title: Cloning and expression analysis of two catalase genes from Aspergillus oryzae.
abstract: Fungi contain distinct genes encoding the same class of enzyme that are differentially regulated according to conditions. We cloned two catalase genes, catA and catB, from Aspergillus oryzae. The catA gene predicts a 747-amino-acid polypeptide sharing 81% identity with Aspergillus fumigatus catalase (catA) and 77% with Aspergillus nidulans catalase (catA). The catB gene predicts a 725-amino-acid polypeptide sharing 82% identity with A. fumigatus catalase (catB) and 75% with A. nidulans catalase (catB). However, the catA and catB genes share little homology (41%) with one another, suggesting that each gene belongs to a distinct gene family. Overexpression studies demonstrated that both genes encode a functional catalase. Promoter assays indicated that the catA gene is developmentally regulated as it was preferentially expressed in solid-state cultures undergoing sporulation. However, its expression was not affected by hydrogen peroxide treatment. Conversely, the catB gene was highly expressed under all culture conditions tested, and it was induced by hydrogen peroxide treatment. These results suggest that the catB gene may be mainly used for detoxification of oxidative stress while the catA gene may have another role such as chaperoning proteins in the spore.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Gekkeikan Sake Co. Ltd., 24 Shimotoba-koyanagi-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto 612-8361, Japan. hisada@gekkeikan.co.jp
authors.forename: Hiromoto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hisada
authors.forename: Yoji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Akitsugu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawato
authors.forename: Yasuhisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Akita
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001236:Aspergillus oryzae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D002374:Catalase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000502:physiology; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D002374:Catalase