Regulation of conidiation and adenylyl cyclase levels by the Gα protein GNA-3 in Neurospora crassa

We have identified a new gene encoding the G protein alpha subunit, gna-3, from the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. The predicted amino acid sequence of GNA-3 is most similar to the G alpha proteins MOD-D, MAGA, and CPG-2 from the saprophytic fungus Podospora anserina and the pathogenic fungi Magnaporthe grisea and Cryphonectria parasitica, respectively. Deletion of gna-3 leads to shorter aerial hyphae and premature, dense conidiation during growth on solid medium or in standing liquid cultures and to inappropriate conidiation in submerged culture. The conidiation and aerial hypha defects of the Delta gna-3 strain are similar to those of a previously characterized adenylyl cyclase mutant, cr-1. Supplementation with cyclic AMP (cAMP) restores wild-type morphology to Delta gna-3 strains in standing liquid cultures. Solid medium augmented with exogenous cAMP suppresses the premature conidiation defect, but aerial hypha formation is still reduced. Submerged-culture conidiation is refractory to cAMP but is suppressed by peptone. In addition, Delta gna-3 submerged cultures express the glucose-repressible gene, qa-2, to levels greatly exceeding those observed in the wild type under carbon-starved conditions. Delta gna-3 strains exhibit reduced fertility in homozygous crosses during the sexual cycle; exogenous cAMP has no effect on this phenotype, Intracellular steady-state cAMP levels of Delta gna-3 strains are decreased 90% relative to the wild type under a variety of growth conditions. Reduced intracellular cAMP levels in the Delta gna-3 strain correlate with lower adenylyl cyclase activity and protein levels. These results demonstrate that GNA-3 modulates conidiation and adenylyl cyclase levels in N. crassa.