Ribosomal RNA genes of Neurospora crassa: multiple copies and specificities

Primary structure of the non-transcribed spacer region and flanking sequences of the ribosomal DNA of Neurospora crassa and comparison with other organisms

The non-transcribed spacer (NTS) region of the rDNA of Neurospora crassa contains the transcription regulatory sequences. We isolated a 3.4 kb EcoRI fragment from wild type N.crassa rDNA and cloned in the plasmid pBR325 at the EcoRI site. The insert contains the entire NTS region along with the flanking sequences. Nucleotide sequencing of 3592 nt shows many interesting features like: the NTS region is rich in G+C content (65% G+C); it contains the conserved rRNA processing site 6 (with the nucleotide sequence motif GGTGCGAGAACCCGG, from nt residue 226 to 240, a characteristic feature of most eukaryotic rDNA nontranscribed spacer region); and the NTS region also contains the transcription termination site with the representative Sal I box (from nt residue 1469 to 1477). The potential sequences of transcription termination site are located 288 nt downstream from the end of 26S rRNA gene, and another sequence motif CTTCCT (from nt residue 512 to 517) shows similarity with the human transcription termination site T-2 of its pre-rRNA. Nucleotide sequence homology matrix analysis suggests its relatedness to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and not to human, mouse, rat, Drosophila, Xenopus, wheat, rice and cucumber NTS region. The phylogenetic implication of the NTS region and exploitation of N.crassa NTS rDNA clone to correlate the otherwise indistinguishable species of Neurospora and the correlation with other organisms has been discussed. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report where the nucleotide sequence of the entire NTS region of a filamentous fungus has been determined.

Particular RNA primer from growth medium differentially stimulates in vitro DNA synthesis and in vivo cell growth of Neurospora crassa and its slime mutant

Purine rich small "RNA-primer" molecules (about 10-12 nucleotides), secreted into the growth medium of 3-h germinated conidia of N. crassa, strongly stimulated a concentration-dependent in vitro DNA synthesis of N. crassa slime mutant as well as DNAs from the human cancer cells but did not affect that from normal cells. These "RNA-primer" molecules stimulated also in vivo cell growth of N. crassa slime mutant, but not of the N. crassa wild type. Our studies suggest that DNAs from the slime mutant of N. crassa as well as DNAs from human cancerous cells provide increased sites for enhanced in vitro and in vivo replication of DNAs. "RNA-primer" molecules can be hydrolyzed by T1 RNase but not by pancreatic RNase.

Phylogenetic implication of heterogeneity of the nontranscribed spacer of rDNA repeating unit in various Neurospora and related fungal species

Nontranscribed spacer (NTS) regions of ribosomal (r)RNA genes are non-conserved and are shown to be useful for phylogenetic studies. 32P-labelled N. crassa NTS pCC3400 DNA, was used as a molecular probe to hybridize Southern blots of genomic DNAs obtained from Neurospora, Gelacinospora, Sordaria, bacteria, plants, and animals. Our studies conclude that: (a) the homotahllic species of Neurospora should not belong to genus Gelacinospora (a historical question) and that Neurospora homothallic species are closer to Gelacinospora than to Sordaria; and that (b) all of the filamentous fungal species tested are indeed closer to the higher plant genome than to higher primate animal genome based on shared restriction sites of 12 enzymes. Our studies also demonstrate the usefulness of nontranscribed rRNA gene probes in resolving questions regarding phylogenetic relatedness between widely separated organisms using the parsimony principle based on mutation sites from DNA restriction maps; it has not been possible to do this using DNA: DNA hybridization procedures that involved the total genome.

Ribosomal genes of Neurospora crassa: constancy of gene number in the conidial and mycelial phases, and homogeneity in length and restriction enzyme cleavage sites within strains

We report the results of experiments which, while not specifically designed to study the possibility of rDNA amplification during different developmental stages in the N. crassa life cycle, clearly indicate a relative constancy in the rDNA content of conidia (asexual spores) and mycelial cells. We also report the results of restriction enzyme studies which indicate that the Neurospora rDNA repeat units are homogeneous in length and restriction site pattern within any given Neurospora strain. These results directly contradict the recent report of Dutta et al. (1983), in which the authors concluded that the rDNA of germinating conidia is amplified, relative to mycelia, and that up to 10% of the rDNA units are heterogeneous.