help button home button Genetics J Nutrition
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Genetics, Vol. 177, 1997-2006, December 2007, Copyright © 2007
doi:10.1534/genetics.107.078212

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Data Supplement
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chae, M. S.
Right arrow Articles by Nargang, F. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chae, M. S.
Right arrow Articles by Nargang, F. E.

Two Zinc-Cluster Transcription Factors Control Induction of Alternative Oxidase in Neurospora crassa

Michael S. Chae, Cheryl E. Nargang, Ian A. Cleary1, Colin C. Lin, Andrea T. Todd2 and Frank E. Nargang3

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada

3 Corresponding author: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada.
E-mail: frank.nargang{at}ualberta.ca

The alternative oxidase transfers electrons from ubiquinol to molecular oxygen, providing a mechanism for bypassing the later steps of the standard cytochrome-mediated electron transport chain. The enzyme is found in an array of organisms and in many cases is known to be produced in response to perturbations of the standard chain. Alternative oxidase is encoded in the nucleus but functions in the inner mitochondrial membrane. This implies the existence of a retrograde regulation pathway for communicating from the mitochondrion to the nucleus to induce alternative oxidase expression. Previous studies on alternative oxidase in fungi and plants have shown that a number of genes are required for expression of the enzyme, but the identity of these genes has remained elusive. By gene rescue we have now shown that the aod-2 and aod-5 genes of Neurospora crassa encode transcription factors of the zinc-cluster family. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays show that the DNA-binding domains of the AOD2 and AOD5 proteins act in tandem to bind a sequence element in the alternative oxidase gene promoter that is required for expression. Both proteins contain potential PAS domains near their C terminus, which are found primarily in proteins involved in signal transduction.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the Genetics Society of America.