Biomaterial Database

The Neurospora crassa carotenoid biosynthetic gene (albino 3) reveals highly conserved regions among prenyltransferases. 1991

A Carattoli, and N Romano, and P Ballario, and G Morelli, and G Macino

Dipartimento di Biopatologia Umana, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Italy.

In the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa the biosynthesis of carotenoids is regulated by blue light. Here we report the characterization of the albino-3 (al-3) gene of N. crassa, which encodes the carotenoid biosynthetic enzyme geranylgeranyl-pyrophosphate synthetase. This is the first geranylgeranyl-pyrophosphate synthetase gene isolated. Nucleotide sequence comparison of al-3 genomic and cDNA clones revealed that the al-3 gene is not interrupted by introns. Transcription of the al-3 gene has been examined in dark-grown and light-induced mycelia. The analysis revealed that the al-3 gene is not expressed in the dark and that its transcription is induced by blue light (Nelson, M. A., Morelli, G., Carattoli, A., Romano, N., and Macino, G. (1989) Mol. Cell. Biol. 9, 1271-1276). The al-3 gene encodes a polypeptide of 428 amino acids. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of al-3 with the sequences of prenyltransferases of other species, from bacteria to humans, showed three highly conserved homologous regions. These homologous regions may be involved in the formation of the catalytic site of the prenyltransferases.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009492	Neurospora crassa	A species of ascomycetous fungi of the family Sordariaceae, order SORDARIALES, much used in biochemical, genetic, and physiologic studies.	Chrysonilia crassa
D002338	Carotenoids	The general name for a group of fat-soluble pigments found in green, yellow, and leafy vegetables, and yellow fruits. They are aliphatic hydrocarbons containing 4 terpene subunits.	Carotenes,Carotenoid,Tetraterpene Derivatives,Tetraterpenes,Carotene,Derivatives, Tetraterpene
D004122	Dimethylallyltranstransferase	An enzyme that, in the pathway of cholesterol biosynthesis, catalyzes the condensation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate and dimethylallylpyrophosphate to yield pyrophosphate and geranylpyrophosphate. The enzyme then catalyzes the condensation of the latter compound with another molecule of isopentenyl pyrophosphate to yield pyrophosphate and farnesylpyrophosphate. EC 2.5.1.1.	Dimethylallyltransferase,Geranylpyrophosphate Synthetase,Prenyltransferase,Dolichyl Phosphate Synthetase,Geranylgeranyl Pyrophosphate Synthetase,Nerylpyrophosphate Synthetase,Synthetase, Geranylpyrophosphate,Synthetase, Nerylpyrophosphate
D004247	DNA	A deoxyribonucleotide polymer that is the primary genetic material of all cells. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms normally contain DNA in a double-stranded state, yet several important biological processes transiently involve single-stranded regions. DNA, which consists of a polysugar-phosphate backbone possessing projections of purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (thymine and cytosine), forms a double helix that is held together by hydrogen bonds between these purines and pyrimidines (adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine).	DNA, Double-Stranded,Deoxyribonucleic Acid,ds-DNA,DNA, Double Stranded,Double-Stranded DNA,ds DNA
D005798	Genes, Bacterial	The functional hereditary units of BACTERIA.	Bacterial Gene,Bacterial Genes,Gene, Bacterial
D005800	Genes, Fungal	The functional hereditary units of FUNGI.	Fungal Genes,Fungal Gene,Gene, Fungal
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
D012441	Saccharomyces cerevisiae	A species of the genus SACCHAROMYCES, family Saccharomycetaceae, order Saccharomycetales, known as "baker's" or "brewer's" yeast. The dried form is used as a dietary supplement.	Baker's Yeast,Brewer's Yeast,Candida robusta,S. cerevisiae,Saccharomyces capensis,Saccharomyces italicus,Saccharomyces oviformis,Saccharomyces uvarum var. melibiosus,Yeast, Baker's,Yeast, Brewer's,Baker Yeast,S cerevisiae,Baker's Yeasts,Yeast, Baker
D012689	Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid	The sequential correspondence of nucleotides in one nucleic acid molecule with those of another nucleic acid molecule. Sequence homology is an indication of the genetic relatedness of different organisms and gene function.	Base Sequence Homology,Homologous Sequences, Nucleic Acid,Homologs, Nucleic Acid Sequence,Homology, Base Sequence,Homology, Nucleic Acid Sequence,Nucleic Acid Sequence Homologs,Nucleic Acid Sequence Homology,Sequence Homology, Base,Base Sequence Homologies,Homologies, Base Sequence,Sequence Homologies, Base