title: Characterization of AnNce102 and its role in eisosome stability and sphingolipid biosynthesis.
abstract: The plasma membrane is implicated in a variety of functions, whose coordination necessitates highly dynamic organization of its constituents into domains of distinct protein and lipid composition. Eisosomes, at least partially, mediate this lateral plasma membrane compartmentalization. In this work, we show that the Nce102 homologue of Aspergillus nidulans colocalizes with eisosomes and plays a crucial role in density/number of PilA/SurG foci in the head of germlings. In addition we demonstrate that AnNce102 and PilA negatively regulate sphingolipid biosynthesis, since their deletions partially suppress the thermosensitivity of basA mutant encoding sphingolipid C4-hydroxylase and the growth defects observed upon treatment with inhibitors of sphingolipid biosynthesis, myriocin and Aureobasidin A. Moreover, we show that YpkA repression mimics genetic or pharmacological depletion of sphingolipids, conditions that induce the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), and can be partially overcome by deletion of pilA and/or annce102 at high temperatures. Consistent with these findings, pilAΔ and annce102Δ also show differential sensitivity to various oxidative agents, while AnNce102 overexpression can bypass sphingolipid depletion regarding the PilA/SurG foci number and organization, also leading to the mislocalization of PilA to septa.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences and Applications, Microbial Molecular Genetics Laboratory, National Center for Scientific Research, Demokritos (NCSRD), Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Alexandros
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Athanasopoulos
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences and Applications, Microbial Molecular Genetics Laboratory, National Center for Scientific Research, Demokritos (NCSRD), Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gournas
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis 15781, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Sotiris
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amillis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences and Applications, Microbial Molecular Genetics Laboratory, National Center for Scientific Research, Demokritos (NCSRD), Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vicky
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sophianopoulou
mesh_terms: D001233:Aspergillus nidulans / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004705:Endocytosis; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000378:metabolism; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D016296:Mutagenesis; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D013107:Sphingolipids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013696:Temperature; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging
chemical_list: D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013107:Sphingolipids; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; C001996:thermozymocidin