title: Involvement of protein kinase C in the response of Neurospora crassa to blue light.
abstract: As a first step towards understanding the process of blue light perception, and the signal transduction mechanisms involved, in Neurospora crassa we have used a pharmacological approach to screen a wide range of second messengers and chemical compounds known to interfere with the activity of well-known signal transducing molecules in vivo. We tested the influence of these compounds on the induction of the al-3 gene, a key step in light-induced carotenoid biosynthesis. This approach has implicated protein kinase C (PKC) as a component of the light transduction machinery. The conclusion is based on the effects of specific inhibitors (calphostin C and chelerythrine chloride) and activators of PKC (1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycerol). During vegetative growth PKC may be responsible for desensitization to light because inhibitors of the enzyme cause an increase in the total amount of mRNA transcribed after illumination. PKC is therefore proposed here to be an important regulator of transduction of the blue light signal, and may act through modification of the protein White Collar-1, which we show to be a substrate for PKC in N. crassa.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Cellulari ed Ematologia, Sezione di Genetica Molecolare, Universitá di Roma La Sapienza, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arpaia
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cerri
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baima
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Macino
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000470:Alkaloids; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D053119:Benzophenanthridines; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004075:Diglycerides; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D051232:Geranylgeranyl-Diphosphate Geranylgeranyltransferase; D008027:Light; D009281:Naphthalenes; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics; D010617:Phenanthridines; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D053119:Benzophenanthridines; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004075:Diglycerides; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D009281:Naphthalenes; D010617:Phenanthridines; D014157:Transcription Factors; C105589:wc-1 protein, Neurospora crassa; C044296:1,2-dihexanoylglycerol; C016299:chelerythrine; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D051232:Geranylgeranyl-Diphosphate Geranylgeranyltransferase; D011493:Protein Kinase C; C058819:calphostin C