Eukaryotic Cell
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aréchiga-Carvajal, E. T.
Right arrow Articles by Ruiz-Herrera, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Aréchiga-Carvajal, E. T.
Right arrow Articles by Ruiz-Herrera, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Eukaryotic Cell, June 2005, p. 999-1008, Vol. 4, No. 6
1535-9778/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.4.6.999-1008.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The RIM101/pacC Homologue from the Basidiomycete Ustilago maydis Is Functional in Multiple pH-Sensitive Phenomena

Elva T. Aréchiga-Carvajal and José Ruiz-Herrera*

Departamento de Ingeniería Genética, Unidad de Biotecnología y Genética de Plantas, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Irapuato, Gto., Mexico

Received 19 October 2004/ Accepted 18 April 2005

A homologue of the gene encoding the transcription factor Rim101 (PacC), involved in pH signal transduction in fungi, was identified in the pathogenic basidiomycete Ustilago maydis. The gene (RIM101) encodes a protein of 827 amino acid residues, which shows highest similarity to PacC proteins from Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus niger. The gene had the capacity to restore protease activity to rim101 mutants from Yarrowia lipolytica, confirming its homologous function, and was expressed at both acid and neutral pH. Null {Delta}rim101 mutants were not affected in the in vitro pH-induced dimorphic transition, their growth rate, resistance to hypertonic sorbitol or KCl stress, and pathogenicity. However, similar to pacC (rim101) mutants in other fungi, they displayed a pleiotropic phenotype with alterations in morphogenesis, impairment in protease secretion, and increased sensitivity to Na+ and Li+ ions. Other phenotypic characteristics not previously reported in fungal pacC (rim101) mutants (morphological changes, increased sensitivity to lytic enzymes, and augmented polysaccharide secretion) were also observed in U. maydis mutants. All these modifications were alleviated by transformation with the wild-type gene, confirming that all were the result of mutation in RIM101. These data indicate that the Pal/Rim pathway is functional in U. maydis (and probably in other basidiomycetes) and plays complex roles in pH-sensing phenomena, as occurs in ascomycetes and deuteromycetes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departamento de Ingeniería Genética, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN Unidad Irapuato, Km. 9.6 Libramiento Norte, Carretera Irapuato-León, 36500 Irapuato, Gto., México. Phone: 52 (462) 623-9652. Fax: 52 (462) 623-9650. E-mail: jruiz{at}ira.cinvestav.mx.

Eukaryotic Cell, June 2005, p. 999-1008, Vol. 4, No. 6
1535-9778/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.4.6.999-1008.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. Infect. Immun. J. Bacteriol.
Mol. Cell Biol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. ALL ASM JOURNALS
Copyright © 2005 by the American Society for Microbiology.