Genetics and function of isocitrate lyase in Coprinus

Summary Thirteen chromosomal loci have been identified which affect acetate metabolism in Coprinus. Mutants at only two loci, acu-1 and acu-7, are deficient in isocitrate lyase (ICL) (EC4.1.3.1) activity, acu-1 mutants are unable to induce ICL because they lack acetyl-CoA synthetase which is required to convert acetate to the metabolic inducer of ICL. acu-7 is the structural gene for ICL. This was shown by selecting temperature sensitive acu⁺ revertants resulting from a second mutation within the acu-7 gene. One such severtant was shown to produce an ICL protein which was more thermolabile than the wild type enzyme. Other workers have postulated that ICL activity is important during asexual morphogenesis in fungi. No evidence was found for this in Coprinus. The morphological mutant oidial, which produces abundant asexual spores even in submerged culture, had the same low uninduced level of ICL activity as the wild type. Moreover, an acu-7 mutation had no effect on the expression of the oidial phenotype.