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Gene expression in the regulation of carotene biosynthesis in Phycomyces

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Abstract

Carotene synthesis in the Mucoral fungus, Phycomyces blakesleeanus, is regulated by a complex genetic mechanism and activated by four groups of environmental factors with independent mechanisms of action. Blue light and sexual stimulation increased in parallel the content of carotene and the content of mRNAs from the genes, carRA and carB, dedicated to the synthesis of β-carotene from geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. The effects of these agents were approximately additive. Retinol and dimethyl phthalate, which represent the remaining groups of activators, greatly increased the carotene content, but did not modify the levels of carRA and carB transcripts. Mutants in genes carRA, carB, carC, carD, carF, carI, and carS differed in their carotene content, from nil to much larger than that of the wild type, but had the same carRA and carB transcript levels as the wild type. The only exception was a carRA early-stop mutant, which had very small amounts of the carRA transcript. The genetic and environmental factors that modify carotene biosynthesis had little or no effect on the mRNA levels of genes, hmgS and hmgR, responsible for the enzymes that initiate the biosynthesis of all terpenoids. A general model for the regulation of carotenogenesis in Phycomyces was derived from the results.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Clifford F. Brunk, University of California at Los Angeles, for his comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Government (INIA RM200412, CTQ200615575) and Junta de Andalucía (CVI910 and CV119). Part of this work was presented in the doctoral thesis of E.R.A.A., Universidad de Sevilla, 2005.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Apartado 1095, 41080, Seville, Spain

    Eduardo R. A. Almeida & Enrique Cerdá-Olmedo

  2. Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avenida Reina Mercedes 6, 41012, Seville, Spain

    Enrique Cerdá-Olmedo

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  1. Eduardo R. A. Almeida
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  2. Enrique Cerdá-Olmedo
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Correspondence to Enrique Cerdá-Olmedo.

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Communicated by J. Heitman.

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Almeida, E.R.A., Cerdá-Olmedo, E. Gene expression in the regulation of carotene biosynthesis in Phycomyces . Curr Genet 53, 129–137 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-007-0170-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-007-0170-x

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