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DASH-type cryptochromes regulate fruiting body development and secondary metabolism differently than CmWC-1 in the fungus Cordyceps militaris

  • Applied genetics and molecular biotechnology
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Abstract

Cryptochromes (CRYs) belong to the photolyase/cryptochrome flavoprotein family, which is widely distributed in all kingdoms. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that three Cordyceps militaris proteins [i.e., cryptochrome DASH (CmCRY-DASH), (6-4) photolyase, and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) class I photolyase] belong to separate fungal photolyase/cryptochrome subfamilies. CmCRY-DASH consists of DNA photolyase and flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding domains, with RGG repeats in a C-terminal extension. Considerably, more carotenoids and cordycepin accumulated in the ΔCmcry-DASH strain than in the wild-type or ΔCmwc-1 strains, indicating an inhibitory role for CmCRY-DASH in these biosynthetic pathways. Fruiting body primordia could form in the ΔCmcry-DASH strain, but the fruiting bodies were unable to elongate normally, differently from the Cmwc-1 disruption strain, where primordium differentiation did not occur. Cmcry-DASH expression is induced by light in the wild-type strain, but not in the ΔCmwc-1 strain. CmCRY-DASH is also necessary for the expression of Cmwc-1, implying that Cmcry-DASH and Cmwc-1 exhibit interdependent expression. The Cmvvd expression levels in the wild-type and ΔCmcry-DASH strains increased considerably following irradiation, while Cmvvd expression in the ΔCmwc-1 strain was not induced by light. It is speculated that the photo adaptation may be faster in the Cmcry-DASH mutant based on Cmvvd transcript dynamics. These results provide new insights into the biological functions of fungal DASH CRYs. Furthermore, the DASH CRYs may regulate fruiting body development and secondary metabolism differently than WC-1.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Prof. Xingzhong Liu and Wenbing Yin (Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for providing the pAg1-H3 and pPk2-bar-gfp plasmids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 3 1st Beichen West Road, Beijing, Chaoyang District, 100101, China

    Fen Wang, Xiaoming Dong, Jiaojiao Zhang & Caihong Dong

  2. School of Life Sciences, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, Shandong, 255000, China

    Xinhua Song & Xiaoming Dong

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  1. Fen Wang
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  2. Xinhua Song
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  3. Xiaoming Dong
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  4. Jiaojiao Zhang
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Correspondence to Caihong Dong.

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This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572179, 31600054), by the Coal-based Key Scientific and Technological Project from Shanxi Province (FT2014-03-01), and the Key Research and Development Program from Guangxi Province (2016AB05317).

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Wang, F., Song, X., Dong, X. et al. DASH-type cryptochromes regulate fruiting body development and secondary metabolism differently than CmWC-1 in the fungus Cordyceps militaris . Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 4645–4657 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8276-7

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