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Regulation of Nitrate Reductase in Neurospora crassa: Regulation of Transcription and Translation

^a Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT

A technique employing cycloheximide and actinomycin D has been used for the separation of transcription and translation during the induction of nitrate reductase in Neurospora crassa. Nitrate reductase is found to be synthesized in low efficiency when nitrate is not provided during both transcription and translation. Nitrate reductase synthesis is enhanced by nitrate. Nitrate is found to induce nitrate reductase by enhancing the increase of the capacity to synthesize nitrate reductase, and ammonia is found to repress nitrate reductase, by inhibiting the induced increase of the capacity to make the enzyme, or by making it unstable in vivo, or both. The effect of ammonia is partially reversed by nitrate. The addition of ammonium tartrate or the removal of nitrate during translation of the induced capacity to synthesize nitrate reductase is found to result in the inactivation of nitrate reductase in vivo. A low level of nitrate in the medium is found to be sufficient for enhancing the induced increase of the capacity to synthesize nitrate reductase, but a higher level of nitrate is required to stabilize the enzyme after its formation. The induced capacity to synthesize nitrate reductase is relatively stable in the presence or absence of nitrate, but not in the presence of ammonia.

¹ Present address: Department of Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104.