Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/20078
Title: Role of HxkC, a mitochondrial hexokinase-like protein, in fungal programmed cell death
Contributor(s): Katz, Margaret E  (author); Braunberger, Katharyn S (author); Kelly, Joan M (author)
Publication Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2016.11.002
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/20078
Abstract: Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death (PCD) that occurs during animal development and is also triggered by a variety of signals including nutrient or oxidative stress, hypoxia, DNA damage, viral infection and oncogenic transformation. Though apoptotic-like PCD also occurs in plants and fungi, genes encoding several of the key players in mammalian apoptosis (p53 and BH-domain proteins) have not been identified in these kingdoms. In this report we investigated whether HxkC, a mitochondrial hexokinase-like protein, and XprG, a putative p53-like transcription factor similar to Ndt80, play a role in programmed cell death in the filamentous fungus 'Aspergillus nidulans'. We show that a mutant lacking HxkC is more sensitive to oxidative stress. Autolysis, a form of fungal programmed cell death triggered by carbon starvation, is accelerated in the hxkC∆1 mutant but not the hxkC∆1 xprG∆1 double mutant. In the absence of nutrient stress, the hxkC∆1 mutant displays XprG-dependent DNA fragmentation typical of apoptosis and elevated levels of intracellular protease. HxkC and XprG are required for catabolism of N-acetylglucosamine, as in 'Trichoderma reesei'. We show that XprG is present in the nucleus. We conclude that, like mammalian mitochondrial hexokinase, HxkC has anti-apoptotic activity and the XprG transcription factor has a pro-apoptotic role in filamentous fungi.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Fungal Genetics and Biology, v.97, p. 36-45
Publisher: Academic Press
Place of Publication: United States of America
ISSN: 1096-0937
1087-1845
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060503 Microbial Genetics
060405 Gene Expression (incl. Microarray and other genome-wide approaches)
060505 Mycology
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 310704 Microbial genetics
310505 Gene expression (incl. microarray and other genome-wide approaches)
310705 Mycology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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