No abstract

The expression of a glucose-regulated gene (grp78) changes significantly during the vegetative life cycle of Neurospora crassa: the amounts of grp78 mRNA are low in dormant conidia, increase during germination and exponential growth, decline in young aerial hyphae and reach a maximum in late (15-18 h) aerial hyphae. Heat shock (30 min at 45 "C) elevated the mRNA level of this gene especially in early aerial hyphae, whereas no increase above the high constitutive amount was found after heat treatment of late aerial hyphae. The expression of the inducible hsp70 gene after heat shock also varied with the state of development and showed the highest inducibility in late aerial hyphae. Surface mycelium, from which aerial hyphae emerge, showed a similar increase in the amounts of both mRNA species. A developmental mutant (acon-2), which is defective in minor constriction budding of aerial hyphae, showed lower levels of con-2 mRNA as well as of 9-78 and hsp70 mRNA (after heat shock) in late aerial hyphae. The acon-2 mutant did not form conidia at this stage. It is concluded that the high constitutive and inducible expression of stress genes in late aerial hyphae is due to a developmental activation of their transcription or, alternatively, to a lower degradation rate of their mRNA during this stage.

No abstract

No abstract

Pulses of some Ca2+ channel blockers (dantrolene, Co2+, nifedipine) and calmodulin inhibitors (chlorpromazine) lead to medium (maximally 5-9 h) phase shifts of the circadian conidiation rhythm of Neurospora crassa. Pulses of high Ca2+, or of low Ca2+, a Ca2+ ionophore (A23187) together with Ca2+, and other Ca2+ channel blockers (La3+, diltiazem), however, caused only minor phase shifts. The effect of these substances (A 23187) and of different temperatures on the Ca2+ release from isolated vacuoles was analyzed by using the fluorescent dye Fura-2. A 23187 and higher temperatures increased the release drastically, whereas dantrolene decreased the permeation of Ca2+ (Cornelius et al., 1989). Pulses of 8-PCTP-cAMP, IBMX and of the cAMP antagonist RP-cAMPS, also caused medium (maximally 6-9 h) phase shifts of the conidiation rhythm. The phase response curve of the agonist was almost 180 degrees out of phase with the antagonist PRC. In spite of some variability in the PRCs of these series of experiments all showed maximal shifts during ct 0-12. The variability of the response may be due to circadian changes in the activity of phosphodiesterases: After adding cAMP to mycelial extracts HPLC analysis of cAMP metabolites showed significant differences during a circadian period with a maximum at ct 0. Protein phosphorylation was tested mainly in an in vitro phosphorylation system (with 35S-thio gamma-ATP). The results showed circadian rhythmic changes predominantly in proteins of 47/48 kDa. Substances and treatments causing phase-shifts of the conidiation rhythm also caused changes in the phosphorylation of these proteins: an increase was observed when Ca2+ or cAMP were added, whereas a decrease occurred upon addition of a calmodulin inhibitor (TFP) or pretreatment of the mycelia with higher (42 degrees C) temperatures. Altogether, the results indicate that Ca2(+)-calmodulin-dependent and cAMP-dependent processes play an important, but perhaps not essential, role in the clock mechanism of Neurospora. Ca2+ calmodulin and the phosphorylation state of the 47/48-kDa proteins may have controlling or essential functions for this mechanism.