Neurospora crassa blue light-inducible gene bli-3

Blue light induces various physiological, morphological and biochemical reactions in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. This light response is accompanied by a global change in gene expression, and several light-inducible transcripts (bli-genes) have been cloned. We isolated the genomic clone of the gene bli-3, whose mRNA we have previously shown to be induced 2 minutes after the beginning of illumination. Its DNA sequence predicted a transcriptional unit of 1050 bp encoding a novel, hydrophilic protein of 209 aminoacids. Comparison to other N. crassa genes revealed a group of inducible genes which share this promoter structure: a well conserved TATA-box, similar transcription start box (TCATCANC) and repeats of pyrimidines (CT) between these boxes. Based upon this group, we propose a consensus sequence for one possible type of inducible promoter in N. crassa.