Blue light inhibits the formation of asexual cycle spores (conidia) and stimulates the development of the sexual (female) reproductive structures (protoperithecia) in the nitrogen-starved mycelium of Neurospora crassa. The DNA methylation inhibitor, 5-azacytidine (3-300 microM), opposed the effect of light by suppressing the protoperithecia formation and stimulating a conidiation. The addition of 300 microM 5-azacytidine inhibited protoperithecia formation in the dark-cultivated mycelium by about two orders of magnitude and activated conidiation in the light-exposed mycelium by almost three orders of magnitude. Both in the dark-cultivated and the irradiated mycelium treated with various 5-azacytidine concentrations, the yield of conidia and protoperithecia demonstrated an inverse relationship. We suggest that DNA methylation and blue light are involved in the organism's selection of sexual or asexual reproductive cycle.
The specific activity of NAD+ kinase (ATP:NAD+ 2'-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.23) from Neurospora crassa shows sharp peaks when the organism enters a new developmental stage of the asexual life cycle: the peaks are observed during hydration and germination of conidia, at the transition from exponential to stationary growth and at the photostimulated conidiation. As stimulation of NAD+ kinase activity by light in conidiating mycelium is not sensitive to translation inhibitors, the activation of pre-existing molecules, rather than induction of protein synthesis de novo may be supposed. Enzyme electrophoresis revealed the presence of four forms of NAD+ kinase having different apparent molecular weights (I = 333,000; II = 306,000; III = 229,000 and IV = 203,000). Manifestation of the activity of individual forms of NAD+ kinase is developmentally controlled: form III is most abundant during vegetative growth, forms I and II prevail in conidia. At the conidial germination the increase of NAD+ kinase activity is associated with the activation of form III, whereas during photostimulation of conidiation form II is the most activated one. Therefore, certain molecular forms of the enzyme may be regarded as biochemical markers for different developmental stages of N. crassa.
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