Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Unravelling the Function of a Bacterial Effector from a Non-cultivable Plant Pathogen Using a Yeast Two-hybrid Screen
11:30

Unravelling the Function of a Bacterial Effector from a Non-cultivable Plant Pathogen Using a Yeast Two-hybrid Screen

Published on: January 20, 2017

Aspergillus nidulans swoF encodes an N-myristoyl transferase

Brian D Shaw1, Cory Momany, Michelle Momany

  • 1Department of Botany, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.

Eukaryotic Cell
|November 29, 2002
PubMed

Insights

The swoF gene mutation in Aspergillus nidulans disrupts polar growth by affecting N-myristoyl transferase function. This impacts fungal disease initiation, highlighting the importance of myristoylation in cellular processes.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Polar growth is crucial for filamentous fungi, particularly in pathogenic species.
  • The Aspergillus nidulans swoF gene mutant exhibits defects in both establishing and maintaining cell polarity.
  • Previous studies identified swoF as a temperature-sensitive mutant affecting these processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To clone and characterize the Aspergillus nidulans swoF gene.
  • To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which the swoF mutation affects fungal polar growth.
  • To investigate the role of N-myristoylation in fungal polarity.

Main Methods:

  • Cloning the swoF gene by complementation of the temperature-sensitive phenotype.
  • Sequencing the swoF gene and analyzing the derived protein sequence.
  • Homology modeling of the Aspergillus nidulans SwoF protein (SwoFp) based on NMT crystal structures.
  • Assessing the effect of myristic acid supplementation on fungal growth.

Main Results:

  • The swoF gene encodes a protein with high identity to N-myristoyl transferases (NMTs).
  • A specific mutation (D369Y) in swoF was identified, altering a conserved aspartic acid residue.
  • The D369Y mutation disrupts stabilizing interactions in the NMT protein structure, affecting its function at restrictive temperatures.
  • Supplementation with myristic acid partially restored wild-type growth.

Conclusions:

  • The swoF gene product (SwoFp) is an N-myristoyl transferase essential for polar growth in Aspergillus nidulans.
  • The D369Y mutation impairs SwoFp function, likely by disrupting substrate myristoylation necessary for polarity.
  • This study provides insights into the role of myristoylation in fungal development and pathogenicity.

More Related Videos

Single-Step Enrichment of a TAP-Tagged Histone Deacetylase of the Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus nidulans for Enzymatic Activity Assay09:07

Single-Step Enrichment of a TAP-Tagged Histone Deacetylase of the Filamentous Fungus Aspergillus nidulans for Enzymatic Activity Assay

Published on: May 1, 2019

Quantitative Analysis of Aspergillus nidulans Growth Rate using Live Microscopy and Open-Source Software11:30

Quantitative Analysis of Aspergillus nidulans Growth Rate using Live Microscopy and Open-Source Software

Published on: July 24, 2021

Related Concept Videos

tRNA Activation02:26

tRNA Activation

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are present in both eukaryotes and bacteria. Though eukaryotes have 20 different aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases to couple to 20 amino acids, many bacteria do not have genes for all of these aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Despite this, they still use all 20 amino acids to synthesize their proteins. For instance, some bacteria do not have the gene encoding the enzyme that couples glutamine with its partner tRNA. In these organisms, one enzyme adds glutamic acid to all of the...
Protein Transport to the Stroma01:24

Protein Transport to the Stroma

Chloroplasts are triple membrane structures with an outer membrane, an inner membrane, and a thylakoid membrane, each containing distinct metabolite transporters, membrane translocons, and enzymes. Appropriate sorting and translocating these proteins to their correct membrane systems is essential for chloroplast function.
Protein complexes called the translocon of the outer chloroplast membrane or TOC complex, and the translocon of the inner chloroplast membrane or TIC complex mediate the...
Tail-anchoring of Proteins in the ER Membrane01:45

Tail-anchoring of Proteins in the ER Membrane

Tail-anchored, or TA, proteins are estimated to make up to 3-5% of membrane proteins found in the eukaryotic cell. Such proteins have a single transmembrane domain located approximately 30 amino acid residues upstream from the C-terminal end. As a result, the signal recognition particle (SRP) cannot guide a TA protein to the ER membrane for cotranslational insertion. Hence, they are integrated into the ER membrane post-translationally using their C-terminal end as the anchor. TA proteins...
Allosteric Proteins-ATCase01:19

Allosteric Proteins-ATCase

Binding sites linkages can regulate a protein's function.  For example, enzyme activity is often regulated through a feedback mechanism where the end product of the biochemical process serves as an inhibitor.
Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the condensation of L-aspartate and carbamoyl phosphate to  N-carbamoyl-L-aspartate. This reaction is the first step in pyrimidine biosynthesis. UTP and CTP, the end products of the pyrimidine synthesis pathway,...
Amino Acid Catabolism01:18

Amino Acid Catabolism

Microorganisms rely on proteins as an essential carbon and energy source, particularly in environments with limited polysaccharides or lipids. However, proteins are too large to cross the plasma membrane unaided, necessitating enzymatic degradation. Microbes secrete extracellular proteases and peptidases that hydrolyze proteins into peptides, which can then be transported across the membrane. Once inside the cell, intracellular proteases degrade these peptides into free amino acids, which...
Amino Acid Biosynthetic Pathways01:29

Amino Acid Biosynthetic Pathways

Amino acid biosynthesis is essential for cell growth, protein synthesis, and metabolic regulation. Cells generate essential and non-essential amino acids from metabolic intermediates to sustain vital biological functions. These intermediates originate from key metabolic pathways: glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and the pentose phosphate pathway. Important precursors include α-ketoglutarate, pyruvate, oxaloacetate, phosphoenolpyruvate, and erythrose-4-phosphate, which provide...