Velvet-mediated repression of β-glucan synthesis in Aspergillus nidulans spores

Beta-glucans are a heterologous group of fibrous glucose polymers that are a major constituent of cell walls in Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes fungi. Synthesis of β (1,3)- and (1,6)-glucans is coordinated with fungal cell growth and development, thus, is under tight genetic regulation. Here, we repo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2015-05, Vol.5 (1), p.10199, Article 10199
Main Authors: Park, Hee-Soo, Man Yu, Yeong, Lee, Mi-Kyung, Jae Maeng, Pil, Chang Kim, Sun, Yu, Jae-Hyuk
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aspergillus nidulans - genetics
Aspergillus nidulans - metabolism
beta-Glucans - metabolism
Cell Wall - genetics
Fungal Proteins - metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
Genes, Fungal
Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics
Spores, Fungal - genetics
Spores, Fungal - metabolism
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Summary:Beta-glucans are a heterologous group of fibrous glucose polymers that are a major constituent of cell walls in Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes fungi. Synthesis of β (1,3)- and (1,6)-glucans is coordinated with fungal cell growth and development, thus, is under tight genetic regulation. Here, we report that β-glucan synthesis in both asexual and sexual spores is turned off by the NF-kB like fungal regulators VosA and VelB in Aspergillus nidulans. Our genetic and genomic analyses have revealed that both VosA and VelB are necessary for proper down-regulation of cell wall biosynthetic genes including those associated with β-glucan synthesis in both types of spores. The deletion of vosA or velB results in elevated accumulation of β-glucan in asexual spores. Double mutant analyses indicate that VosA and VelB play an inter-dependent role in repressing β-glucan synthesis in asexual spores. In vivo chromatin immuno-precipitation analysis shows that both VelB and VosA bind to the promoter region of the β-glucan synthase gene fksA in asexual spores. Similarly, VosA is required for proper repression of β-glucan synthesis in sexual spores. In summary, the VosA-VelB hetero-complex is a key regulatory unit tightly controlling proper levels of β-glucan synthesis in asexual and sexual spores.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep10199