title: A gene of the opsin family in the carotenoid gene cluster of Fusarium fujikuroi.
abstract: Opsins are membrane photoreceptors closely related to the heat-shock proteins of the HSP30 family. Their functions include light-driven ion pumping in archaea and light detection in algae and animals, using the apocarotenoid retinal as a light-absorbing prosthetic group. We describe a gene of Fusarium fujikuroi, carO, coding for a polypeptide resembling opsins and HSP30-like proteins and contiguous to the genes of the carotenoid pathway, carRA and carB. Transcription of carO is induced by light and is deregulated in carotenoid-overproducing mutants. The same regulation pattern is exhibited by carRA and carB; and common conserved DNA elements are found in the three promoters. Heat shock resulted in a modest induction of carO transcription, similar to the one exhibited by carB, confirming a common regulation. Targeted mutagenesis of carO produced no apparent phenotypic modification, including no change in the photoinduction of carotenoid biosynthesis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Universidad de Sevilla, Apartado 1095, 41080 Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Prado
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prado-Cabrero
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernández-Martín
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Avalos
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000235:genetics*; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D017299:Rod Opsins; D002338:Carotenoids