arcA, the regulatory gene for the arginine catabolic pathway in Aspergillus nidulans

Abstract. We have cloned and analysed the arcA gene which encodes a transcriptional activator necessary for the high-level expression of two genes for enzymes of the arginine catabolic pathway in Aspergillus nidulans: agaA (for arginase) and otaA (for ornithine transaminase, OTAse). Here we present complete genomic and cDNA sequences for, and describe the pattern of expression of, the arcA gene. This gene contains one intron and encodes a polypeptide of 600 amino acids. The deduced protein belongs to the family of Zn₂Cys₆ fungal regulatory proteins. ARCA is the first known protein of this family that has glycine instead of the conserved proline at the fifth position in the second, six-residue, loop of the Zn cluster domain. We have established that transcription of the arcA gene is not self-regulated and does not depend on arginine. Two mutations in arcA, one gain-of-function and one loss-of-function, have been sequenced and the effects of these mutations on the expression of the agaA gene at the transcriptional level are reported.