Functional characterization of N. crassa FLB-3 transcription factor

• Grant number: 17/20052-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2018
• End date: March 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Celia Bertolini
• Grantee: Rodrigo Duarte Gonçalves
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/24705-3 - The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa as a model organism for the functional characterization of proteins/transcription factors that regulate the carbohydrate metabolism, AP.TEM

Abstract

In Aspergillus nidulans fungus, the FlbC transcription factor is involved in the control of conidiation process through the activation of a cascade of genes. In Neurospora crassa, studies carried out in Bertolini´s laboratory showed that FLB-3, the FlbC ortholog, acts in the cascade of conidiation of the fungus, affecting the sexual and asexual development as well as the glycogen metabolism. However, some essential genes involved in the conidiation regulatory cascade described for A. nidulans were not identified in N. crassa, suggesting the existence of a potential alternative mechanism of regulation downstream of this transcription factor. Since the fungal conidia pathway is not fully functional characterized in other filamentous fungi, this project aims to perform a more in-depth functional characterization of FLB-3 protein in N. crassa.