Mutation at the am locus of Neurospora crassa

Forty-eight new mutations at the am locus of Neurospora crassa have been characterized. Nineteen mutations were induced by UV; of these, eight were missense, two were frameshifts, two were nonsense, three were deletions and four were unidentified. Twenty-nine mutations were induced with nitrous acid; of these, twenty-one were missense, three were frameshifts, one was nonsense, two were deletions and one was genetically unstable.     

Biochemical analysis of isoallelic series at the al- i locus of Neurospora crassa

The neutral carotenoids of 3 phenotypically distinct albino-1 (al- i) strains, a wild type, 2 heterokaryons containing 2 al- i, alleles and 1 heterokaryon containing al- i+al-2 markers were analyzed. All al- i strains and the al- i heterokaryons contained large amounts of phytoene and only traces of higher carotenoids such as -carotene and lycopene which are responsible for the phenotypic variation at this locus (from pure white to lemon yellow). The biochemical lesion for al- i mutants affects phytoene dehydrogenase and enzyme leakiness accounts for the gene polymorphism. There is no evidence for interallelic complementation at the al- i locus.     

Molecular dissection of alleles of the osmotic-1 locus of Neurospora crassa

Two-component histidine kinases of bacteria, plants, and fungi are involved in the regulation of intracellular events in response to changes in external environmental conditions. Fungal histidine kinases play important roles in osmoregulation, in vivo and in planta virulence, and sensitivity to certain classes of antifungals. The osmotic-1 (OS-1) locus of Neurospora crassa encodes a predicted protein with homology to histidine kinases and appears to be an osmosensor. Mutants of the OS-1 locus are hypersensitive to salt and are strongly resistant to dicarboximide antifungals. Molecular analysis of each of eight OS-1 mutants revealed that seven resulted from amino acid changes in a domain of the protein known as the linker region. These results indicate that the linker region of fungal two-component histidine kinases is essential for proper functioning of the kinase.     

Neurospora crassa mutants deficient in asparagine synthetase

Neurospora crassa mutants deficient in asparagine synthetase were selected by using the procedure of inositol-less death. Complementation tests among the 100 mutants isolated suggested that their alterations were genetically allelic. Recombination analysis with strain S1007t, an asparagine auxotroph, indicated that the mutations were located near or within the asn gene on linkage group V. In vitro assays with a heterokaryon indicated that the mutation was dominant. Thermal instability of cell extracts from temperature-sensitive strains in an in vitro asparagine synthetase assay determined that the mutations were in the structural gene(s) for asparagine synthetase.     

The control of allelic recombination at histidine loci in Neurospora crassa

The gene rec-1⁺ which reduces allelic recombination at the his-1 locus by a factor of between 15 and 30 has no effect upon allelic recombination at the his-2, his-3, his-5, his-6 and his-7 loci. Other genes controlling recombination at two of these loci, namely rec-x at his-2 and rec-w at his-3, have been found. There is a strong possibility that rec-x may be identical with rec-3, so far known to regulate recombination only at the am-1 locus. It is probable that the stocks used all carry a rec⁺ gene which regulates recombination at the his-6 locus, since all prototroph frequencies are low, but no regulatory gene active at the his-5 and his-7 loci.     

Pyrimidine-specific carbamyl phosphate synthetase in Neurospora crassa

Two carbamyl phosphate synthetases, the first an arginine-synthetic enzyme (CPS(arg)) and the second a pyrimidine-synthetic enzyme (CPS(pyr)), are shown to be present in Neurospora. The two enzymes can be separated on the basis of size and are distinguished by several different properties. Both CPS(pyr) and CPS(arg) have substrate requirements of adenosine triphosphate, HCO(3) (-), and l-glutamine, although NH(4) (+) in high concentration will partially replace glutamine. CPS(pyr) activity can be completely inhibited by 5 x 10(-4) to 10 x 10(-4)m uridine triphosphate (UTP). CPS(pyr) is cold-labile and can be protected against cold inactivation by UTP. The synthesis of CPS(pyr) and aspartate transcarbamylase (ATC), the initial enzymatic steps of the pyrimidine pathway, are co-derepressed by pyrimidine starvation. Mutations affecting CPS(pyr) and ATC all map at the same locus, pyr-3. Three classes of mutants with respect to the two activities were found: CPS(+)ATC(-), CPS(-)ATC(+), and CPS(-)ATC(-). The distribution of these mutants on the genetic map, together with other data, indicate that the two activities are carried by a bifunctional protein.     

Heterogeneity of glutamine synthetase polypeptides in Neurospora crassa

Purified preparations of Neurospora crassa glutamine synthetase contain two nonidentical polypeptides that can be separated by acrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and 7 M urea. These polypeptides are synthesized both in vivo and in a heterologous cell-free protein-synthesizing system. The data presented indicate that both polypeptides contain an active site for glutamine synthetase activity and suggest that there is not a precursor-product relationship between them.     

Oxidation of Neurospora crassa glutamine synthetase.

The glutamine synthetase of Neurospora crassa, either purified or in cell extracts, was inactivated by ascorbate plus FeCl3 and by H2O2 plus FeSO4. The inactivation reaction was oxygen dependent, inhibited by MnCl2 and EDTA, and stimulated in cell extracts by sodium azide. This inactivation could also be brought about by adding NADPH to the cell extract. The alpha and beta polypeptides of the active glutamine synthetase were modified by these inactivating reactions, giving rise to two novel acidic polypeptides. These modifications were observed with the purified enzyme, with cell extracts, and under in vivo conditions in which glutamine synthetase is degraded. The modified glutamine synthetase was more susceptible to endogenous phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride-insensitive proteolytic activity, which was inhibited by MnCl2 and stimulated by EDTA. The possible physiological relevance of enzyme oxidation is discussed.