Neurospora crassa mat A-2 and mat A-3 proteins weakly interact in the yeast two-hybrid system and affect yeast growth
Genet. mol. biol
;
32(2): 354-361, 2009. ilus, tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-513971
ABSTRACT
Mating-type genes control the entry into the sexual cycle, mating identity and sexual development in fungi. The mat A-2 and mat A-3 genes, present in the mat A idiomorph of the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, are required for post-fertilization functions but are not essential for mating identity. Their putative roles as transcription factors are based on the similarity of mat A-2 with the Podospora anserina SMR1 gene and an HMG motif present in the mat A-3 gene. In this work the yeast two-hybrid system was used to identify transcriptional activity and protein-protein interaction of N. crassa mat A-2 and mat A-3 genes. We observed that the mat A-3 protein alone is capable of weakly activating transcription of yeast reporter genes; it also binds with low specificity to the GAL1 promoter sequence, possibly due to its HMG domain. Our results also indicate that mat A-3 is capable to form homodimers, and interact with mat A-2. Interference on yeast growth was observed on some transformants suggesting a toxic action of the mat A-2 protein. Our data on pattern of interactions of mat proteins contributes towards understanding the control of vegetative and sexual cycles in filamentous fungi.
Full text:
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Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Genet. mol. biol
Journal subject:
Genetics
Year:
2009
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais/BR
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