GPCR-mediated glucose sensing system regulates light-dependent fungal development and mycotoxin production

Author(s)

dos Reis, Thaila Fernanda ^[1] ; Mellado, Laura ^{[2, 1]} ; Lohmar, Jessica M. ^[3] ; Silva, Lilian Pereira ^[1] ; Zhou, Jing-Jiang ^{[2, 3]} ; Calvo, Ana M. ^[4] ; Goldman, Gustavo H. ^[1] ; Brown, Neil A. ^[5]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Ciencias Farmaceut, Ribeirao Preto - Brazil

^[2] Rothamsted Res, Biointeract & Crop Protect, Harpenden, Herts - England

^[3] Guizhou Univ, Minist Educ, Key Lab Green Pesticide & Agr Bioengn, Guiyang, Guizhou - Peoples R China

^[4] Northern Illinois Univ, Dept Biol Sci, De Kalb, IL 60115 - USA

^[5] Univ Bath, Dept Biol & Biochem, Bath, Avon - England

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLOS GENETICS; v. 15, n. 10 OCT 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

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. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/02464-5 - Identification of putative ligands activating G-protein coupled receptors, GprH, GprM and GprI, in Aspergillus nidulans
• Grantee: Laura Mellado Maronas
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 18/22040-8 - Fungal receptor-mediated glucose sensing regulates light-dependent development and toxin production
• Grantee: Gustavo Henrique Goldman
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/12415-6 - Functional characterization of GprH, GprI and GprM G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in the model organism Aspergillus nidulans.
• Grantee: Laura Mellado Maronas
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral