylan. The xylanolytic phenotype of strains with deletions in genes identified from the secretome and transcriptome analysis of the wild type was assessed, revealing functions for known and unknown proteins associated with hemicellulose degradation. By evaluating phenotypes of strains containing deletions of predicted TF genes in N. crassa, we identified a TF (XLR-1; xylan degradation regulator 1) essential for hemicellulose degradation that is an ortholog to XlnR/XYR1 in Aspergillus and Trichoderma species, respectively, a major transcriptional regulator of genes encoding both cellulases and hemicellulases. Deletion of xlr-1 in N. crassa abolished growth on xylan and xylose, but growth on cellulose and cellulolytic activity were only slightly affected. To determine the regulatory mechanisms for hemicellulose degradation, we explored the transcriptional regulon of XLR-1 under xylose, xylanolytic, and cellulolytic conditions. XLR-1 regulated only some predicted hemicellulase genes in N. crassa and was required for a full induction of several cellulase genes. Hemicellulase gene expression was induced by a combination of release from carbon catabolite repression (CCR) and induction. This systematic analysis illustrates the similarities and differences in regulation of hemicellulose degradation among filamentous fungi.
| S-EPMC3318299 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A gene named zenc, encoding a zearalenone lactonase from Neurospora crassa, was over-expressed in Pichia pastoris. The zenc gene is 888-bp in length, encoding a 295-residue polypeptide. Purified ZENC has maximal activity at pH 8.0 and 45 °C, and is highly stable at pH 6.0-8.0 for 1 h at 37 °C. The activity of the secreted enzyme in shaken-flask fermentation was 40.0 U/ml. A high-density fermentation of the ZENC-producing recombinant strain was performed in a 30-l fermenter and the maximal enzyme activity reached 290.6 U/ml. The Km, Vmax and specific activity toward zearalenone are 38.63 ?M, 23.8 ?M/s/mg and 530.4 U/mg, respectively. ZENC can resist metal ions and inhibitors to some extent. We applied the enzyme into three different kinds of animal feed. On addition of ZENC (800 U) to distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), maize by-products and corn bran (25 g), the concentration of zearalenone was reduced by 70.9%, 88.9% and 94.7% respectively. All these properties of ZENC are promising for applications in the animal feed and food industries.
| S-EPMC6301899 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The genome of the ascomycete Neurospora crassa encodes CAO-1 and CAO-2, two members of the carotenoid cleavage oxygenase family that target double bonds in different substrates. Previous studies demonstrated the role of CAO-2 in cleaving the C40 carotene torulene, a key step in the synthesis of the C35 apocarotenoid pigment neurosporaxanthin. In this work, we investigated the activity of CAO-1, assuming that it may provide retinal, the chromophore of the NOP-1 rhodopsin, by cleaving β-carotene. For this purpose, we tested CAO-1 activity with carotenoid substrates that were, however, not converted. In contrast and consistent with its sequence similarity to family members that act on stilbenes, CAO-1 cleaved the interphenyl Cα-Cβ double bond of resveratrol and its derivative piceatannol. CAO-1 did not convert five other similar stilbenes, indicating a requirement for a minimal number of unmodified hydroxyl groups in the stilbene background. Confirming its biological function in converting stilbenes, adding resveratrol led to a pronounced increase in cao-1 mRNA levels, while light, a key regulator of carotenoid metabolism, did not alter them. Targeted Δcao-1 mutants were not impaired by the presence of resveratrol, a phytoalexin active against different fungi, which did not significantly affect the growth and development of wild-type Neurospora. However, under partial sorbose toxicity, the Δcao-1 colonies exhibited faster radial growth than control strains in the presence of resveratrol, suggesting a moderate toxic effect of resveratrol cleavage products.
| S-EPMC3811574 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fungal glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are important membrane components which play a key role in vesicle trafficking. To assess the importance of GSLs in the fungal life cycle, we performed a mutant phenotypic study of the acidic and neutral GSL biosynthetic pathways in Neurospora crassa. GSL biosynthesis begins with two reactions leading up to the formation of dihydrosphingosine. The first of these reactions is catalyzed by serine palmitoyltransferase and generates 3-keto dihydrosphinganine. In N. crassa, this reaction is catalyzed by GSL-1 and GSL-2 and is required for viability. The second reaction is carried out by GSL-3, a 3-keto dihydrosphinoganine reductase to generate dihydrosphingosine, which is used for the synthesis of neutral and acidic GSLs. We found that deletion mutations in the acidic GSL pathway leading up to the formation of mannosylinositol-phosphoceramide are lethal, indicating that acidic GSLs are essential for viability in N. crassa. Once mannosylinositol-phosphoceramide is made, it is further modified by GSL-5, an inositol-phosphoceramide-B C26 hydroxylase, which adds a hydroxyl group to the amide-linked fatty acid. GSL-5 is not required for viability but gives a clear mutant phenotype affecting all stages of the life cycle. Our results show that the synthesis of mannosylinositol-phosphoceramide is required for viability and that the modification of the amide-linked fatty acid is important for acidic GSL functionality. We also examined the neutral GSL biosynthetic pathway and identified the presence of glucosylceramide. The deletion of neutral GSL biosynthetic genes affected hyphal morphology, vegetative growth rate, conidiation, and female development. Our results indicate that the synthesis of neutral GSLs is essential for normal growth and development of N. crassa.
| S-EPMC10457978 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Vegetative fusion is essential for the development of an interconnected colony in many filamentous fungi. In the ascomycete fungus Neurospora crassa, vegetative fusion occurs between germinated conidia (germlings) via specialized structures termed "conidial anastomosis tubes" (CATs) and between hyphae within a mature colony. In N. crassa, both CAT and hyphal fusion are under the regulation of a conserved MAP kinase cascade (NRC1, MEK2, and MAK2). Here we show that the predicted downstream target of the MAK2 kinase pathway, a Ste12-like transcription factor known as PP1, regulates elements required for CAT and hyphal fusion. The PP1 regulatory network was revealed by expression profiling of wild type and the Δpp-1 mutant during conidial germination and colony establishment. To identify targets required for cell fusion more specifically, expression-profiling differences were assessed via inhibition of MAK2 kinase activity during chemotropic interactions and cell fusion. These approaches led to the identification of new targets of the cell fusion pathway that, when mutated, showed alterations in chemotropic signaling and cell fusion. In particular, conidial germlings carrying a deletion of NCU04732 (Δham-11) failed to show chemotropic interactions and cell fusion. However, signaling (as shown by oscillation of MAK2 and SO to CAT tips), chemotropism, and cell fusion were restored in Δham-11 germlings when matched with wild-type partner germlings. These data reveal novel insights into the complex process of self-signaling, germling fusion, and colony establishment in filamentous fungi.
| S-EPMC3813871 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Many bacteria require l-rhamnose as a key cell wall component. This sugar is transferred to the cell wall using an activated donor dTDP-l-rhamnose, which is produced by the dTDP-l-rhamnose biosynthetic pathway. We determined the crystal structure of the second enzyme of this pathway dTDP-α-d-glucose 4,6-dehydratase (RfbB) from Bacillus anthracis. Interestingly, RfbB only crystallized in the presence of the third enzyme of the pathway RfbC; however, RfbC was not present in the crystal. Our work represents the first complete structural characterization of the four proteins of this pathway in a single Gram-positive bacterium.
| S-EPMC5864537 | biostudies-literature