Characterization of Neurospora crassa cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activated by calmodulin.

Activation of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase I by brain or Neurospora calmodulin was studied. The stimulation required micromolar concentrations of Ca2+, and it was observed at cyclic AMP concentrations between 0.1 and 500 microM. Activation was blocked by EDTA and some neuroleptic drugs such as chlorpromazine and fluphenazine. These drugs inhibit the elongation of N. crassa wild-type aerial hyphae. These results reinforce the evidence towards the recognition of Ca2+-calmodulin as one of the systems controlling cyclic nucleotide concentrations in Neurospora.     

Regulation of lactate/pyruvate ratios by cyclic AMP in Neurospora crassa

Cyclic AMP is thought to have a general role in stimulating the breakdown of carbohydrate reserves and subsequent glycolytic activity. This would be expected to increase the availability of reducing equivalents in the form of cytoplasmic NADH. The current study examines another potential reaction controlling cytoplasmic NADH in the fungus Neurospora crassa, that of lactate dehydrogenase, to determine whether it is also regulated by cyclic AMP. The cr-1, adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP-deficient mutant, grown with and without exogenous cyclic AMP was compared with an isogenic wild type. The results show that cyclic AMP raises pyruvic acid pools and lowers both lactic acid pools and lactate/pyruvate ratios. It does that, in part or in whole, by lowering lactate dehydrogenase activity. The possibility that cytoplasmic NAD+/NADH is a major target of cyclic AMP control is discussed. The high performance liquid chromatography procedures used in these studies are applicable to the measurement of intracellular pools of tricarboxylic acid cycle and other organic acids.     

Relationship between cyclic AMP level and accumulation of carotenoid pigments in Neurospora crassa

Dark grown mycelial cells of Neurospora crassa bearing mutant genes crisp-I or frost and having a decreased level of cyclic adenosine 3,5-monophosphate contained more carotenoid pigments than the cells with wild alleles of these genes. A transient decrease of the cyclic AMP occurred following photoinduction of carotenoid synthesis during its lag-period. Its intensity correlated with the increase of carotenoid pigment level due to photoinduction. No correlation in the content of cyclic guanosine 5-phosphate with both constitutive level of carotenoids and its photoinduced increase was observed.     

Fatty acid control of cyclic AMP levels inNeurospora crassa

Several saturated, monosaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids produce rapid increases in cyclic AMP levels in the fungusNeurospora crassa when added to the growth medium at 10–50 M. The time courses of cyclic AMP increase resembled those previously shown to be induced by other agents, reaching peak cyclic AMP levels at about 2 min after fatty acid addition. These fatty acids had little or no influence on adenylate cyclase fromNeurospora crassa in vitro. On the basis of previous evidence that uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation increase cyclic AMP levels and that fatty acids can act as uncouplers, we suggest that the fatty acids in vivo may act to increase cyclic AMP levels by acting as uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. In agreement with this suggestion, two fatty acids were shown to produce decreased ATP-ADP ratios inNeurospora at concentrations producing cyclic AMP increases.     

Control of l-amino acid oxidase in Neurospora crassa by different regulatory circuits

l-Amino acid oxidase is synthesized in Neurospora crassa in response to three different physiological stimuli: (i) starvation in phosphate buffer, (ii) mating, and (iii) nitrogen derepression in the presence of amino acids. During starvation in phosphate buffer, or after mating, l-amino acid oxidase synthesis occurred in parallel with that of tyrosinase. Exogenous sulfate repressed the formation of the two enzymes in starved cultures, but not in mated cultures. Sulfate repression was relieved by protein synthesis inhibitors, suggesting that the effect of sulfate required the synthesis of a metabolically unstable protein repressor. With amino acids as the sole nitrogen source only l-amino acid oxidase was produced. Under these conditions enzyme synthesis was repressed by ammonium and was insensitive to sulfate. Biochemical evidence suggested that the l-amino acid oxidase formed under the three different conditions was the same protein. Therefore, the expression of l-amino acid oxidase appeared to be under the control of least two regulatory circuits. One, also controlling tyrosinase, seems to respond to developmental signals related to sexual morphogenesis. The other, controlling other enzymes of the nitrogen catabolic system, is used by the organism to obtain nitrogen from alternative sources such as proteins and amino acids.     

Deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate pools in mutagen sensitive mutants of Neurospora crassa

Deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) levels were measured in wild type Neurospora and nine mutagen-sensitive mutants, at nine different genes. Eight of these mutants are sensitive to hydroxyurea and histidine and show chromosomal instability, a phenotype which could result from altered levels of dNTPs. Two patterns were seen. Five of the mutants had altered ratios of dNTPs, with relatively high levels of dATP and dGTP and low levels of dCTP, but changes in the dTTP/dCTP ratio did not correlate with changes in spontaneous mutation levels. During exponential growth all but two of the mutants had small but consistent increases in dNTP pools compared to wild type. DNA content per microgram dry hyphae was altered in several mutants but these changes showed no correlation with the dNTP pool alterations.     

Cyclic AMP and the plasma membrane potential in Neurospora crassa.

Diverse treatments, which have been shown by Slayman, C. L. (1977) in Water Relations in Membrane Transport in Plants and Animals (Jungreis, A., Hodges, T. K., Kleinzeller, A., and Schultz, S. G., eds) pp. 69-86, Academic Press, New York, to depolarize the plasma membrane of Neurospora, increase levels of adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) in the organism. The treatments include those producing large transport fluxes of metabolizable or nonmetabolizable compounds, rapid temperature drops, and addition of agents which uncouple oxidative phosphorylation. Severe mechanical stress, which may also act to depolarize the plasma membrane, leads to increases in cyclic AMP. The maximal depolarization appears to precede the maximal cyclic AMP levels. It is proposed that the membrane depolarization produces the increased cyclic AMP levels by stimulating the plasma membrane-bound adenylate cyclase and that cyclic AMP may be important to the maintenance of membrane integrity.     

Calmodulin-stimulated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from Neurosproa crassa

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase has been partially purified by calmodulin-Sepharose affinity chromatography from a soluble extract of Neurospora crassa. The phosphodiesterase activity remained bound to the affinity column even in the presence of 6 M urea and could only be eluted by calcium chelation. The enzyme exhibits cAMP and cGMP phosphodiesterase activities. Both activities can be enhanced by calmodulin in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. Stimulation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase by calmodulin can be inhibited by calmodulin antagonists such as pimozide, trifluoperazine and chlorpromazine.     

Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity in Neurospora crassa. Purification by immunoaffinity chromatography and characterization

Monoclonal antibodies to Neurospora crassa cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE I) were selected by their capacity to inhibit the enzyme activity. The monoclonal immunoglobulin, coupled to Sepharose 4B, was used for the affinity purification of PDE I activity. After SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the affinity purified PDE I fractions showed a single polypeptide band of about 41 kDa. This band reacted in Western blots with the above mentioned monoclonal immunoglobulin.