title: The actin gene in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis: organization, expression and phylogenetic analyses.
abstract: PbrACT1, the gene responsible for the synthesis of actin in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, was found as a single copy, organized into six exons and five introns. Its open reading frame (ORF) codes for a putative protein of 375 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 41.5 kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.6. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence revealed a high homology to other fungal actins, the presence of characteristic fungal actin sequences, and heat shock elements at the 5' untranslated region (UTR). Phylogenetic analyses with deduced amino acid sequences of fungal actins grouped P. brasiliensis within the phylum Ascomycota, order Onygenales, in concordance with a few previous reports. Patterns of expression through the temperature-induced morphological transitions from mycelial to yeast-like shapes and reverse, suggests that PbrACT1 is regulated in this process. The PbrACT1 gene sequence is available at the GenBank database under accession number AY383732.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Centro de Microbiología y Biología Celular, Apartado 21827, Caracas 1020A, Venezuela. gnino@ivic.ve
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Niño-Vega
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pérez-Silva
authors.forename: Gioconda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: San-Blas
mesh_terms: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D000199:Actins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005800:Genes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010228:Paracoccidioides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D000199:Actins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins