Isolation and characterization of a cDNA from Trichoderma harzianum P1 encoding a 14-3-3 protein homolog

A full-length cDNA close, Th1433, (GenBank accession No. U24158), was isolated and characterized from the filamentous fungus, Trichoderma harzianum. The deduced amino acid (aa) sequence showed an acidic 30-kDa protein homologous to the 14-3-3 proteins, a family of putative kinase regulators originally characterized in mammalian brain tissue. The greatest homology, 71% identical aa, was found to BMH1, the corresponding protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and to the epsilon isoform from sheep brain. Southern analysis of genomic DNA indicated that Th1433 is a member of a small genomic family. At least two genes encoding 14-3-3-like proteins exist in T. harzianum. Northern analysis showed the highest level of expression during the first day after inoculation of the culture with conidial spores.