Neurospora crassa ncs-1, mid-1 and nca-2 double-mutant phenotypes suggest diverse interaction among three Ca(2+)-regulating gene products

Cellular Calcium Levels Influenced by NCA-2 Impact Circadian Period Determination in Neurospora

Intracellular calcium signaling has been implicated in the control of a variety of circadian processes in animals and plants, but its role in microbial clocks has remained largely cryptic. To examine the role of intracellular Ca²⁺ in the Neurospora clock, we screened mutants with knockouts of calcium transporter genes and identified a gene encoding a calcium exporter, nca-2, uniquely as having significant period effects. The loss of NCA-2 results in an increase in the cytosolic calcium level, and this leads to hyper-phosphorylation of core clock components, FRQ and WC-1, and a short period, as measured by both the core oscillator and the overt clock. Genetic analyses showed that mutations in certain frq phospho-sites and in Ca²⁺-calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (camk-2) are epistatic to nca-2 in controlling the pace of the oscillator. These data are consistent with a model in which elevated intracellular Ca²⁺ leads to the increased activity of CAMK-2, leading to enhanced FRQ phosphorylation, accelerated closure of the circadian feedback loop, and a shortened circadian period length. At a mechanistic level, some CAMKs undergo more auto-phosphorylations in the Δnca-2 mutant, consistent with high calcium levels in the Δnca-2 mutant influencing the enzymatic activities of CAMKs. NCA-2 interacts with multiple proteins, including CSP-6, a protein known to be required for circadian output. Most importantly, the expression of nca-2 is circadian clock-controlled at both the transcriptional and translational levels, and this in combination with the period effects seen in strains lacking NCA-2 firmly places calcium signaling within the larger circadian system, where it acts as both an input to and an output from the core clock.

Calcium signaling is involved in diverse cellular processes in fungi

Calcium (Ca²⁺) is a universal signalling molecule of life. The Ca²⁺ signalling is an evolutionarily conserved process from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Ca²⁺ at high concentration is deleterious to the cell; therefore, cell maintains a low resting level of intracellular free Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_c). The resting [Ca²⁺]_c is tightly regulated, and a transient increase of the [Ca²⁺]_c initiates a signalling cascade in the cell. Ca²⁺ signalling plays an essential role in various processes, including growth, development, reproduction, tolerance to stress conditions, and virulence in fungi. In this review, we describe the evolutionary aspects of Ca²⁺ signalling and cell functions of major Ca²⁺ signalling proteins in different fungi.

Calcium Transport Proteins in Fungi: The Phylogenetic Diversity of Their Relevance for Growth, Virulence, and Stress Resistance

The key players of calcium (Ca²⁺) homeostasis and Ca²⁺ signal generation, which are Ca²⁺ channels, Ca²⁺/H⁺ antiporters, and Ca²⁺-ATPases, are present in all fungi. Their coordinated action maintains a low Ca²⁺ baseline, allows a fast increase in free Ca²⁺ concentration upon a stimulus, and terminates this Ca²⁺ elevation by an exponential decrease – hence forming a Ca²⁺ signal. In this respect, the Ca²⁺ signaling machinery is conserved in different fungi. However, does the similarity of the genetic inventory that shapes the Ca²⁺ peak imply that if “you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all” in terms of physiological relevance? Individual studies have focused mostly on a single species, and mechanisms elucidated in few model organisms are usually extrapolated to other species. This mini-review focuses on the physiological relevance of the machinery that maintains Ca²⁺ homeostasis for growth, virulence, and stress responses. It reveals common and divergent functions of homologous proteins in different fungal species. In conclusion, for the physiological role of these Ca²⁺ transport proteins, “seen one,” in many cases, does not mean: “seen them all.”

Calcineurin responsive zinc-finger-1 binds to a unique promoter sequence to upregulate neuronal calcium sensor-1, whose interaction with MID-1 increases tolerance to calcium stress in Neurospora crassa

We studied the molecular mechanism of neuronal calcium sensor-1 (NCS-1) signaling pathway for tolerance to Ca²⁺ stress in Neurospora crassa. Increasing concentration of Ca²⁺ increased the expression of ncs-1; however, the calcineurin inhibitor FK506 severely reduced ncs-1 mRNA transcript levels. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) studies revealed that the transcription factor calcineurin responsive zinc finger-1 (CRZ-1) binds to the ncs-1 promoter, and CRZ-1 binding upregulated ncs-1 expression under high Ca²⁺ concentrations. These results suggested the regulation of NCS-1 function through calcineurin- CRZ-1 signaling pathway. Furthermore, the electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) revealed that the CRZ-1 binds specifically to an 8 bp sequence 5'-CCTTCACA-3' in the ncs-1 promoter 216 bp upstream of the ATG start codon. We also showed that NCS-1 binds to the Ca²⁺ permeable channel MID-1 for tolerance to Ca²⁺ stress. Therefore, CRZ-1 binds to a unique sequence in the ncs-1 promoter, causing upregulation of NCS-1 that binds to MID-1 for tolerance to Ca²⁺ stress.

The pleiotropic vegetative and sexual development phenotypes of Neurospora crassa arise from double mutants of the calcium signaling genes plc-1, splA2, and cpe-1

We investigated phenotypes of the double mutants of the calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling genes plc-1, splA2, and cpe-1 encoding for a phospholipase C1 (PLC-1), a secretory phospholipase A₂ (sPLA₂), and a Ca²⁺/H⁺ exchanger (CPE-1), respectively, to understand the cell functions regulated by their genetic interactions. Mutants lacking plc-1 and either splA2 or cpe-1 exhibited numerous defects including reduced colonial growth, stunted aerial hyphae, premature conidiation on plates with delayed germination, inappropriate conidiation in submerged culture, and lesser mycelial pigmentation. Moreover, the ∆plc-1; ∆splA2 and ∆plc-1; ∆cpe-1 double mutants were female-sterile when crossed with wild type as the male parent. In addition, ∆plc-1, ∆splA2, and ∆cpe-1 single mutants displayed higher carotenoid accumulation and an increased level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, the pleiotropic phenotype of the double mutants of plc-1, splA2, and cpe-1 suggested that the genetic interaction of these genes plays a critical role for normal vegetative and sexual development in N. crassa.

The calmodulin gene in Neurospora crassa is required for normal vegetative growth, ultraviolet survival, and sexual development

We isolated a Neurospora crassa mutant of the calmodulin (cmd) gene using repeat-induced point mutation and studied its phenotypes. The cmd ^RIP mutant showed a defect in growth, reduced aerial hyphae, decreased carotenoid accumulation, a severe reduction in viability upon ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, and a fertility defect. Moreover, meiotic silencing of the cmd gene resulted in a barren phenotype. In addition, we also performed site-directed mutational analysis of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase-2 (Ca²⁺/CaMK-2), a target of the CaM protein encoded by the cmd gene. The camk-2 ^S247A and the camk-2 ^T267A mutants in a homozygous cross, or in a cross with a Δcamk-2 mutant, displayed an intermediate phenotype, suggesting that serine 247 and threonine 267 phosphorylation sites of the Ca²⁺/CaMK-2 are essential for full fertility in N. crassa. Therefore, CaM in N. crassa is required for normal vegetative growth, UV survival, and sexual development. Additionally, serine 247 and threonine 267 phosphorylation sites are important for the Ca²⁺/CaMK-2 function.

Calcineurin Subunits A and B Interact to Regulate Growth and Asexual and Sexual Development in Neurospora crassa

Calcineurin is a calcium/calmodulin dependent protein phosphatase in eukaryotes that consists of a catalytic subunit A and a regulatory subunit B. Previous studies in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa had suggested that the catalytic subunit of calcineurin might be an essential protein. We generated N. crassa strains expressing the A (cna-1) and B (cnb-1) subunit genes under the regulation of P_tcu-1, a copper-responsive promoter. In these strains, addition of bathocuproinedisulfonic acid (BCS), a copper chelator, results in induction of cna-1 and cnb-1, while excess Cu²⁺ represses gene expression. Through analysis of these strains under repressing and inducing conditions, we found that the calcineurin is required for normal growth, asexual development and female fertility in N. crassa. Moreover, we isolated and analyzed cnb-1 mutant alleles generated by repeat-induced point mutation (RIP), with the results further supporting roles for calcineurin in growth and fertility in N. crassa. We demonstrated a direct interaction between the CNA-1 and CNB-1 proteins using an assay system developed to study protein-protein interactions in N. crassa.

Extracellular calcium triggers unique transcriptional programs and modulates staurosporine-induced cell death in Neurospora crassa

Alterations in the intracellular levels of calcium are a common response to cell death stimuli in animals and fungi and, particularly, in the Neurospora crassa response to staurosporine. We highlight the importance of the extracellular availability of Ca²⁺ for this response. Limitation of the ion in the culture medium further sensitizes cells to the drug and results in increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Conversely, an approximately 30-fold excess of external Ca²⁺ leads to increased drug tolerance and lower ROS generation. In line with this, distinct staurosporine-induced cytosolic Ca²⁺ signaling profiles were observed in the absence or presence of excessive external Ca²⁺. High-throughput RNA sequencing revealed that different concentrations of extracellular Ca²⁺ define distinct transcriptional programs. Our transcriptional profiling also pointed to two putative novel Ca²⁺-binding proteins, encoded by the NCU08524 and NCU06607 genes, and provides a reference dataset for future investigations on the role of Ca²⁺ in fungal biology.

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases are involved in growth, thermotolerance, oxidative stress survival, and fertility in Neurospora crassa

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases (Ca(2+)/CaMKs) are Ser/Thr protein kinases that respond to change in cytosolic free Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)]c) and play multiple cellular roles in organisms ranging from fungi to humans. In the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, four Ca(2+)/CaM-dependent kinases, Ca(2+)/CaMK-1 to 4, are encoded by the genes NCU09123, NCU02283, NCU06177, and NCU09212, respectively. We found that camk-1 and camk-2 are essential for full fertility in N. crassa. The survival of ∆camk-2 mutant was increased in induced thermotolerance and oxidative stress conditions. In addition, the ∆camk-1 ∆camk-2, ∆camk-4 ∆camk-2, and ∆camk-3 ∆camk-2 double mutants display slow growth phenotype, reduced aerial hyphae, decreased thermotolerance, and increased sensitivity to oxidative stress, revealing the genetic interactions among these kinases. Therefore, Ca(2+)/CaMKs are involved in growth, thermotolerance, oxidative stress tolerance, and fertility in N. crassa.