scholarly journals G-Protein Signaling Mediates Asexual Development at 25°C but Has No Effect on Yeast-Like Growth at 37°C in the Dimorphic Fungus Penicillium marneffei

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Zuber ◽  
Michael J. Hynes ◽  
Alex Andrianopoulos
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Penicillium Marneffei ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Asexual Development ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Dimorphic Fungus ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Opportunistic Human Pathogen

ABSTRACT The ascomycete Penicillium marneffei is an opportunistic human pathogen exhibiting a temperature-dependent dimorphic switch. At 25°C, P. marneffei grows as filamentous multinucleate hyphae and undergoes asexual development, producing uninucleate spores. At 37°C, it forms uninucleate yeast cells which divide by fission. We have cloned a gene encoding a Gα subunit of a heterotrimeric G protein from P. marneffei named gasA with high similarity to fadA in Aspergillus nidulans. Through the characterization of a ΔgasA strain and mutants carrying a dominant activating or a dominant interfering gasA allele, we show that GasA is a key regulator of asexual development but seems to play no role in the regulation of growth. A dominant activating gasA mutant whose mutation results in a G42-to-R change (gasA G42R) does not express brlA, the conidiation-specific regulatory gene, and is locked in vegetative growth, while a dominant interfering gasA G203R mutant shows inappropriate brlA expression and conidiation. Interestingly, the gasA mutants have no apparent defect in dimorphic switching or yeast-like growth at 37°C. Growth tests on dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) and theophylline suggest that a cAMP-protein kinase A cascade may be involved in the GasA signaling pathway.

scholarly journals The G-Protein α-Subunit GasC Plays a Major Role in Germination in the Dimorphic FungusPenicillium marneffei

Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 164 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Zuber ◽  
Michael J Hynes ◽  
Alex Andrianopoulos
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Germination Rate ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
G Protein Α Subunit ◽  
Opportunistic Human Pathogen

AbstractThe opportunistic human pathogen Penicillium marneffei exhibits a temperature-dependent dimorphic switch. At 25°, multinucleate, septate hyphae that can undergo differentiation to produce asexual spores (conidia) are produced. At 37° hyphae undergo arthroconidiation to produce uninucleate yeast cells that divide by fission. This work describes the cloning of the P. marneffei gasC gene encoding a G-protein α-subunit that shows high homology to members of the class III fungal Gα-subunits. Characterization of a ΔgasC mutant and strains carrying a dominant-activating gasCG45R or a dominant-interfering gasCG207R allele show that GasC is a crucial regulator of germination. A ΔgasC mutant is severely delayed in germination, whereas strains carrying a dominant-activating gasCG45R allele show a significantly accelerated germination rate. Additionally, GasC signaling positively affects the production of the red pigment by P. marneffei at 25° and negatively affects the onset of conidiation and the conidial yield, showing that GasC function overlaps with functions of the previously described Gα-subunit GasA. In contrast to the S. cerevisiae ortholog Gpa2, our data indicate that GasC is not involved in carbon or nitrogen source sensing and plays no major role in either hyphal or yeast growth or in the switch between these two forms.

scholarly journals A Regulator of G Protein Signaling-containing Kinase Is Important for Chemotaxis and Multicellular Development inDictyostelium

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1727-1743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binggang Sun ◽  
Richard A. Firtel
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinase ◽  
G Protein ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Membrane Localization ◽  
Pleckstrin Homology Domain ◽  
G Protein Signaling ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding

We have identified a gene encoding RGS domain-containing protein kinase (RCK1), a novel regulator of G protein signaling domain-containing protein kinase. RCK1 mutant strains exhibit strong aggregation and chemotaxis defects. rck1 null cells chemotax ∼50% faster than wild-type cells, suggesting RCK1 plays a negative regulatory role in chemotaxis. Consistent with this finding, overexpression of wild-type RCK1 reduces chemotaxis speed by ∼40%. On cAMP stimulation, RCK1 transiently translocates to the membrane/cortex region with membrane localization peaking at ∼10 s, similar to the kinetics of membrane localization of the pleckstrin homology domain-containing proteins CRAC, Akt/PKB, and PhdA. RCK1 kinase activity also increases dramatically. The RCK1 kinase activity does not rapidly adapt, but decreases after the cAMP stimulus is removed. This is particularly novel considering that most other chemoattractant-activated kinases (e.g., Akt/PKB, ERK1, ERK2, and PAKa) rapidly adapt after activation. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we further show that both the RGS and kinase domains are required for RCK1 function and that RCK1 kinase activity is required for the delocalization of RCK1 from the plasma membrane. Genetic evidence suggests RCK1 function lies downstream from Gα2, the heterotrimeric G protein that couples to the cAMP chemoattractant receptors. We suggest that RCK1 might be part of an adaptation pathway that regulates aspects of chemotaxis in Dictyostelium.

scholarly journals G protein-coupled receptors--recent advances.

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Latek ◽  
Anna Modzelewska ◽  
Bartosz Trzaskowski ◽  
Krzysztof Palczewski ◽  
Sławomir Filipek
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Membrane Receptors ◽  
Signaling Cascades ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Partial Activation ◽  
Bovine Rhodopsin ◽  
G Protein Coupled ◽  
Multiple Ligand

The years 2000 and 2007 witnessed milestones in current understanding of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) structural biology. In 2000 the first GPCR, bovine rhodopsin, was crystallized and the structure was solved, while in 2007 the structure of β(2)-adrenergic receptor, the first GPCR with diffusible ligands, was determined owing to advances in microcrystallization and an insertion of the fast-folding lysozyme into the receptor. In parallel with those crystallographic studies, the biological and biochemical characterization of GPCRs has advanced considerably because those receptors are molecular targets for many of currently used drugs. Therefore, the mechanisms of activation and signal transduction to the cell interior deduced from known GPCRs structures are of the highest importance for drug discovery. These proteins are the most diversified membrane receptors encoded by hundreds of genes in our genome. They participate in processes responsible for vision, smell, taste and neuronal transmission in response to photons or binding of ions, hormones, peptides, chemokines and other factors. Although the GPCRs share a common seven-transmembrane α-helical bundle structure their binding sites can accommodate thousands of different ligands. The ligands, including agonists, antagonists or inverse agonists change the structure of the receptor. With bound agonists they can form a complex with a suitable G protein, be phosphorylated by kinases or bind arrestin. The discovered signaling cascades invoked by arrestin independently of G proteins makes the GPCR activating scheme more complex such that a ligand acting as an antagonist for G protein signaling can also act as an agonist in arrestin-dependent signaling. Additionally, the existence of multiple ligand-dependent partial activation states as well as dimerization of GPCRs result in a 'microprocessor-like' action of these receptors rather than an 'on-off' switch as was commonly believed only a decade ago.

scholarly journals Constitutive signaling by the C-terminal fragment of polycystin-1 is mediated by a tethered peptide agonist

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda S Magenheimer ◽  
Ericka Nevarez Munoz ◽  
Jayalakshmi Ravichandran ◽  
Robin L Maser
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Missense Mutations ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Reporter Assays ◽  
Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney ◽  
Signaling Activation ◽  
Peptide Agonist ◽  
Adhesion Gpcr

Mutation of the PKD1 gene, encoding polycystin-1 (PC1), is the primary cause of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. PC1 is an 11-transmembrane domain protein that binds and modulates the activity of multiple heterotrimeric G protein families and is thought to function as a non-canonical G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). PC1 shares a conserved GPCR autoproteolysis inducing (GAIN) domain with the adhesion family of GPCRs, that promotes an auto-catalytic, cis-cleavage at the GPCR proteolysis site (GPS) located proximal to the first transmembrane domain. GPS cleavage divides these receptors into two associated subunits, the extracellular N-terminal (NTF) and transmembrane C-terminal (CTF) fragments. For the adhesion GPCRs, removal of the NTF leads to activation of G protein signaling as a result of the exposure and subsequent intramolecular binding of the extracellular N-terminal stalk of the CTF, i.e., the tethered cryptic ligand or tethered agonist model. Here, we test the hypothesis that PC1-mediated signaling is regulated by an adhesion GPCR-like, tethered agonist mechanism. Using cell-based reporter assays and mutagenesis of PC1 expression constructs, we show that the CTF form of PC1 requires the stalk for signaling activation and synthetic peptides derived from the PC1 stalk sequence can re-activate signaling by a stalk-less CTF. In addition, we demonstrate that ADPKD-associated missense mutations within the PC1 stalk affect signaling and can inhibit GPS cleavage. These results provide a foundation for beginning to understand the molecular mechanism of G protein regulation by PC1 and suggest that a tethered agonist-mediated mechanism can contribute to PKD pathogenesis.

scholarly journals G Protein Signaling in Plants: Characterization of Alpha and Gamma Subunits

2017 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 189a-190a
Author(s):  
Zehra Sayers ◽  
Bihter Avsar ◽  
Ines Karmous ◽  
Ersoy Cholak
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
G Protein Signaling ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Gamma Subunits

scholarly journals Morphogenetic Circuitry Regulating Growth and Development in the Dimorphic Pathogen Penicillium marneffei

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie J. Boyce ◽  
Alex Andrianopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Hyphal Growth ◽  
Penicillium Marneffei ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Asexual Development ◽  
Infectious Agents ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Pathogenic Fungus

ABSTRACTPenicillium marneffeiis an emerging human-pathogenic fungus endemic to Southeast Asia. Like a number of other fungal pathogens,P. marneffeiexhibits temperature-dependent dimorphic growth and grows in two distinct cellular morphologies, hyphae at 25°C and yeast cells at 37°C. Hyphae can differentiate to produce the infectious agents, asexual spores (conidia), which are inhaled into the host lung, where they are phagocytosed by pulmonary alveolar macrophages. Within macrophages, conidia germinate into unicellular yeast cells, which divide by fission. This minireview focuses on the current understanding of the genes required for the morphogenetic control of conidial germination, hyphal growth, asexual development, and yeast morphogenesis inP. marneffei.

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