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Regulation of macromolecular synthesis during nutritional shift-up in the fungusMucor

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Abstract

The dimorphic fungusMucor racemosus was grown anaerobically in the yeast form and shifted from a defined minimal medium (μ=0.17 doublings/h) to an enriched complex medium (μ=0.43 doublings/h). The measured rates of increase of several growth-related parameters displayed an immediate and complete adjustment to the higher growth rate without an intervening lag. Pulse-labeling experiments indicated that the rates of protein and RNA synthesis increased immediately and in parallel in response to the shift. The rate of polypeptide chain elongation immediately increased by approximately 60% to support the new higher rate of protein accumulation, but later declined to near pre-shift values. The accelerated rate of protein accretion was apparently sustained by a gradual increase in the total number of ribosomes per weight of cellular material and by a more rapid increase in the percentage of ribosomes recruited into polysomes at a given time. Thus, this simple eukaryote displays a much more rapid and varied mechanism of response to nutritional shift-up conditions than is classically observed in bacteria.

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Author notes

  1. Charles P. Chapman

    Present address: Department of Biology, Troy State University, 36082, Troy, Alabama, USA

  2. Joseph F. Ross

    Present address: Department of Biology, Xavier University, 70125, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Louisiana State University, 70803, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Charles P. Chapman, Joseph F. Ross &  Michael Orlowski

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  1. Charles P. Chapman
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  2. Joseph F. Ross
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  3. Michael Orlowski
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Chapman, C.P., Ross, J.F. & Orlowski, M. Regulation of macromolecular synthesis during nutritional shift-up in the fungusMucor . Current Microbiology 22, 321–325 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02091962

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