Open Accesscys-3, the positive-acting sulfur regulatory gene of Neurospora crassa, encodes a protein with a putative leucine zipper DNA-binding element.
Author(s) -
Ying Hui Fu,
John V. Paietta,
D G Mannix,
George A. Marzluf
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
molecular and cellular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.14
H-Index - 327
eISSN - 1067-8824
pISSN - 0270-7306
DOI - 10.1128/mcb.9.3.1120
Subject(s) - biology , neurospora crassa , leucine zipper , gene , biochemistry , regulator gene , regulation of gene expression , mutant , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , transcription factor
The sulfur-regulatory circuit of Neurospora crassa consists of a set of unlinked structural genes which encode sulfur-catabolic enzymes and two major regulatory genes which govern their expression. The positive-acting cys-3 regulatory gene is required to turn on the expression of the sulfur-related enzymes, whereas the other regulatory gene, scon, acts in a negative fashion to repress the synthesis of the same set of enzymes. Expression of the cys-3 regulatory gene was found to be controlled by scon and by sulfur availability. The nucleotide sequence of the cys-3 gene was determined and can be translated to yield a protein of molecular weight 25,892 which displays significant homology with the oncogene protein Fos, yeast GCN4 protein, and sea urchin histone H1. Moreover, the putative cys-3 protein has a well-defined leucine zipper element plus an adjacent charged region which together may make up a DNA-binding site. A cys-3 mutant and a cys-3 temperature-sensitive mutant lead to substitutions of glutamine for basic amino acids within the charged region and thus may alter DNA-binding properties of the cys-3 protein.