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PMID: 9155019 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

G proteins in Ustilago maydis: transmission of multiple signals?

The EMBO journal ·Vol. 16 ·No. 8 ·1997-04-15 ·Pages 1934-42

Regenfelder E, Spellig T, Hartmann A, Lauenstein S, Bölker M, Kahmann R

Abstract

In the phytopathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis, cell fusion is governed by a pheromone signalling system. The pheromone receptors belong to the seven transmembrane class that are coupled to heterotrimeric G proteins. We have isolated four genes (gpa1 to gpa4) encoding alpha subunits of G proteins. Gpa1, Gpa2 and Gpa3 have homologues in other fungal species, while Gpa4 is novel. Null mutants in individual genes were viable and only disruption of gpa3 caused a discernible phenotype. gpa3 mutant strains were unable to respond to pheromone and thus were mating-deficient. A constitutively active allele of gpa3 (gpa3(Q206L)) was generated by site-directed mutagenesis. Haploid strains harbouring gpa3(Q206L) were able to mate without pheromone stimulation, indicating that Gpa3 plays an active role in transmission of the pheromone signal. Surprisingly, Gpa3 is also required for pathogenic development, although pheromone signalling is not essential for this process.

MeSH Terms
Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases/genetics,physiology Cloning, Molecular Crosses, Genetic Fungal Proteins/genetics,physiology GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11 GTP-Binding Proteins/genetics,physiology Genes, Fungal/genetics Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases Pheromones Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins Sequence Analysis, DNA Sequence Homology, Amino Acid Signal Transduction/physiology Ustilago/genetics,physiology
Chemicals
Fungal Proteins GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits Gpa3 protein, Ustilago maydis Gpa4 protein, Ustilago maydis Pheromones Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases Fuz7 protein, Ustilago maydis Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases GTP-Binding Proteins GPA1 protein, S cerevisiae GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gq-G11 Gpa2 protein, S cerevisiae Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins
Authors & Affiliations
6 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Regenfelder E
Institut für Genetik und Mikrobiologie der Universität München, Germany.
Spellig T
Hartmann A
Lauenstein S
Bölker M
Kahmann R
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Article Info
Journal
The EMBO journal
Abbr.
EMBO J
ISSN
0261-4189
DOI
10.1093/emboj/16.8.1934
Published
1997-04-15
Pages
1934-42
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
8208664
PMCID
PMC1169796
Subset
IM
Databases
GENBANK
U85775, U85776, U85777, U85778
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1093/emboj/16.8.1934 PMC Full Text View journal details
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