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Expression of the cercosporin toxin resistance gene (CRG1) as a dicistronic mRNA in the filamentous fungus Cercospora nicotianae

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Abstract

The CRG1 gene in Cercospora nicotianae encodes a transcription factor and is required for cercosporin toxin resistance and production. Cloning and sequencing of the downstream region of the CRG1 gene led to the discovery of an adjacent gene (PUT1) encoding a putative uracil transporter. Expression of CRG1 and PUT1 as assessed by Northern analysis indicated that, in addition to the expected monocistronic mRNAs (2.6 kb and 2.0 kb, respectively), a common 4.5-kb mRNA could be identified, using either a CRG1 or a PUT1 gene probe. The 2.6-kb transcript identified only by the CRG1 probe was expressed constitutively, whereas the 2.0-kb transcript identified only by the PUT1 probe was differentially expressed in various media. Four cDNA clones containing CRG1, PUT1, and the CRG1–PUT1 intergenic region were identified as part of the products from the 4.5-kb transcript. Both the 4.5-kb and 2.6-kb transcripts were not detectable in three crg1-disrupted mutants, using the CRG1 probe. The 2.0-kb transcript, but not the 4.5-kb one was detected using the PUT1 probe in the three crg1-disrupted mutants. Taken together, we conclude that the 4.5-kb transcript is a dicistronic mRNA of both CRG1 and PUT1 in the fungus C. nicotianae. This is the first example of a dicistronic mRNA identified in filamentous fungi.

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Acknowledgements

We thank W.O. Dawson and K.S. Derrick for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported in part by grant 980886 from the United States Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program and in part by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station; and it was approved for publication as Journal Series No. R-09328.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Citrus Research and Education Center and Department of Plant Pathology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA

    Kuang-Ren Chung

  2. Department of Botany and Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7616, USA

    Margaret E. Daub & Marilyn Ehrenshaft

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  1. Kuang-Ren Chung
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  2. Margaret E. Daub
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  3. Marilyn Ehrenshaft
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Correspondence to Kuang-Ren Chung.

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Communicated by J. Heitman

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Chung, KR., Daub, M.E. & Ehrenshaft, M. Expression of the cercosporin toxin resistance gene (CRG1) as a dicistronic mRNA in the filamentous fungus Cercospora nicotianae . Curr Genet 43, 415–424 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-003-0414-3

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