Pantothenate synthetase from Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici is induced by alpha-tomatine.
The steroidal glycoalkaloid alpha-tomatine which is present in tomato (Lycopersicum sculentum) is assumed to protect the plant against phytopathogenic fungi. We have isolated a gene from the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici that is induced by this glycoalkaloid. This gene, designated panC, encodes a predicted protein with a molecular mass of 41 kDa that shows a high degree of sequence similarity to pantothenate synthetases from yeast, plants and bacteria. Recombinant PanC protein from F. oxysporum has been over-expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. It shows pantothenate synthetase activity in the presence of D-pantoate, beta-alanine and ATP. The panC gene from F. oxysporum functionally complements an E. coli panC mutant, demonstrating that the PanC protein functions in vivo as a pantothenate synthetase. Southern analysis of F. oxysporum genomic DNA from other formae speciales indicates that there is a single copy of the pantothenate syntethase gene in this fungus. The presence of a STRE consensus sequence (CCCCT) in the promoter region of the gene suggests that the induction of panC may be part of a cellular stress response triggered by alpha-tomatine.
Pérez-Espinosa
A
A
Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Córdoba, Spain.
Roldán-Arjona
T
T
Ruiz-Rubio
M
M
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010453:Peptide Synthases / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014053:Tomatine / Q000494:pharmacology
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D014053:Tomatine; D010453:Peptide Synthases; C022318:pantothenate synthetase