title: The Aspergillus nidulans abaA gene encodes a transcriptional activator that acts as a genetic switch to control development.
abstract: The Aspergillus nidulans abaA gene encodes a protein containing an ATTS DNA-binding motif and is required for the terminal stages of conidiophore development. Results from gel mobility shift and protection, missing-contact, and interference footprint assays showed that AbaA binds to the sequence 5'-CATTCY-3', where Y is a pyrimidine, making both major- and minor-groove contacts. Multiple AbaA binding sites are present in the cis-acting regulatory regions of several developmentally controlled structural genes as well as those of the upstream regulatory gene brlA, the downstream regulatory gene wetA, and abaA itself. These cis-acting regulatory regions confer AbaA-dependent transcriptional activation in a heterologous Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene expression system. From these observations, we propose that the AbaA transcription factor establishes a novel set of feedback regulatory loops responsible for determination of conidiophore development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andrianopoulos
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Timberlake
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D001616:beta-Galactosidase