J Bacteriol, April 1998, p. 1973-1977, Vol. 180, No. 7
Department of Genetics, University of
Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
Received 10 November 1997/Accepted 26 January 1998
The gene nmrA of Aspergillus nidulans has
been isolated and found to be a homolog of the Neurospora
crassa gene nmr-1, involved in nitrogen
metabolite repression. Deletion of nmrA results in partial
derepression of activities subject to nitrogen repression similar to
phenotypes observed for certain mutations in the positively acting
areA gene.
Fungi are capable of using a wide
range of compounds as sources of nitrogen. Genes encoding enzymes and
permeases required for nitrogen utilization are often regulated by
specific induction mechanisms. In addition, they are usually subject to
a general control mechanism, sometimes called nitrogen metabolite
repression, according to which they are expressed at high levels only
under conditions of nitrogen limitation. This enables readily
assimilated nitrogen sources such as ammonium and glutamine to be used
preferentially (for a review, see reference 26).
In all fungi investigated, a key feature of this regulatory mechanism
is activation by regulatory proteins containing a DNA binding domain
consisting of a four-cysteine, single zinc finger characteristic of the
GATA family of transcription factors. In each case, loss-of-function
mutations in the genes encoding these GATA factors result in reduced
ability for growth on many different sole sources of nitrogen.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two genes, GLN3 and
NIL1/GAT1, while in other fungi only a single gene has been
found: nit-2 in Neurospora crassa,
areA in Aspergillus nidulans, nut1 in
Magnaportha grisae, and nreA in Penicillium
chrysogenum (4, 6, 17, 18, 21, 25, 27, 34, 36). The
basic model for nitrogen metabolite repression is that growth in the presence of preferred nitrogen sources results in the generation of one
or more signals which antagonize activation of gene expression by GATA
factors. Under nitrogen-limiting conditions, the activators activate
the expression of genes involved in the use of nitrogen sources.
In N. crassa, the gene nmr-1 has been found to be
important for the response to nitrogen metabolite repression. Recessive mutations in this gene result in derepression of some
nitrogen-controlled activities, suggesting a negative role for the gene
(16, 31, 32, 37). Cloning and characterization of this gene
have enabled studies of its role in nitrogen metabolite repression
(19, 23, 24, 40). NIT2 and NMR1 were shown to interact by
the use of the yeast two-hybrid system as well by in vitro assays. Two
regions of NIT2 have been shown to be involved in interactions with
NMR1, one in the conserved region adjacent to the zinc finger and one consisting of the 12 carboxyl-terminal residues. Mutations in both of
these regions prevent interaction with NMR1 and result in derepressed
phenotypes (39). These data strongly suggest that at least
one component of nitrogen metabolite repression in N. crassa
involves NMR1 interacting with NIT2 under nitrogen-sufficient conditions to prevent NIT2 binding to its recognition sequences and
activating gene expression. Some in vitro binding studies support this
model (39).
Extensive mutagenesis studies of areA in A. nidulans have shown that residues within the AreA DNA binding
domain as well as in the carboxyl-terminal region lead to some degree
of derepression for nitrogen-regulated activities (25, 29, 30,
35). In addition to the DNA binding domains, the carboxyl termini
of NIT2, NreA and AreA, are highly conserved (29). Further,
it has been shown that the deletion of sequences within the 3'
untranslated region of areA results in some derepression and
that this correlates with a stabilization of areA mRNA in
ammonium-grown mycelia (29). The sequences involved are
conserved in the P. chrysogenum nreA homolog. The gene
nit-2 has been shown to complement areA
loss-of-function mutations in A. nidulans (12).
However, partial derepression of the various nitrogen-regulated
activities was observed. The nit-2 plasmid used may have
lacked the necessary 3' untranslated sequences (13). The
xprD1 mutation, isolated as leading to derepression of protease expression (7), is an inversion truncating
areA such that the 3' coding and untranslated regions of the
areA mRNA are missing (2, 25). Truncation of
areA as in the xprD1 mutation would result in the
loss of both mechanisms; this has been confirmed by the construction of
appropriate double areA deletion mutations (29).
Therefore there is strong evidence for two distinct mechanisms of
modulation for areA and nit-2 activity,
protein-protein interactions affecting DNA binding and nitrogen
regulation of mRNA stability.
Although no mutants with the predicted phenotype have been isolated,
the data lead to the strong prediction that A. nidulans has a homolog of nmr-1 of N. crassa. Expression of nmr-1 in A. nidulans
suggests that this is the case (Polley and Caddick as cited in
reference 26). We have confirmed this by cloning the nmr-1 homolog from A. nidulans and have found a
central extended conserved region. Disruption of the gene results
in partially derepressed phenotypes similar to those observed in
areA mutants with alterations in the DNA binding domain and
the carboxyl terminus.
Cloning and analysis of nmrA.
A search of the A. nidulans expressed sequence tag (EST) database (32a)
with the N. crassa nmr-1 predicted protein sequence (accession no. P23762) revealed a sequence encoding a
polypeptide fragment with extensive similarity. This allowed the design
of primers for amplification from A. nidulans genomic
DNA of a 383-bp sequence by PCR (Fig.
1A). Cloning and
sequencing of this fragment confirmed homology with
nmr-1 and the presence of a 68-bp intron. Southern blot
analysis of A. nidulans genomic DNA indicated that the
amplified sequence was unique and allowed the identification of a 7-kb
XbaI-BglII hybridizing fragment. This fragment
was cloned into XbaI-BamHI-digested pBLUESCRIPT
SK+ (Stratagene, Inc.) by generating a partial genomic library and
probing colony lifts with the PCR fragment. Restriction
mapping confirmed that the arrangements of sites within the genome and
the clone were identical (Fig. 1A).
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Characterization of the Aspergillus nidulans
nmrA Gene Involved in Nitrogen Metabolite Repression
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FIG. 1.
(A) Restriction map of the 7-kb
XbaI-BglII fragment containing the gene
nmrA. The two exons of the coding region (open rectangles)
and the direction of transcription (arrow) are shown. The flanking
coordinates of the open reading frame relative to the translational
start are shown below the map. The location and coordinates of the EST
(hatched rectangle) are shown. The gene nmrA was sequenced
with a combination of dye primer and dye terminator reactions on an ABI
377 sequencer by the strategy shown, with the direction and size of the
arrows indicating the strand and length of sequence. Restriction sites
are BamHI (B), BglII (Bg), ClaI
(C), EcoRI (E), EcoRV (V), HindIII
(H), KpnI (K), PstI (P),
SacI (Sc), SalI (S), SmaI (Sm), and
XbaI (X). (B) Deletion constructs. pALX180, in which the
EcoRV fragment spanning the entire coding region of
nmrA as well as approximately 800 and 200 bp of 5' and 3'
sequences, respectively, was replaced with an end-filled
BamHI fragment containing the bleomycin resistance gene from
pAmPh520 (3), and pALX183, in which the
ClaI-EcoRV fragment spanning the entire coding
region of nmrA as well as approximately 800 bp from both 5'
and 3' sequences was replaced with a ClaI-SmaI
fragment containing the A. nidulans gene argB
(38). The flanking sequences (solid line) and selectable
markers (open rectangles) and their direction of transcription (arrow)
are shown. (C) Nucleotide and conceptual protein sequence of
nmrA. The region encompassed by the EST (underlined) and the
oligonucleotide primers NMRA and NMRB (arrow) used for the
PCR-generated nmrA probe are shown. The two EcoRV
restriction sites are marked for reference to the map in panel A. Nucleotides are numbered with reference to the +1 at the start of the
coding region.
|
Characterization of nmrA deletion strains. Two different constructs were used to create nmrA deletions. In pALX180 the bleomycin resistance gene from Tn5 expressed from the N. crassa am promoter (3) replaced the nmrA sequence (Fig. 1). A linear SacI-KpnI fragment containing the nmrA::bleoR insert was used to transform A. nidulans MH3408 (biA1 amdS::lacZ niiA4), selecting for resistance to bleomycin. Approximately 20% of transformants showed some phenotypes characteristic of derepression of nitrogen-regulated activities (see below). In pALX183, argB (38) replaced the nmrA sequence (Fig. 1), and a NotI-KpnI fragment containing the nmrA::argB insert was used to transform A. nidulans MH8826 (yA1 pabaA1 argB1 amdA7), selecting for arginine prototrophy. Approximately 20% of transformants showed derepression phenotypes. Southern blot analysis of DNA isolated from transformants confirmed that, for each construct, the observed phenotypes correlated with replacement of nmrA sequences with bleoR or argB+ gene, respectively. One transformant from a single nmrA deletion event was isolated from each experiment and used for further characterization.
Various plate tests can be used to determine derepression of activities subject to nitrogen metabolite repression (reference 29 and references therein). The nmrA deletion transformants as well as an xprD1-containing strain were sensitive to the toxic effects of aspartylhydroxamate in the presence of ammonium, an indication of derepression of asparaginase (15) (Fig. 3). The nmrA deletion also resulted in slight sensitivity to thiourea in the presence of ammonium, but the sensitivity was not as great as that of the xprD1-containing strain (Fig. 3). Thiourea toxicity is an indicator of the activity of the ureA-encoded urea permease (28). Similarly, sensitivity to chlorate, a toxic analog of nitrate, in the presence of ammonium was observed in the nmrA deletion strain, but the sensitivity was intermediate between the xprD1 and wild-type strains (Fig. 3). Tests for derepression of extracellular protease production by the observation of a halo of clearing of milk (0.5 to 1.0%) in the presence of ammonium indicated that the nmrA deletion strains, unlike xprD1-containing strains, were not detectably derepressed. These phenotypes were similar to those observed by Platt et al. (29) for areA mutant strains encoding AreA proteins truncated at the carboxyl-terminal end but encoding mRNA with an intact 3' untranslated region and indicated partial derepression for some activities.
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|
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nmrA::bleoR double
mutants which showed increased sensitivity to chlorate and
thiourea in the presence of ammonium relative to the
nmrA::bleoR single
mutant and derepression for extracellular protease activity as shown by
a halo of milk clearing in the presence of either ammonium or
glutamine.
These results clearly indicate that one of the mechanisms for nitrogen
metabolite repression is conserved between N. crassa and
A. nidulans, namely protein-protein interactions between
NMR1/NmrA and NIT2/AreA in the presence of sources of repression. The
magnitude of the effects of deletion of nmrA on nitrogen
metabolite repression is similar to that observed for deletion of the
conserved 12 carboxyl-terminal amino acids of AreA (29). It
is predicted that the effects of these mutations will not be additive
in double mutants. Since deletion of nmrA does not result in
complete derepression, this gene is unlikely to be involved in
modulation of areA mRNA stability via sequences in the 3'
untranslated region (29). Therefore, it is
predicted that double mutants containing an nmrA
deletion and a deletion of the 3' untranslated region of
areA will show additive levels of derepression, as
previously observed for the xprD1 inversion mutation
and for areA mutants with deletions of both the
carboxyl terminus and the relevant 3' untranslated sequences (29).
The nature of the signal or signals generated by nitrogen metabolites
and the question of whether both mechanisms have any common components
remain to be determined. Furthermore, the role of negatively acting
factors of the GATA family as found in S. cerevisiae
(8, 10, 33), and recently suggested to occur in filamentous
fungi (20), needs to be investigated.
Nucleotide sequence accession number. The sequence for the nmrA gene has been deposited in GenBank under accession no. AF041976.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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This work was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council. Database and computer analysis was performed with the Australian National Genomics Information Service (ANGIS).
Assistance by Kathleen Soltys is greatly appreciated.
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FOOTNOTES |
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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Genetics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. Phone: 61 3 9344 5140. Fax: 61 3 9344 5139. E-mail: hynes.lab{at}genetics.unimelb.edu.au.
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