title: The pleiotropic vegetative and sexual development phenotypes of Neurospora crassa arise from double mutants of the calcium signaling genes plc-1, splA2, and cpe-1.
abstract: We investigated phenotypes of the double mutants of the calcium (Ca2+) signaling genes plc-1, splA2, and cpe-1 encoding for a phospholipase C1 (PLC-1), a secretory phospholipase A2(sPLA2), and a Ca2+/H+exchanger (CPE-1), respectively, to understand the cell functions regulated by their genetic interactions. Mutants lacking plc-1 and either splA2 or cpe-1 exhibited numerous defects including reduced colonial growth, stunted aerial hyphae, premature conidiation on plates with delayed germination, inappropriate conidiation in submerged culture, and lesser mycelial pigmentation. Moreover, the ∆plc-1; ∆splA2 and ∆plc-1; ∆cpe-1 double mutants were female-sterile when crossed with wild type as the male parent. In addition, ∆plc-1, ∆splA2, and ∆cpe-1 single mutants displayed higher carotenoid accumulation and an increased level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, the pleiotropic phenotype of the double mutants of plc-1, splA2, and cpe-1 suggested that the genetic interaction of these genes plays a critical role for normal vegetative and sexual development in N. crassa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, 781 039, India.
authors.forename: Ananya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, 781 039, India. ranjantamuli@iitg.ernet.in.
authors.forename: Ranjan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tamuli
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D018533:Biomass; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D025301:Hyphae; D009154:Mutation; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D010675:Pheromones; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: Ca2+ signaling; Ca2+/H+ exchanger; Carotenoid; Fertility; Genetic interaction; Neurospora crassa; Pheromone response elements; Phospholipase C1; Secretory phospholipase A2