Evolutionary conservation of a core fungal phosphate homeostasis pathway coupled to development in Blastocladiella emersonii

•PHO response pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is largely conserved in all major fungal lineages.•Conserved transcriptional response to phosphate limitation in Blastocladiella emersonii.•PHO gene expression is likely linked to development in B. emersonii. The model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fungal genetics and biology 2018-06, Vol.115, p.20-32
Main Authors: Gomes-Vieira, André L., Wideman, Jeremy G., Paes-Vieira, Lisvane, Gomes, Suely L., Richards, Thomas A., Meyer-Fernandes, José Roberto
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Blastocladiella - genetics
Blastocladiella - growth & development
Blastocladiella emersonii
Conserved Sequence - genetics
Fungal Proteins - genetics
Fungal Proteins - metabolism
Fungi
Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
Homeostasis - genetics
PHO pathway
Phosphate
Phosphates - metabolism
Proteome - genetics
Proteome - metabolism
Proton-Phosphate Symporters - genetics
Proton-Phosphate Symporters - metabolism
Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae - growth & development
Signal Transduction
Spores, Fungal
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Summary:•PHO response pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is largely conserved in all major fungal lineages.•Conserved transcriptional response to phosphate limitation in Blastocladiella emersonii.•PHO gene expression is likely linked to development in B. emersonii. The model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae elicits a transcriptional response to phosphate (Pi) depletion. To determine the origins of the phosphate response (PHO) system, we bioinformatically identified putative PHO components in the predicted proteomes of diverse fungi. Our results suggest that the PHO system is ancient; however, components have been expanded or lost in different fungal lineages. To show that a similar physiological response is present in deeply-diverging fungi we examined the transcriptional and physiological response of PHO genes to Pi depletion in the blastocladiomycete Blastocladiella emersonii. Our physiological experiments indicate that B. emersonii relies solely on high-affinity Na+-independent Pho84-like transporters. In response to Pi depletion, BePho84 paralogues were 4–8-fold transcriptionally upregulated, whereas several other PHO homologues like phosphatases and vacuolar transporter chaperone (VTC) complex components show 2–3-fold transcriptional upregulation. Since Pi has been shown to be important during the development of B. emersonii, we sought to determine if PHO genes are differentially regulated at different lifecycle stages. We demonstrate that a similar set of PHO transporters and phosphatases are upregulated at key points during B. emersonii development. Surprisingly, some genes upregulated during Pi depletion, including VTC components, are repressed at these key stages of development indicating that PHO genes are regulated by different pathways in different developmental and environmental situations. Overall, our findings indicate that a complex PHO network existed in the ancient branches of the fungi, persists in diverse extant fungi, and that this ancient network is likely to be involved in development and cell cycle regulation.
ISSN:1087-1845
1096-0937
DOI:10.1016/j.fgb.2018.04.004