Open AccessGPCR-mediated glucose sensing system regulates light-dependent fungal development and mycotoxin production
Author(s) -
Thaila Fernanda dos Reis,
Laura Mellado,
Jessica M. Lohmar,
Lilian Pereira Silva,
Jing Zhou,
Ana M. Calvo,
Gustavo H. Goldman,
Neil Brown
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.587
H-Index - 233
eISSN - 1553-7404
pISSN - 1553-7390
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008419
Subject(s) - biology , sterigmatocystin , g protein coupled receptor , aspergillus nidulans , microbiology and biotechnology , signal transduction , mycotoxin , biochemistry , gene , botany , mutant
Microorganisms sense environmental fluctuations in nutrients and light, coordinating their growth and development accordingly. Despite their critical roles in fungi, only a few G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been characterized. The Aspergillus nidulans genome encodes 86 putative GPCRs. Here, we characterise a carbon starvation-induced GPCR-mediated glucose sensing mechanism in A . nidulans . This includes two class V ( gprH and gprI ) and one class VII ( gprM ) GPCRs, which in response to glucose promote cAMP signalling, germination and hyphal growth, while negatively regulating sexual development in a light-dependent manner. We demonstrate that GprH regulates sexual development via influencing VeA activity, a key light-dependent regulator of fungal morphogenesis and secondary metabolism. We show that GprH and GprM are light-independent negative regulators of sterigmatocystin biosynthesis. Additionally, we reveal the epistatic interactions between the three GPCRs in regulating sexual development and sterigmatocystin production. In conclusion, GprH, GprM and GprI constitute a novel carbon starvation-induced glucose sensing mechanism that functions upstream of cAMP-PKA signalling to regulate fungal development and mycotoxin production.