DNase I hypersensitive sites within the inducible qa gene cluster of Neurospora crassa

DNase I hypersensitive regions were mapped within the 17.3-kilobase qa (quinic acid) gene cluster of Neurospora crassa. The 5'-flanking regions of the five qa structural genes and the two qa regulatory genes each contain DNase I hypersensitive sites under noninducing conditions and generally exhibit increases in DNase I cleavage upon induction of transcription with quinic acid. The two large intergenic regions of the qa gene cluster appear to be similarly organized with respect to the positions of constitutive and inducible DNase I hypersensitive sites. Inducible hypersensitive sites on the 5' side of one qa gene, qa-x, appear to be differentially regulated. Employing these and previously published data, we have identified a conserved sequence element that may mediate the activator function of the qa-1F regulatory gene. Variants of the 16-base-pair consensus sequence are consistently found within DNase I-protected regions adjacent to inducible DNase I hypersensitive sites within the gene cluster.