title: The pcz1 gene, which encodes a Zn(II)2Cys6 protein, is involved in the control of growth, conidiation, and conidial germination in the filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti.
abstract: Proteins containing Zn(II)(2)Cys(6) domains are exclusively found in fungi and yeasts. Genes encoding this class of proteins are broadly distributed in fungi, but few of them have been functionally characterized. In this work, we have characterized a gene from the filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti that encodes a Zn(II)(2)Cys(6) protein, whose function to date remains unknown. We have named this gene pcz1. We showed that the expression of pcz1 is negatively regulated in a P. roqueforti strain containing a dominant active Gαi protein, suggesting that pcz1 encodes a downstream effector that is negatively controlled by Gαi. More interestingly, the silencing of pcz1 in P. roqueforti using RNAi-silencing technology resulted in decreased apical growth, the promotion of conidial germination (even in the absence of a carbon source), and the strong repression of conidiation, concomitant with the downregulation of the genes of the central conidiation pathway brlA, abaA and wetA. A model for the participation of pcz1 in these physiological processes in P. roqueforti is proposed.
authors: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Gil-Durán
authors: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Juan F
authors: JF
authors: Rojas-Aedo
authors: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Exequiel
authors: E
authors: Medina
authors: Departmento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Inmaculada
authors: I
authors: Vaca
authors: GIMBIO Group, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Colombia.
authors: Ramón O
authors: RO
authors: García-Rico
authors: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Sebastián
authors: S
authors: Villagrán
authors: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Gloria
authors: G
authors: Levicán
authors: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Renato
authors: R
authors: Chávez
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D020868:Gene Silencing; D010407:Penicillium / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D021122:Protein Subunits; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D021122:Protein Subunits; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D002244:Carbon