Functional, genetic and bioinformatic characterization of a calcium/calmodulin kinase gene in Sporothrix schenckii.
BACKGROUND
Sporothrix schenckii is a pathogenic, dimorphic fungus, the etiological agent of sporotrichosis, a subcutaneous lymphatic mycosis. Dimorphism in S. schenckii responds to second messengers such as cAMP and calcium, suggesting the possible involvement of a calcium/calmodulin kinase in its regulation. In this study we describe a novel calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase gene in S. schenckii, sscmk1, and the effects of inhibitors of calmodulin and calcium/calmodulin kinases on the yeast to mycelium transition and the yeast cell cycle.


RESULTS
Using the PCR homology approach a new member of the calcium/calmodulin kinase family, SSCMK1, was identified in this fungus. The cDNA sequence of sscmk1 revealed an open reading frame of 1,221 nucleotides encoding a 407 amino acid protein with a predicted molecular weight of 45.6 kDa. The genomic sequence of sscmk1 revealed the same ORF interrupted by five introns. Bioinformatic analyses of SSCMK1 showed that this protein had the distinctive features that characterize a calcium/calmodulin protein kinase: a serine/threonine protein kinase domain and a calmodulin-binding domain. When compared to homologues from seven species of filamentous fungi, SSCMK1 showed substantial similarities, except for a large and highly variable region that encompasses positions 330 - 380 of the multiple sequence alignment. Inhibition studies using calmodulin inhibitor W-7, and calcium/calmodulin kinase inhibitors, KN-62 and lavendustin C, were found to inhibit budding by cells induced to re-enter the yeast cell cycle and to favor the yeast to mycelium transition.


CONCLUSIONS
This study constitutes the first evidence of the presence of a calcium/calmodulin kinase-encoding gene in S. schenckii and its possible involvement as an effector of dimorphism in this fungus. These results suggest that a calcium/calmodulin dependent signaling pathway could be involved in the regulation of dimorphism in this fungus. The results suggest that the calcium/calmodulin kinases of yeasts are evolutionarily distinct from those in filamentous fungi.
Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR 00936-5067, USA. nrodriguez@rcm.upr.edu
Liz
L
Valle-Aviles
Shirley
S
Valentin-Berrios
Ricardo R
RR
Gonzalez-Mendez
Nuri
N
Rodriguez-Del Valle
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D025282:Mycelium / Q000187:drug effects; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013175:Sporothrix / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D015003:Yeasts / Q000187:drug effects
D002147:Calmodulin; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases