Publications

functional expression and characterization of a glucuronoyl esterase from the fungus neurospora crassa: identification of novel consensus sequences containing the catalytic triad.	the complete hydrolysis of lignocellulose requires the actions of a variety of enzymes, including those that cleave the linkage between lignin and hemicellulose. the enzyme glucuronoyl esterase (ge) that constitutes a novel family of carbohydrate esterases, ce15, has been shown to display a unique ability to cleave the ester linkage between lignin alcohols and xylan-bound 4-o-methyl-d-glucuronic acid of hemicellulose. we herein report identification, expression, and functional characterization o ...	2016	27600355
hyphal ontogeny in neurospora crassa: a model organism for all seasons.	filamentous fungi have proven to be a better-suited model system than unicellular yeasts in analyses of cellular processes such as polarized growth, exocytosis, endocytosis, and cytoskeleton-based organelle traffic. for example, the filamentous fungus neurospora crassa develops a variety of cellular forms. studying the molecular basis of these forms has led to a better, yet incipient, understanding of polarized growth. polarity factors as well as rho gtpases, septins, and a localized delivery of ...	2016	27990280
cations optimization for protein enrichment in rice straw by mixed cultures of neurospora crassa 14-8 and candida utilis using response surface methodology.	this study investigated the effect of cation optimization by mixed cultures of neurospora crassa and candida utilis on the true protein (tp) content. firstly, to enhance the nutritional contents of rice straw (rs), two fermentation parameters (effect of inoculation ratio and inoculation time) were optimized. it was found that when c. utilis was inoculated 60 h later than n. crassa with the inoculation ratio of 1:5 (n. crassa to c. utilis), the maximum tp yield was obtained. in order to further o ...	2016	27987187
functional evolution in orthologous cell-encoded rna-dependent rna polymerases.	many eukaryotic organisms encode more than one rna-dependent rna polymerase (rdrp) that probably emerged as a result of gene duplication. such rdrp paralogs often participate in distinct rna silencing pathways and show characteristic repertoires of enzymatic activities in vitro however, to what extent members of individual paralogous groups can undergo functional changes during speciation remains an open question. we show that orthologs of qde-1, an rdrp component of the quelling pathway in neur ...	2016	26907693
the hsp90 co-chaperones sti1, aha1, and p23 regulate adaptive responses to antifungal azoles.	heat shock protein 90 (hsp90) is essential for tumor progression in humans and drug resistance in fungi. however, the roles of its many co-chaperones in antifungal resistance are unknown. in this study, by susceptibility test of neurospora crassa mutants lacking each of 18 hsp90/calcineurin system member genes (including 8 hsp90 co-chaperone genes) to antifungal drugs and other stresses, we demonstrate that the hsp90 co-chaperones sti1 (hop1 in yeast), aha1, and p23 (sba1 in yeast) were required ...	2016	27761133
xylitol production by saccharomyces cerevisiae overexpressing different xylose reductases using non-detoxified hemicellulosic hydrolysate of corncob.	xylitol production was compared in fed batch fermentation by saccharomyces cerevisiae strains overexpressing xylose reductase (xr) genes from candida tropicalis, pichia stipitis, neurospora crassa, and an endogenous gene gre3. the gene encoding a xylose specific transporter (sut1) from p. stipitis was cloned to improve xylose transport and fed batch fermentation was used with glucose as a cosubstrate to regenerate nadph. xylitol yield was near theoretical for all the strains in fed batch ferment ...	2016	28330197
expression of two novel β-glucosidases from chaetomium atrobrunneum in trichoderma reesei and characterization of the heterologous protein products.	two novel gh3 family thermostable β-glucosidases from the filamentous fungus chaetomium atrobrunneum (cel3a and cel3b) were expressed in trichoderma reesei, purified by two-step ion exchange chromatography, and characterized. both enzymes were active over a wide range of ph as compared to neurospora crassa β-glucosidase gh3-3, which was also expressed in t. reesei and purified. the optimum temperature of both c. atrobrunneum enzymes was around 60 °c at ph 5, and both enzymes had better thermal a ...	2016	27714589
analysis of the association between codon optimality and mrna stability in schizosaccharomyces pombe.	recent experiments have shown that codon optimality is a major determinant of mrna stability in saccharomyces cerevisiae and that this phenomenon may be conserved in escherichia coli and some metazoans, although work in neurospora crassa is not consistent with this model.	2016	27825301
the n-acetylglucosamine catabolic gene cluster in trichoderma reesei is controlled by the ndt80-like transcription factor ron1.	chitin is an important structural constituent of fungal cell walls composed of n-acetylglucosamine (glcnac) monosaccharides, but catabolism of glcnac has not been studied in filamentous fungi so far. in the yeast candida albicans, the genes encoding the three enzymes responsible for stepwise conversion of glcnac to fructose-6-phosphate are clustered. in this work, we analysed glcnac catabolism in ascomycete filamentous fungi and found that the respective genes are also clustered in these fungi. ...	2016	26481444
neurospora crassa tox-1 gene encodes a ph- and temperature-tolerant mini-cellulase.	cellulases that endure extreme conditions are essential in various industrial sectors. this study reports a mini-cellulase gene tox-1 from neurospora crassa. the gene tox-1 was cloned in escherichia coli after chimerization with the yebf gene and substitutions of certain isoleucine and valine with leucine residues. the yeast transformants could grow on rice straw-agar medium. the 44-amino acid peptide and its two mutant variants displayed potent cellulase activities in congo red assay and enzyma ...	2016	27229865
the fungus tremella mesenterica encodes the longest metallothionein currently known: gene, protein and metal binding characterization.	fungal cu-thioneins, and among them, the paradigmatic neurospora crassa metallothionein (mt) (26 residues), were once considered as the shortest mts--the ubiquitous, versatile metal-binding proteins--among all organisms, and thus representatives of their primeval forms. nowadays, fungal mts of diverse lengths and sequence features are known, following the huge heterogeneity of the kingdom of fungi. at the opposite end of n. crassa mt, the recently reported cryptococcus neoformans cnmt1 and cnmt2 ...	2016	26882011
deoxycholic acid transformations catalyzed by selected filamentous fungi.	more than 100 filamentous fungi strains, mostly ascomycetes and zygomycetes from different phyla, were screened for the ability to convert deoxycholic acid (dca) to valuable bile acid derivatives. along with 11 molds which fully degraded dca, several strains were revealed capable of producing cholic acid, ursocholic acid, 12-keto-lithocholic acid (12-keto-lca), 3-keto-dca, 15β-hydroxy-dca and 15β-hydroxy-12-oxo-lca as major products from dca. the last metabolite was found to be a new compound. t ...	2016	26718089
selective enzymatic transformation to aldehydes in vivo by fungal carboxylate reductase from neurospora crassa.	the enzymatic reduction of carboxylic acids is in its infancy with only a handful of biocatalysts available to this end. we have increased the spectrum of carboxylate-reducing enzymes (cars) with the sequence of a fungal car from neurospora crassa or74a (nccar). nccar was efficiently expressed in e. coli using an autoinduction protocol at low temperature. it was purified and characterized in vitro, revealing a broad substrate acceptance, a ph optimum at ph 5.5-6.0, a tm of 45 °c and inhibition b ...	2016	27917101
suppressor of fusion, a fusarium oxysporum homolog of ndt80, is required for nutrient-dependent regulation of anastomosis.	heterokaryon formation is an essential step in asexual recombination in fusarium oxysporum. filamentous fungi have an elaborate nonself recognition machinery to prevent formation and proliferation of heterokaryotic cells, called heterokaryon incompatibility (hi). in f. oxysporum the regulation of this machinery is not well understood. in neurospora crassa, vib-1, a putative transcription factor of the p53-like ndt80 family of transcription factors, has been identified as global regulator of hi. ...	2016	27531696
hyphal chemotropism in fungal pathogenicity.	the ability to grow as filamentous hyphae defines the lifestyle of fungi. hyphae are exposed to a variety of chemical stimuli such as nutrients or signal molecules from mating partners and host organisms. how fungi sense and process this chemical information to steer hyphal growth is poorly understood. saccharomyces cerevisiae and neurospora crassa have served as genetic models for the identification of cellular components functioning in chemotropism. a recent study in the pathogen fusarium oxys ...	2016	27150623
molecular components of the neurospora crassa ph signaling pathway and their regulation by ph and the pac-3 transcription factor.	environmental ph induces a stress response triggering a signaling pathway whose components have been identified and characterized in several fungi. neurospora crassa shares all six components of the aspergillus nidulans ph signaling pathway, and we investigate here their regulation during an alkaline ph stress response. we show that the n. crassa pal mutant strains, with the exception of δpal-9, which is the a. nidulans pali homolog, exhibit low conidiation and are unable to grow at alkaline ph. ...	2016	27557053
molecular dissection of so (soft) protein in stress-induced aggregation and cell-to-cell interactive functions in filamentous fungal multicellularity.	filamentous fungi grow by organizing multicellularity through hyphal compartmentalization and cell fusion. so (soft) protein, which was originally identified in neurospora crassa, plays distinct functional roles in cell-to-cell interactions, such as septal plugging and cell fusion. we previously reported that aoso, an aspergillus oryzae so homologue, forms aggregates at the septal pore in response to stress, as well as upon hyphal wounding. however, the functional regions that mediate the multic ...	2016	27109373
identification of a novel l-rhamnose uptake transporter in the filamentous fungus aspergillus niger.	the study of plant biomass utilization by fungi is a research field of great interest due to its many implications in ecology, agriculture and biotechnology. most of the efforts done to increase the understanding of the use of plant cell walls by fungi have been focused on the degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose, and transport and metabolism of their constituent monosaccharides. pectin is another important constituent of plant cell walls, but has received less attention. in relation to th ...	2016	27984587
the interaction of fungi with the environment orchestrated by rnai.	the fungal kingdom has been key in the investigation of the biogenesis and function of small rnas (srnas). the discovery of phenomena such as quelling in neurospora crassa represents pioneering work in the identification of the main elements of the rna interference (rnai) machinery. recent discoveries in the regulatory mechanisms in some yeast and filamentous fungi are helping us reach a deeper understanding of the transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene-silencing mechanisms involved in ge ...	2016	26932186
the introduction of the fungal d-galacturonate pathway enables the consumption of d-galacturonic acid by saccharomyces cerevisiae.	pectin-rich wastes, such as citrus pulp and sugar beet pulp, are produced in considerable amounts by the juice and sugar industry and could be used as raw materials for biorefineries. one possible process in such biorefineries is the hydrolysis of these wastes and the subsequent production of ethanol. however, the ethanol-producing organism of choice, saccharomyces cerevisiae, is not able to catabolize d-galacturonic acid, which represents a considerable amount of the sugars in the hydrolysate, ...	2016	27538689
circadian clocks and the regulation of virulence in fungi: getting up to speed.	you cannot escape time. therefore, it seems wise to learn how to keep track of it and use it to your advantage. circadian clocks are molecular circuits that allow organisms to temporally coordinate a plethora of processes, including gene expression, with a close to 24h rhythm, optimizing cellular function in synchrony with daily environmental cycles. the molecular bases of these clocks have been extensively studied in the fungus neurospora crassa, providing a detailed molecular description. surp ...	2016	27039027
a novel zn2 cys6 transcription factor bcgaar regulates d-galacturonic acid utilization in botrytis cinerea.	d-galacturonic acid (gala) is the most abundant monosaccharide component of pectin. previous transcriptome analysis in the plant pathogenic fungus botrytis cinerea identified eight gala-inducible genes involved in pectin decomposition, gala transport and utilization. co-expression of these genes indicates that a specific regulatory mechanism occurs in b. cinerea. in this study, promoter regions of these genes were analysed and eight conserved sequence motifs identified. the bclga1 promoter, cont ...	2016	26691528
identification and characterization of a novel aspergillus fumigatus rhomboid family putative protease, rbda, involved in hypoxia sensing and virulence.	aspergillus fumigatus is the most common pathogenic mold infecting humans and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, a. fumigatus spores are inhaled into the lungs, undergoing germination and invasive hyphal growth. the fungus occludes and disrupts the blood vessels, leading to hypoxia and eventual tissue necrosis. the ability of this mold to adapt to hypoxia is regulated in part by the sterol regulatory element binding ...	2016	27068092
functional characterization of the woronin body protein wsca of the pathogenic mold aspergillus fumigatus.	woronin bodies are fungal-specific organelles that seal damaged hyphal compartments and thereby contribute to the stress resistance and virulence of filamentous fungi. in this study, we have characterized the aspergillus fumigatus woronin body protein wsca. wsca is homologous to neurospora crassa wsc, a protein that was shown to be important for biogenesis, segregation and positioning of woronin bodies. wsca and wsc both belong to the mpv17/pmp22 family of peroxisomal membrane proteins. an a. fu ...	2016	27016805
structural divergence of the group i intron binding surface in fungal mitochondrial tyrosyl-trna synthetases that function in rna splicing.	the mitochondrial tyrosyl-trna synthetases (mttyrrss) of pezizomycotina fungi, a subphylum that includes many pathogenic species, are bifunctional proteins that both charge mitochondrial trna(tyr) and act as splicing cofactors for autocatalytic group i introns. previous studies showed that one of these proteins, neurospora crassa cyt-18, binds group i introns by using both its n-terminal catalytic and c-terminal anticodon binding domains and that the catalytic domain uses a newly evolved group i ...	2016	27036943
de-repression of csp-1 activates adaptive responses to antifungal azoles.	antifungal azoles are the major drugs that are used to treat fungal infections. this study found that in response to antifungal azole stress, neurospora crassa could activate the transcriptional responses of many genes and increase azole resistance by reducing the level of conidial separation 1 (csp-1), a global transcription repressor, at azole-responsive genes. the expression of csp-1 was directly activated by the transcription factors wc-1 and wc-2. upon ketoconazole (ktc) stress, the transcr ...	2016	26781458
fungal sex: the ascomycota.	this article provides an overview of sexual reproduction in the ascomycetes, a phylum of fungi that is named after the specialized sacs or "asci" that hold the sexual spores. they have therefore also been referred to as the sac fungi due to these characteristic structures that typically contain four to eight ascospores. ascomycetes are morphologically diverse and include single-celled yeasts, filamentous fungi, and more complex cup fungi. the sexual cycles of many species, including those of the ...	2016	27763253
small heat shock proteins, phylogeny in filamentous fungi and expression analyses in aspergillus nidulans.	small heat shock proteins (shsps) have been characterized in organisms from all three domains of life and viruses and are involved in a wide range of biological functions. however, the evolution and function of shsp in aspergillus species are largely unknown. in the present work, shsps were identified in 31 filamentous fungi, including species from aspergillus, penicillium, fusarium and magnaporthe, as well as botrytis cinerea and neurospora crassa. phylogenetic analysis revealed high level of d ...	2016	26403724
seeing the world differently: variability in the photosensory mechanisms of two model fungi.	light plays an important role for most organisms on this planet, serving either as a source of energy or information for the adaptation of biological processes to specific times of day. the fungal kingdom is estimated to contain well over a million species, possibly 10-fold more, and it is estimated that a majority of the fungi respond to light, eliciting changes in several physiological characteristics including pathogenesis, development and secondary metabolism. two model organisms for photobi ...	2016	26373782
light governs asexual differentiation in the grey mould fungus botrytis cinerea via the putative transcription factor bcltf2.	botrytis cinerea is a plant pathogenic fungus known for its utilization of light as environmental cue to regulate asexual differentiation: conidia are formed in the light, while sclerotia are formed in the dark. as no orthologues of known regulators of conidiation (e.g., aspergillus nidulans brla, neurospora crassa fl) exist in the leotiomycetes, we initiated a de novo approach to identify the functional counterpart in b. cinerea. the search revealed the light-responsive c2h2 transcription facto ...	2016	27347834
gln3 is a main regulator of nitrogen assimilation in candida glabrata.	after candida albicans, the yeast candida glabrata ranks second as an aetiological agent of candidaemia and is the most frequently encountered non-candida albicans species in patients with invasive candidiasis. transcriptome analysis in c. albicans, c. glabrata and cryptoccocus neoformans has revealed that, when engulfed by macrophages, these yeasts upregulate genes involved in nutrient acquisition, including nitrogen transporters such as the general amino acid permease gap1, the dicarboxylic am ...	2016	27222014
isolation, mapping, and characterization of trehalaseless mutants of neurospora crassa.	mutant strains of neurospora crassa that lack trehalase and are unable to grow on trehalose were isolated, and the gene (tre) was positioned on the right arm of linkage group i. maltase and beta-galactosidase activities are almost identical in tre(-) strains, whereas that of invertase was reduced by more than half and those of acid phosphatase and amylase were somewhat increased. heterocaryons between standard and trehalaseless strains yield less than one-tenth the activity of the former. in add ...	2016	5001211
[proteins from neurospora crassa. 2. immunoelectrophoretically detectable proteins and their relationship to growth time].		2016	4973223
rna interference in fungi: retention and loss.	rna interference (rnai) is a mechanism conserved in eukaryotes, including fungi, that represses gene expression by means of small noncoding rnas (srnas) of about 20 to 30 nucleotides. its discovery is one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the past 20 years, and it has revolutionized our perception of the functioning of the cell. initially described and characterized in neurospora crassa, the rnai is widespread in fungi, suggesting that it plays important functions in the fungal k ...	2016	28087943
fine-scale mapping in neurospora crassa by using genome-wide knockout strains.	fine-scale genetic mapping is often hindered by the lack of adequate markers surrounding the locus of interest. in the filamentous ascomycete neurospora crassa, the genome has been sequenced and an effort has been made to generate genome-wide deletion strains for the entire gene set. accordingly, the hygromycin-resistant marker in each deletion strain can be used as a mapping locus in a classical three-point cross, along with the mapping target and a standard marker. we have demonstrated the fea ...	2016	22067301
the growth of the isolated hyphal apices of neurospora crassa under carbon starvation.		2016	18841815
potassium distribution in the neurospora crassa hypha.		2016	11029033
kinesin and dynein mutants provide novel insights into the roles of vesicle traffic during cell morphogenesis in neurospora.	kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein are force-generating molecules that move in opposite directions along microtubules. they have been implicated in the directed transport of a wide variety of cellular organelles, but it is unclear whether they have overlapping or largely independent functions.	2016	10469561
melanogenesis, tyrosinase expression, and reproductive differentiation in black and white truffles (ascomycotina).	white and black truffles of the genus tuber are ascomycotina as well as neurospora crassa, which expresses tyrosinase dependently on the reproductive cycle. tyrosinase expression dependent on reproductive differentiation has been also described in black truffles. we present novel and comparative work on melanogenic activities in black and white truffles that both express true tyrosinases. l-tyrosine 3-monooxygenase and l-dopa oxidase activities colocalize as histochemically detected and are simi ...	2016	9170162
mutation at the am locus of neurospora crassa.	forty-eight new mutations at the am locus of neurospora crassa have been characterized. nineteen mutations were induced by uv; of these, eight were missense, two were frameshifts, two were nonsense, three were deletions and four were unidentified. twenty-nine mutations were induced with nitrous acid; of these, twenty-one were missense, three were frameshifts, one was nonsense, two were deletions and one was genetically unstable.	2016	6177580
[isolation and certain features of a polyphosphate phosphohydrolase deficient mutant of the fungus neurospora crassa].	a polyphosphatase deficient mutant of neurospora crassa has been isolated. the criterion for selecting the mutant was the capacity of the fungus to assimilate polyphosphates as the source of exogenous phosphorus. the mutant like the parent strain ad-6, was an adenine auxotroph but differed from the parent strain by a lower growth rate though, at the stationary stage, its biomass reached the same level as in the strain ad-6. the character of changes in the activity of polyphosphatase in the cours ...	2016	6248740
[isolation and properties of polyphosphatase of neurospora crassa].	polyphosphatase (polyphosphate-phosphohydrolase) has been isolated from mycelium of neurospora crassa and purified to homogenous state. the enzyme is shown to be strictly specific to high molecular weight inorganic polyphosphates. km for phosphate in polymeric form is 6.8-10(-4) m. the molecular weight of this enzyme is 50 000 +/- 3000. to display its activity polyphosphatase requires the presence of bivalent cations of some metals, mg2+ ions being the best activator with co2+, mn2+ and fe2+ ion ...	2016	2861
conversion of d-lysine via l-pepecolic acid in neurospora crassa.	neurospora crassa converts d-lysine to l-pipecolic acid and the latter to l-lysine by a pathway outlined herein and different from mechanisms hitherto known to be involved in interconversions of enantiomers of amino acids.	2016	125972
[polyphosphate depolymerase activity in cells of neurospora crassa (28610 as)].		2016	4344204
[location of polyphosphatases, hydrolyzing polyphosphates to orthophosphates, in the subcellular structures of neurospora crassa].		2016	4336095
[detection and some properties of neurospora crassa polyphosphatases hydrolyzing inorganic polyphosphates and orthophosphates].		2016	4333905
ageing of neurospora crassa. iv. induction of senescence in wild type by dietary amino acid analogs and reversal by antioxidants and membrane stabilizers.	the extensional growth rate of wild-type 74a8 n. crassa in the presence of various concentrations of 19 amino acid analogs was measured. seven analogs were not inhibitory at concentrations in the range of one to 10mm. of the remaining 12 analogs, nine inhibited growth in a novel way. the kinetics of growth in the presence of these analogs at 30 degrees were characterized by seven sequential phases: (1)lag; (2) acceleration of growth rate; (3) steady-state growth rate; (4) exponential rate of dec ...	2015	7715
purification of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes of neurospora crassa mitochondria.	a simple purification procedure for the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes of neurospora crassa mitochondria is described. after fractionated precipitations with polyethylene glycol, elimination of thiol proteins, and gel-filtration chromatography, the resulting preparations contained both activities. covalent chromatography on thiol-activated sepharose cl-4b allowed the specific binding of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex activity in the presence of 2- ...	2015	2947635
dna-dna and dna-protein crosslinking and repair in neurospora crassa following exposure to nitrogen mustard.	a new method was developed for the analysis of dna-protein crosslinks in neurospora crassa. the formations of dna-protein and dna-dna crosslinks were assayed following exposure of spheroplasts to hn2. both types of crosslink were detected and were found to be repaired during recovery. moreover a mutant sensitive to hn2 was defective in the removal of both types of crosslink.	2015	6239978
cyclic amp-induced tyrosinase synthesis in neurospora crassa.		2015	4376002
chemically induced reversion and suppression of methionine-i alleles of neurospora crassa.		2015	4357302
comparison of cysteine and tryptophan content of insoluble proteins derived from wild-type and mi-1 strains of neurospora crassa.	the possibility of an amino acid substitution (cysteine for tryptophan) in a membrane protein of the [mi-1] strain of neurospora crassa has been investigated in detail by using a double radioactive labeling procedure. auxotrophic strains of neurospora having wild-type [+] or [mi-1] cytoplasm have been grown under conditions which result in the specific labeling of protein tryptophan with (3)h and protein cysteine with (35)s. although the least soluble 1 to 20% of the [mi-1] mitochondrial membran ...	2015	4334762
studies on the glutamate dehydrogenase from neurospora crassa.		2015	4403951
cold-induced increase of glycerol kinase in neurospora crassa.		2015	4270897
regulation of nitrate reductase in neurospora crassa: stability in vivo.	nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form (nadph)-nitrate reductase and its related enzyme activities, nadph-cytochrome c reductase and reduced benzyl viologen-nitrate reductase, are all induced following the transfer of ammonia-grown wild-type neurospora mycelia to nitrate medium. after nitrate reductase is induced to the maximal level, the addition of an ammonium salt to, or the removal of nitrate from, the cultures results in a rapid inactivation of nitrate reductase and its t ...	2015	4401813
isolation and characterization of an unsaponifiable lipid from neurospora crassa.		2015	4364989
formation of assimilatory nitrate reductase by in vitro inter-cistronic complementation in neurospora crassa.	in vitro complementation of the soluble assimilatory nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form (nadph)-nitrate reductase was attained by mixing cell-free preparations of certain neurospora nitrate reductase mutants: induced nit-1 (uniquely possessing inducible nadph-cytochrome c reductase) with (a) uninduced or induced nit-2 or nit-3, or (b) uninduced wild type. the complementing activity of induced nit-1 is soluble while that of nit-2, nit-3, and wild type is particulate but not ...	2015	4391854
induction of beta-glucosidases in neurospora crassa.	the induction of beta-glucosidases (ec 3.2.1.21) was studied in neurospora crassa. cellobiase was induced by cellobiose, but other inducers had little effect on this enzyme. cellobiase activity was very low in all stages of the vegetative life cycle in the absence of di-beta-glucoside inducer. aryl-beta-glucosidase was semiconstitutive at late stages of culture growth prior to conidiation. at early stages, aryl-beta-glucosidase was induced by cellobiose, laminaribiose, and gentiobiose, and weakl ...	2015	4270443
evidence for distinct kynureninase and hydroxykynureninase activities in neurospora crassa.	previous studies have indicated that a single enzyme, "kynureninase," catalyzes the reactions of l-kynurenine to anthranilate and l-3-hydroxykynurenine to 3-hydroxyanthranilate in neurospora crassa and in other organisms. the present report describes separate enzymes which catalyze these reactions in n. crassa. the first, a kynureninase, preferentially catalyzes kynurenine to anthranilate and is induced over 400-fold by tryptophan or a catabolite of tryptophan. the second, a hydroxykynureninase, ...	2015	4331500
the subunit structure of the nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase of neurospora crassa.		2015	4403952
behavior of cycloaldolase from neurospora crassa towards substrate analogs and aldolase inhibitors.		2015	4346519
mutagenesis of trichoderma reesei endoglucanase i: impact of expression host on activity and stability at elevated temperatures.	trichoderma reesei is a key cellulase source for economically saccharifying cellulosic biomass for the production of biofuels. lignocellulose hydrolysis at temperatures above the optimum temperature of t. reesei cellulases (~50°c) could provide many significant advantages, including reduced viscosity at high-solids loadings, lower risk of microbial contamination during saccharification, greater compatibility with high-temperature biomass pretreatment, and faster rates of hydrolysis. these potent ...	2015	25879765
characterization of cercospora nicotianae hypothetical proteins in cercosporin resistance.	the photoactivated toxin, cercosporin, produced by cercospora species, plays an important role in pathogenesis of this fungus to host plants. cercosporin has almost universal toxicity to cells due to its production of reactive oxygen species including singlet oxygen. for that reason, cercospora species, which are highly resistant to their own toxin, are good candidates to identify genes for resistance to cercosporin and to the reactive oxygen species it produces. in previous research, the zinc c ...	2015	26474162
a circadian oscillator in the fungus botrytis cinerea regulates virulence when infecting arabidopsis thaliana.	the circadian clock of the plant model arabidopsis thaliana modulates defense mechanisms impacting plant-pathogen interactions. nevertheless, the effect of clock regulation on pathogenic traits has not been explored in detail. moreover, molecular description of clocks in pathogenic fungi--or fungi in general other than the model ascomycete neurospora crassa--has been neglected, leaving this type of question largely unaddressed. we sought to characterize, therefore, the circadian system of the pl ...	2015	26124115
epigenetics as an emerging tool for improvement of fungal strains used in biotechnology.	filamentous fungi are today a major source of industrial biotechnology for the production of primary and secondary metabolites, as well as enzymes and recombinant proteins. all of them have undergone extensive improvement strain programs, initially by classical mutagenesis and later on by genetic manipulation. thereby, strategies to overcome rate-limiting or yield-reducing reactions included manipulating the expression of individual genes, their regulatory genes, and also their function. yet, re ...	2015	26115753
a lipid-managing program maintains a stout spitzenkörper.	the spitzenkörper (spk) is an accumulation of vesicles interleaved with actin microfilaments present at the cytosolic side of the apical plasma membrane (pm) of hyphal tips of many species of filamentous fungi. the physiological role of the spk has captivated fungal biologists over the years, but only very recently this 'organelle' is starting to be understood in the molecular terminology used for cell biological models. one aspect that has received little attention is the role of cellular membr ...	2015	25921726
regulation of glycogen metabolism by the cre-1, rco-1 and rcm-1 proteins in neurospora crassa. the role of cre-1 as the central transcriptional regulator.	the transcription factor crea/mig1/cre-1 is a repressor protein that regulates the use of alternative carbon sources via a mechanism known as carbon catabolite repression (ccr). in saccharomyces cerevisiae, mig1 recruits the complex ssn6-tup1, the neurospora crassa rcm-1 and rco-1 orthologous proteins, respectively, to bind to promoters of glucose-repressible genes. we have been studying the regulation of glycogen metabolism in n. crassa and the identification of the rco-1 corepressor as a regul ...	2015	25889113
transient transformation of podosphaera xanthii by electroporation of conidia.	powdery mildew diseases are a major phytosanitary issue causing important yield and economic losses in agronomic, horticultural and ornamental crops. powdery mildew fungi are obligate biotrophic parasites unable to grow on culture media, a fact that has significantly limited their genetic manipulation. in this work, we report a protocol based on the electroporation of fungal conidia, for the transient transformation of podosphaera fusca (synonym podosphaera xanthii), the main causal agent of cuc ...	2015	25651833
dissecting the function of the different chitin synthases in vegetative growth and sexual development in neurospora crassa.	chitin, one of the most important carbohydrates of the fungal cell wall, is synthesized by chitin synthases (chs). seven sequences encoding chss have been identified in the genome of neurospora crassa. previously, chs-1, -3 and -6 were found at the spitzenkörper(spk) core and developing septa. we investigated the functional importance of each chs in growth and development of n. crassa. the cellular distribution of each chs tagged with fluorescent proteins and the impact of corresponding gene del ...	2015	25596036
the apses family proteins in fungi: characterizations, evolution and functions.	the apses protein family belongs to transcriptional factors of the basic helix-loop-helix (bhlh) class, the originally described members (apses: asm1p, phd1p, sok2p, efg1p and stuap) are used to designate this group of proteins, and they have been identified as key regulators of fungal development and other biological processes. apses proteins share a highly conserved dna-binding domain (apses domain) of about 100 amino acids, whose central domain is predicted to form a typical bhlh structure. b ...	2015	25534868
fgric8 is involved in regulating vegetative growth, conidiation, deoxynivalenol production and virulence in fusarium graminearum.	proteins of the resistance to inhibitors of cholinesterase 8 (ric8) group act as guanine nucleotide exchange factors (gefs) and play important roles in regulating g-protein signaling in animals. in filamentous fungi, putative ric8 orthologs have so far been identified in magnaporthe oryzae, neurospora crassa, aspergillus nidulans and aspergillus fumigatus. here, we report the functional investigation of a potential ric8 ortholog (fgric8) in the wheat head blight pathogen fusarium graminearum. ta ...	2015	26341536
parallel structural evolution of mitochondrial ribosomes and oxphos complexes.	the five macromolecular complexes that jointly mediate oxidative phosphorylation (oxphos) in mitochondria consist of many more subunits than those of bacteria, yet, it remains unclear by which evolutionary mechanism(s) these novel subunits were recruited. even less well understood is the structural evolution of mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes): while it was long thought that their exceptionally high protein content would physically compensate for their uniquely low amount of ribosomal rna ...	2015	25861818
transcription factor ads-4 regulates adaptive responses and resistance to antifungal azole stress.	azoles are commonly used as antifungal drugs or pesticides to control fungal infections in medicine and agriculture. fungi adapt to azole stress by rapidly activating the transcription of a number of genes, and transcriptional increases in some azole-responsive genes can elevate azole resistance. the regulatory mechanisms that control transcriptional responses to azole stress in filamentous fungi are not well understood. this study identified a bzip transcription factor, ads-4 (antifungal drug s ...	2015	26100701
anti-infective assessment of senecio smithioides (asteraceae) and isolation of 9-oxoeuryopsin, a furanoeremophilane-type sesquiterpene with antiplasmodial activity.	the search for anti-infective activity in the antipyretic plant senecio smithioides was conducted. petroleum ether (pe), dichloromethane (ch2cl2), ethyl acetate (etoac) and hydroethanolic (96% etoh) extracts, and compounds 9-oxoeuryopsin (1), epoxydecompostin (2) and senecionine (3) were obtained from the aerial parts. all extracts and 1 were tested against chloroquine-resistant strain of plasmodium falciparum (ref. chloroquine), trypanosoma cruzi (ref. nifurtimox), leishmania braziliensis, leis ...	2015	26606687
improvement of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid production by marine dinoflagellate crypthecodinium cohnii using rapeseed meal hydrolysate and waste molasses as feedstock.	rapeseed meal and waste molasses are two important agro-industrial by-products which are produced in large quantities. in this study, solid state fermentation and fungal autolysis were performed to produce rapeseed meal hydrolysate (rmh) using fungal strains of aspergillus oryzae, penicillium oxalicum and neurospora crassa. the hydrolysate was used as fermentation feedstock for heterotrophic growth of microalga crypthecodinium cohnii that produce docosahexaenoic acid (dha). the addition of waste ...	2015	25942565
probing c-terminal interactions of the pseudomonas stutzeri cyanide-degrading cynd protein.	the cyanide dihydratases from bacillus pumilus and pseudomonas stutzeri share high amino acid sequence similarity throughout except for their highly divergent c-termini. however, deletion or exchange of the c-termini had different effects upon each enzyme. here we extended previous studies and investigated how the c-terminus affects the activity and stability of three nitrilases, the cyanide dihydratases from b. pumilus (cyndpum) and p. stutzeri (cyndstut) and the cyanide hydratase from neurospo ...	2015	25549622
around the fungal clock: recent advances in the molecular study of circadian clocks in neurospora and other fungi.	night follows day and as a consequence, organisms have evolved molecular machineries that allow them to anticipate and respond to the many changes that accompany these transitions. circadian clocks are precise yet plastic pacemakers that allow the temporal organization of a plethora of biological process. circadian clocks are widespread across the tree of life and while their exact molecular components differ among phyla, they tend to share common design principles. in this review, we discuss th ...	2015	26639917
exploring the potential of fungal arylacetonitrilases in mandelic acid synthesis.	the application of arylacetonitrilases from filamentous fungi to the hydrolysis of high concentrations of (r,s)-mandelonitrile (100-500 mm) was demonstrated for the first time. escherichia coli strains expressing the corresponding genes were used as whole-cell catalysts. nitrilases from aspergillus niger, neurospora crassa, nectria haematococca, and arthroderma benhamiae (enzymes nitan, nitnc, nitnh, and nitab, respectively) exhibited different degrees of enantio- and chemoselectivity (amide for ...	2015	25652193
[mechanisms and regulation of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in filamentous fungi: classical cases and new models].	cellulose is the most abundant renewable carbon source on earth. however, this polymer structure comprises a physical and chemical barrier for carbon access, which has limited its exploitation. in nature, only a few percentage of microorganisms may degrade this polymer by cellulase expression. filamentous fungi are one of the most active and efficient groups among these microorganisms. this review describes similarities and differences between cellulase activity mechanisms and regulatory mechani ...	2015	24607657
neurospora crassa asm-1 complements the conidiation defect in a stua mutant of aspergillus nidulans.	aspergillus nidulans stua and neurospora crassa asm-1 are orthologous apses (asm-1, phd1, sok2, efg1, stua) transcription factors conserved across a diverse group of fungi. stua and asm-1 have roles in asexual (conidiation) and sexual (ascospore formation) development in both organisms. to address the hypothesis that the last common ancestor of these diverse fungi regulated conidiation with similar genes, asm-1 was introduced into the stua1 mutant of a. nidulans. expression of asm-1 complemented ...	2015	25550299
extreme diversity in the regulation of ndt80-like transcription factors in fungi.	the saccharomyces cerevisiae ndt80 protein is the founding member of a class of p53-like transcription factors that is known as the ndt80/phog-like dna-binding family. the number of ndt80-like genes in different fungi is highly variable and their roles, which have been examined in only a few species, include regulation of meiosis, sexual development, biofilm formation, drug resistance, virulence, the response to nutrient stress and programmed cell death. the protein kinase ime2 regulates the sin ...	2015	26497142
aspergillus glaucus aquaglyceroporin gene glpf confers high osmosis tolerance in heterologous organisms.	aquaglyceroporins (glpfs) that transport glycerol along with water and other uncharged solutes are involved in osmoregulation in myriad species. fungal species form a large group of eukaryotic organisms, and their glpfs may be diverse, exhibiting various activities. however, few filamentous fungal glpfs have been biologically investigated. here, a glpf gene from the halophilic fungus aspergillus glaucus (agglpf) was verified to be a channel of water or glycerol in xenopus laevis oocytes and was ...	2015	26209670
kinesin-3 in the basidiomycete ustilago maydis transports organelles along the entire microtubule array.	the molecular motor kinesin-3 transports early endosomes along microtubules in filamentous fungi. it was reported that kinesin-3 from the ascomycete fungi aspergillus nidulans and neurospora crassa use a subset of post-translationally modified and more stable microtubules. here, i show that kinesin-3 from the basidiomycete ustilago maydis moves along all hyphal microtubules. this difference is likely due to variation in cell cycle control and associated organization of the microtubule array.	2015	25459534
chemotropic sensing in fungus-plant interactions.	growth of fungal hyphae is guided by a variety of chemical gradients, including nutrients, mating pheromones or host compounds. over 100 years after chemotropism was first reported in fungus-plant interactions, our knowledge on the host signals, fungal receptors and cellular pathways is still rudimentary. genetic analysis in the model organisms saccharomyces cerevisiae and neurospora crassa has provided valuable insights into the chemotropic machinery of the fungal hypha. moreover, recent studie ...	2015	26247120
toward bioactive yet antibacterial surfaces.	the fabrication of antibacterial yet biocompatible and bioactive surfaces is a challenge that biological and biomedical community has faced for many years, while no "dream material" has been developed so far. the primary goal of this study was to establish an optimal range of ag concentration and its state of agglomeration in bioactive nanocomposite ticapcon films which would provide a strong bactericidal effect without compromising the material biocompatibility and bioactivity. to obtain sample ...	2015	26255161
expression, purification, refolding, and enzymatic characterization of two secretory phospholipases a₂ from neurospora crassa.	secretory phospholipase a2 (spla2) catalyzes the hydrolysis of sn-2 linkage in the glycerophospholipid, thereby releasing fatty acid and 1-acyl lysophospholipid. among spla2s from various organisms and tissues, group xiv fungal/bacterial spla2s are relatively less characterized compared to their mammalian counterparts. here we report cloning, recombinant expression, refolding, and enzymatic characterization of two spla2s, ncu06650 and ncu09423, from the filamentous fungus neurospora crassa. the ...	2015	26272369
efficient production of xylitol from hemicellulosic hydrolysate using engineered escherichia coli.	a metabolically engineered escherichia coli has been constructed for the production of xylitol, one of the top 12 platform chemicals from agricultural sources identified by the us department of energy. an optimal plasmid was constructed to express xylose reductase from neurospora crassa with almost no inclusion bodies at relatively high temperature. the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent glucose phosphotransferase system (ptsg) was disrupted to eliminate catabolite repression and allow simultaneous u ...	2015	26197036
ascomycete fungal actins differentially support plant spatial cell and organ development.	actin interacts with a wide variety of cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins to support spatial development in nearly all eukaryotes. null mutations in plant vegetative actins produce dramatically altered cell, tissue, and organ morphologies. animal cytoplasmic actins (e.g., human hsactb, hsactg1) and some ancestral protist actins fully suppress these mutant phenotypes suggesting that some animal, plant, and protist actins share functional competence for spatial development. considering that fungi ha ...	2015	25428798
expanding xylose metabolism in yeast for plant cell wall conversion to biofuels.	sustainable biofuel production from renewable biomass will require the efficient and complete use of all abundant sugars in the plant cell wall. using the cellulolytic fungus neurospora crassa as a model, we identified a xylodextrin transport and consumption pathway required for its growth on hemicellulose. reconstitution of this xylodextrin utilization pathway in saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed that fungal xylose reductases act as xylodextrin reductases, producing xylosyl-xylitol oligomers as ...	2015	25647728
enzymatic characterization of recombinant nitrate reductase expressed and purified from neurospora crassa.	we established an expression and purification procedure for recombinant protein production in neurospora crassa (n. crassa). this strep-tag® based system was successfully used for purifying recombinant n. crassa nitrate reductase (nr), whose enzymatic activity was compared to recombinant n. crassa nr purified from escherichia coli. the purity of the two different nr preparations was similar but nr purified from n. crassa showed a significantly higher nitrate turnover rate. two phosphorylation si ...	2015	25914160
the n-linked outer chain mannans and the dfg5p and dcw1p endo-α-1,6-mannanases are needed for incorporation of candida albicans glycoproteins into the cell wall.	a biochemical pathway for the incorporation of cell wall protein into the cell wall of neurospora crassa was recently proposed. in this pathway, the dfg-5 and dcw-1 endo-α-1,6-mannanases function to covalently cross-link cell wall protein-associated n-linked galactomannans, which are structurally related to the yeast outer chain mannans, into the cell wall glucan-chitin matrix. in this report, we demonstrate that the mannosyltransferase enzyme och1p, which is needed for the synthesis of the n-li ...	2015	26048011
clerodane type diterpene as a novel antifungal agent from polyalthia longifolia var. pendula.	bioactivity-guided chemical examination of methanolic extract of leaves of polyalthia longifolia var. pendula led to the isolation of the active constituent, a diterpene 1 which was identified as 16α-hydroxycleroda-3,13(14)z-dien-15,16-olide on the basis of its spectral data. among the tested strains, diterpene 1 was found to exhibit antifungal activities having mic90 values of 50.3, 100.6 and 201.2 μm against candida albicans ncim3557, cryptococcus neoformans ncim3542 (human pathogens) and neur ...	2015	25747495
in vitro production and antifungal activity of peptide abp-dhc-cecropin a.	the antimicrobial peptide abp-dhc-cecropin a is a small cationic peptide with potent activity against a wide range of bacterial species. evidence of antifungal activity has also been suggested; however, testing of this peptide has been limited due to the low expression of cecropin proteins in escherichia coli. to improve expression of this peptide in e. coli, abp-dhc-cecropin a was cloned into a psumo vector and transformed into e. coli, resulting in the production of a psumo-abp-dhc-cecropin a ...	2015	25702854
isobutanol production from cellobionic acid in escherichia coli.	liquid fuels needed for the global transportation industry can be produced from sugars derived from plant-based lignocellulosics. lignocellulosics contain a range of sugars, only some of which (such as cellulose) have been shown to be utilizable by microorganisms capable of producing biofuels. cellobionic acid makes up a small but significant portion of lignocellulosic degradation products, and had not previously been investigated as an utilizable substrate. however, aldonic acids such as cellob ...	2015	25889729
carbon and nitrogen limitation increase chitosan antifungal activity in neurospora crassa and fungal human pathogens.	chitosan permeabilizes plasma membrane and kills sensitive filamentous fungi and yeast. membrane fluidity and cell energy determine chitosan sensitivity in fungi. a five-fold reduction of both glucose (main carbon (c) source) and nitrogen (n) increased 2-fold neurospora crassa sensitivity to chitosan. we linked this increase with production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ros) and plasma membrane permeabilization. releasing n. crassa from nutrient limitation reduced chitosan antifungal ...	2015	25749367
functional analysis of two l-arabinose transporters from filamentous fungi reveals promising characteristics for improved pentose utilization in saccharomyces cerevisiae.	limited uptake is one of the bottlenecks for l-arabinose fermentation from lignocellulosic hydrolysates in engineered saccharomyces cerevisiae. this study characterized two novel l-arabinose transporters, lat-1 from neurospora crassa and mtlat-1 from myceliophthora thermophila. although the two proteins share high identity (about 83%), they display different substrate specificities. sugar transport assays using the s. cerevisiae strain eby.vw4000 indicated that lat-1 accepts a broad substrate sp ...	2015	25841015
rapid ethanol production at elevated temperatures by engineered thermotolerant kluyveromyces marxianus via the nadp(h)-preferring xylose reductase-xylitol dehydrogenase pathway.	conversion of xylose to ethanol by yeasts is a challenge because of the redox imbalances under oxygen-limited conditions. the thermotolerant yeast kluyveromyces marxianus grows well with xylose as a carbon source at elevated temperatures, but its xylose fermentation ability is weak. in this study, a combination of the nadph-preferring xylose reductase (xr) from neurospora crassa and the nadp(+)-preferring xylitol dehydrogenase (xdh) mutant from scheffersomyces stipitis (pichia stipitis) was cons ...	2015	26253204
fvso regulates vegetative hyphal fusion, asexual growth, fumonisin b1 production, and virulence in fusarium verticillioides.	hyphal anastomosis is a hallmark of filamentous fungi and plays vital roles including cellular homoeostasis, interhyphal communication and nutrient translocation. here we identify a gene, fvso, in fusarium verticillioides, a filamentous ascomycete causing maize ear and stalk rot and producing fumonisin mycotoxins. fvso, like its neurospora crassa homologue so, is required for vegetative hyphal fusion. it is also essential for normal vegetative growth, sporulation, and pathogenesis. fvso encodes ...	2015	26615739
vdnuc-2, the key regulator of phosphate responsive signaling pathway, is required for verticillium dahliae infection.	in fungal cells, a phosphate (pi) responsive signaling and metabolism (pho) pathway regulates pi-homeostasis. nuc-2/pho81 and its homologs are one of the most important components in the regulation pathway. in soil-borne phytopathogenic fungus verticillium dahliae, we identified a neurospora crassa nuc-2 homolog gene vdnuc-2. vdnuc-2 is composed of 1,018 amino acids, and is highly conserved in tested filamentous fungi. under conditions of pi-starvation, compared with the wild-type strain and ect ...	2015	26670613
genome-wide redistribution of h3k27me3 is linked to genotoxic stress and defective growth.	h3k9 methylation directs heterochromatin formation by recruiting multiple heterochromatin protein 1 (hp1)-containing complexes that deacetylate histones and methylate cytosine bases in dna. in neurospora crassa, a single h3k9 methyltransferase complex, called the dim-5,-7,-9, cul4, ddb1 complex (dcdc), is required for normal growth and development. dcdc-deficient mutants are hypersensitive to the genotoxic agent methyl methanesulfonate (mms), but the molecular basis of genotoxic stress is unclea ...	2015	26578794