title: Nitrogen regulation in Aspergillus: are two fingers better than one?
abstract: The areA gene, mediating nitrogen metabolite repression in Aspergillus nidulans, encodes a positive-acting regulatory protein with a single putative DNA-binding 'zinc finger' which is remarkably similar to the two 'zinc fingers' of the major regulatory protein of vertebrate erythroid cells (GF-1/Eryf1/NF-E1). The areA-300 mutation alters the specificity of gene activation in that it elevates expression of certain structural genes whilst reducing expression of certain others. It is an 'in-frame' tandem duplication of 417 bp including the entire DNA-binding region. The consequences of areA didactyly are further explored by construction of a double mutant having an altered loop residue in the N-terminal 'finger'.
authors: Department of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Liverpool, U.K.
authors: M X
authors: MX
authors: Caddick
authors: H N
authors: HN
authors: Arst
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005809:Genes, Regulator / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D009584:Nitrogen