The putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor RicA mediates upstream signaling for growth and development in Aspergillus

Eukaryot Cell. 2012 Nov;11(11):1399-412. doi: 10.1128/EC.00255-12. Epub 2012 Sep 21.

Abstract

Heterotrimeric G proteins (G proteins) govern growth, development, and secondary metabolism in various fungi. Here, we characterized ricA, which encodes a putative GDP/GTP exchange factor for G proteins in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans and the opportunistic human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. In both species, ricA mRNA accumulates during vegetative growth and early developmental phases, but it is not present in spores. The deletion of ricA results in severely impaired colony growth and the total (for A. nidulans) or near (for A. fumigatus) absence of asexual sporulation (conidiation). The overexpression (OE) of the A. fumigatus ricA gene (AfricA) restores growth and conidiation in the ΔAnricA mutant to some extent, indicating partial conservation of RicA function in Aspergillus. A series of double mutant analyses revealed that the removal of RgsA (an RGS protein of the GanB Gα subunit), but not sfgA, flbA, rgsB, or rgsC, restored vegetative growth and conidiation in ΔAnricA. Furthermore, we found that RicA can physically interact with GanB in yeast and in vitro. Moreover, the presence of two copies or OE of pkaA suppresses the profound defects caused by ΔAnricA, indicating that RicA-mediated growth and developmental signaling is primarily through GanB and PkaA in A. nidulans. Despite the lack of conidiation, brlA and vosA mRNAs accumulated to normal levels in the ΔricA mutant. In addition, mutants overexpressing fluG or brlA (OEfluG or OEbrlA) failed to restore development in the ΔAnricA mutant. These findings suggest that the commencement of asexual development requires unknown RicA-mediated signaling input in A. nidulans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Aspergillus fumigatus / genetics
  • Aspergillus fumigatus / growth & development*
  • Aspergillus fumigatus / metabolism
  • Aspergillus nidulans / genetics
  • Aspergillus nidulans / growth & development*
  • Aspergillus nidulans / metabolism
  • DNA, Fungal / genetics
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Fungal Proteins / genetics
  • Fungal Proteins / metabolism*
  • GTP-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Gene Deletion
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
  • Genes, Fungal
  • Genetic Complementation Test
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / genetics
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / metabolism*
  • Phylogeny
  • Protein Interaction Mapping
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • RNA, Fungal / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Reproduction, Asexual
  • Signal Transduction*
  • Spores, Fungal / genetics
  • Spores, Fungal / growth & development
  • Spores, Fungal / metabolism
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Substances

  • DNA, Fungal
  • Fungal Proteins
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
  • RNA, Fungal
  • RNA, Messenger
  • pkaA protein, Aspergillus nidulans
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • GTP-Binding Proteins