title: FigA, a putative homolog of low-affinity calcium system member Fig1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is involved in growth and asexual and sexual development in Aspergillus nidulans.
abstract: Calcium-mediated signaling pathways are widely employed in eukaryotes and are implicated in the regulation of diverse biological processes. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, at least two different calcium uptake systems have been identified: the high-affinity calcium influx system (HACS) and the low-affinity calcium influx system (LACS). Compared to the HACS, the LACS in fungi is not well known. In this study, FigA, a homolog of the LACS member Fig1 from S. cerevisiae, was functionally characterized in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Loss of figA resulted in retardant hyphal growth and a sharp reduction of conidial production. Most importantly, FigA is essential for the homothallic mating (self-fertilization) process; further, FigA is required for heterothallic mating (outcrossing) in the absence of HACS midA. Interestingly, in a figA deletion mutant, adding extracellular Ca(2+) rescued the hyphal growth defects but could not restore asexual and sexual reproduction. Furthermore, quantitative PCR results revealed that figA deletion sharply decreased the expression of brlA and nsdD, which are known as key regulators during asexual and sexual development, respectively. In addition, green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagging at the C terminus of FigA (FigA::GFP) showed that FigA localized to the center of the septum in mature hyphal cells, to the location between vesicles and metulae, and between the junctions of metulae and phialides in conidiophores. Thus, our findings suggest that FigA, apart from being a member of a calcium uptake system in A. nidulans, may play multiple unexplored roles during hyphal growth and asexual and sexual development.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, Engineering and Technology Research Center for Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Shizhu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hailin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Nanbiao
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carbó
authors.forename: Peiying
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Pablo S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Aguilar
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D001233:Aspergillus nidulans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D025301:Hyphae / Q000254:growth & development; D017136:Ion Transport; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012100:Reproduction, Asexual; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: C000592000:Fig1 protein, S cerevisiae; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D002118:Calcium