title: bZIP transcription factors affecting secondary metabolism, sexual development and stress responses in Aspergillus nidulans.
abstract: The eukaryotic basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors play critical roles in the organismal response to the environment. Recently, a novel YAP-like bZIP, restorer of secondary metabolism A (RsmA), was found in a suppressor screen of an Aspergillus nidulans secondary metabolism (SM) mutant in which overexpression of rsmA was found to partially remediate loss of SM in Velvet Complex mutants. The Velvet Complex is a conserved fungal transcriptional heteromer that couples SM with sexual development in fungi. Here we characterized and contrasted SM in mutants of RsmA and four other A. nidulans bZIP proteins (NapA, ZipA, ZipB and ZipC) with predicted DNA binding motifs similar to RsmA. Only two overexpression mutants exhibited both SM and sexual abnormalities that were noteworthy: OE : : rsmA resulted in a 100-fold increase in sterigmatocystin and a near loss of meiotic spore production. OE : : napA displayed decreased production of sterigmatocystin, emericellin, asperthecin, shamixanthone and epishamixanthone, coupled with a shift from sexual to asexual development. Quantification of bZIP homodimer and heterodimer formation using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) suggested that these proteins preferentially self-associate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Wen-Bing
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Reinke
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szilágyi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Emri
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Yi-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Keating
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Biotechnology and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: István
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pócsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Clay C C
authors.initials: CCC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA.|Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D001233:Aspergillus nidulans / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D009154:Mutation; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors