Phycomyces

Cerdá‐Olmedo, Enrique

doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-1710-2_23

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Strain A56 is a mating type plus strain isogenic to NRRL1555 (51). Strains were grown in yeast extract͞ peptone͞2% glucose medium or in minimal agar (52) to generate mycelium for DNA or RNA extraction.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Phycomyces madA gene encodes a blue-light photoreceptor for phototropism and other light responses

Idnurm

Rodríguez‐Romero

Corrochano

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

129

123

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Phycomyces blakesleeanus is a filamentous zygomycete fungus that produces striking elongated single cells that extend up to 10 cm into the air, with each such sporangiophore supporting a sphere containing the spores for dispersal. This organism has served as a model for the detection of environmental signals as diverse as light, chemicals, touch, wind, gravity, and adjacent objects. In particular, sporangiophore growth is regulated by light, and it exhibits phototropism by bending toward near-UV and blue wavelengths and away from far-UV wavelengths in a manner that is physiologically similar to plant phototropic responses. The Phycomyces madA mutants were first isolated more than 40 years ago, and they exhibit reduced sensitivity to light. Here, we identify two (duplicated) homologs in the White Collar 1 family of blue-light photoreceptors in Phycomyces. We describe that the madA mutant strains contain point mutations in one of these genes and that these mutations cosegregate with a defect in phototropism after genetic crosses. Thus, the phototropic responses of fungi through madA and plants through phototropin rely on diverse proteins; however, these proteins share a conserved flavin-binding domain for photon detection.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Phycomyces madA gene encodes a blue-light photoreceptor for phototropism and other light responses

Idnurm

Rodríguez‐Romero

Corrochano

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

129

123

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“…Is the WCC the major photoreceptor throughout the fungi? Classical photophysiology was done in greatest detail for the zygomycete Phycomyces , resulting in the identification of several loci including MAD A,B,C , which were predicted to encode photoreceptors (Bergman et al ., 1969; Cerdá‐Olmedo and Lipson, 1987). Phycomyces has now been shown to have two genes related to wc‐1 (Fig.…”

Section: Pas/lov Domain Photosensors: Wc1/2 and Vividmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking through the eyes of fungi: molecular genetics of photoreception

Herrera-Estrella

Horwitz

2007

Molecular Microbiology

121

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SummaryFilamentous fungi respond to a variety of environmental signals. One of them is light, providing critical information about orientation, or impending stress. Cells of filamentous fungi appear to sense blue light through a unique transcription factor that has a flavin chromophore and activates its targets in a lightdependent manner, the white collar (WC) complex. Fungal photophysiology, though, predicted a greater complexity of responses to the whole visible spectrum. The rapidly growing fungal genome database provides candidates to explain how fungi see not only blue, but also near-UV, green and red light. At the same time, there are surprises in the genomes, including photoreceptors for which there are no obvious photoresponses. Linking these genes and their functions will help understand how a list of only a few biological chromophores accounts for such a diversity of responses. At the same time, deeper mechanistic understanding of how the WC complex functions will lead to fundamental insights at the point where the environment impinges, in this case in the form of photons, on the transcriptional machinery of the cell.

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“…The zygomycete fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus has been used as a model organism to investigate sensory physiology, in particular the responses of this fungus to light. Blue light regulates the development of fruiting bodies (sporangiophores) and stimulates the biosynthesis of beta‐carotene in the mycelium, and modifies the direction (phototropism) and speed of growth of the sporangiophores (Cerdá‐Olmedo and Lipson, 1987; Cerdá‐Olmedo, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation by blue light and heat shock of gene transcription in the fungus Phycomyces: proteins required for photoinduction and mechanism for adaptation to light

Rodríguez‐Romero

Corrochano

2006

Molecular Microbiology

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SummaryThe gene hspA for the heat-shock protein HSP100 is induced by blue light and heat shock in the zygomycete fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus. We have investigated the molecular details of the regulation of hspA gene transcription. We have cloned 1.9 kb of hspA upstream DNA sequence and identified many DNA segments possibly involved in heat-shock and blue-light regulation. We have identified several gene products required for hspA photoactivation and found that they are also required for mycelial photoresponses, a suggestion for a common signal transduction pathway. In addition, we have found that betacarotene, or a chemical derivative, is required for hspA gene photoactivation. The activation of hspA after blue light-exposure or a heat shock is transient, suggesting the adaptation to the stimulus. The adaptation of hspA photoactivation seems to be the result of a novel mechanism causing a light-dependent loss of gene transcription. We propose that a reduction in the amount of MADA, a putative flavin-binding zincfinger protein, in light-exposed mycelia may cause a reduced hspA photoactivation, providing a simple explanation for adaptation to light.

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Phycomyces

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

The Phycomyces madA gene encodes a blue-light photoreceptor for phototropism and other light responses

The Phycomyces madA gene encodes a blue-light photoreceptor for phototropism and other light responses

Looking through the eyes of fungi: molecular genetics of photoreception

Regulation by blue light and heat shock of gene transcription in the fungus Phycomyces: proteins required for photoinduction and mechanism for adaptation to light

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