1. Global Analysis of Predicted G Protein-Coupled Receptor Genes in the Filamentous Fungus, Neurospora crassa
- Author
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Steven R. Ahrendt, Andrew H. Barsoum, Alexander V. Michkov, Taffani H. Lai, Ilva E. Cabrera, Wan-Ching Chen, Itallia V. Pacentine, Stephanie Kim, Carlos Rojas Torres, Katherine A. Borkovich, Jackie Cao, Jacqueline A. Servin, Sho M. Kitada, Cristin Malekyan, Toua R. Moua, Liza M. Davidson, Andrew Lim, Liande Li, Ronald Castillo, Nayeli Guerrero, Ashley Mach, Alaina Yamamoto, Svetlana Krystofova, Alexander J. Carrillo, and Alex Dinkchian
- Subjects
Mutant ,Investigations ,G protein−coupled receptors ,G Protein-Coupled Receptor Gene ,Neurospora crassa ,Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ,G-Protein-Coupled ,G protein-coupled receptors ,Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal ,Reproduction, Asexual ,Receptors ,Genetics ,Gene family ,Cluster Analysis ,Molecular Biology ,Gene ,Genetics (clinical) ,Phylogeny ,Asexual ,Genetic Association Studies ,biology ,Gene Expression Profiling ,Reproduction ,filamentous fungi ,biology.organism_classification ,Phenotype ,Gene expression profiling ,Fungal ,Gene Expression Regulation ,Multigene Family ,Mutation ,Heterotrimeric G proteins ,Generic health relevance ,Functional genomics ,functional genomics ,signal transduction - Abstract
G protein−coupled receptors (GPCRs) regulate facets of growth, development, and environmental sensing in eukaryotes, including filamentous fungi. The largest predicted GPCR class in these organisms is the Pth11-related, with members similar to a protein required for disease in the plant pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. However, the Pth11-related class has not been functionally studied in any filamentous fungal species. Here, we analyze phenotypes in available mutants for 36 GPCR genes, including 20 Pth11-related, in the model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. We also investigate patterns of gene expression for all 43 predicted GPCR genes in available datasets. A total of 17 mutants (47%) possessed at least one growth or developmental phenotype. We identified 18 mutants (56%) with chemical sensitivity or nutritional phenotypes (11 uniquely), bringing the total number of mutants with at least one defect to 28 (78%), including 15 mutants (75%) in the Pth11-related class. Gene expression trends for GPCR genes correlated with the phenotypes observed for many mutants and also suggested overlapping functions for several groups of co-transcribed genes. Several members of the Pth11-related class have phenotypes and/or are differentially expressed on cellulose, suggesting a possible role for this gene family in plant cell wall sensing or utilization.
- Published
- 2015