Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are molecular chaperones and required for survival of organisms under heat stress conditions. In this study, we studied Hsp80, a member of the Hsp90 family, in Neurospora crassa. The expression of hsp80 was severely reduced in the N. crassa calcineurin B subunit RIP-mutant (cnb-1RIP) strains under the heat shock conditions. Furthermore, the expression levels of cnb-1, hsp60, hsp80, and the calcineurin-regulated transcription factor crz-1 were increased, but expression levels were reduced in the presence of the calcineurin inhibitor FK506 under the heat shock stress in the N. crassa wild type. Therefore, the calcineurin-crz-1 signaling pathway transcriptionally regulates hsp60 and hsp80 under the heat shock stress condition in N. crassa. In addition, the transcript levels of trm-9 and nca-2, a Ca2+ sensor and a Ca2+ ATPase, respectively, were increased under the heat shock stress condition. Moreover, the expression of the hsp80, but not the hsp60, was reduced in the Δtrm-9, Δnca-2, and the Δtrm-9 Δnca-2 double mutants. These results suggested that hsp80, trm-9, and nca-2 play a role in coping the heat shock stress in N. crassa. We found that CRZ-1 binds to 5ʹ-CCTTCACA-3ʹ and 5ʹ-AGCGGAGC-3ʹ 8 bp nucleotide sequences, located about 1075 bp and 679 bp upstream of the ATG start codon, respectively, of hsp80. We also found that CRZ-1 binds to an 8 bp nucleotide sequence 5ʹ-ACCGCGCC-3ʹ, located 234 bp upstream of the ATG start codon of nca-2 under Ca2+ stress condition. Thus, cnb-1, hsp60, hsp80, and crz-1 are involved in the heat shock stress response in N. crassa. Moreover, CRZ-1 upregulates the expressions of hsp80 and nca-2 under the heat shock stress and Ca2+ stress conditions, respectively, in N. crassa.
