Light-dependent conidiation in the filamentous ascomycete, Aspergillus nidulans, is contingent on the allelic state of the velvet (veA) gene. Light dependence is abolished by a mutation in this gene (veAl) , which allows conidiation to occur in the absence of light. We have isolated and characterized six extragenic suppressors of veAl that restore the light-dependent conidiation phenotype. Alle...

Ergot alkaloids are pharmaceutically and agriculturally important secondary metabolites produced by several species of fungi. Ergot alkaloid pathways vary among different fungal lineages, but the pathway intermediate chanoclavine-I is evolutionarily conserved among ergot alkaloid producers. At least four genes, dmaW, easF, easE, and easC, are necessary for pathway steps prior to chanoclavine-I;...

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the conditions for the production of endo -1,4 glucanase – a component of cellulase by Aspergillus nidulans SU04 and Aspergillus nidulans MTCC344 under solid state fermentation, using pretreated bagasse as chief substrate. A four-factor-five-level central composite design was employed for the experimental design. The endo -1,4 glucanase pr...

Deletion or repression of Aspergillus nidulans ugmA (AnugmA), involved in galactofuranose biosynthesis, impairs growth and increases sensitivity to Caspofungin, a β-1,3-glucan synthesis antagonist. The A. fumigatus UgmA (AfUgmA) crystal structure has been determined. From that study, AfUgmA mutants with altered enzyme activity were transformed into AnugmA▵ to assess their effect on growth and w...

This paper describes transformation of intact conidia of Aspergillus nidulans, auxotrophic for arginine, by using the biolistic process. The plasmid employed was pFB39, carrying the argB gene. The transformation frequency obtained was 81 transformants/microgram of DNA. Classical genetics and molecular analysis were conducted to analyse transformants and to determine in which chromosome integrat...

Relief of an auxotrophic requirement for uridine in Aspergillus nidulans strain G191 has been achieved by transformation with a segment of Neurospora crassa DNA containing the corresponding gene coding for orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase. The mitotic stability of such transformants suggests that the DNA has integrated into the genome. Southern hybridisation analysis of DNA isolated from tr...

An iron-complexing antibiotic with a narrow spectrum of biological activity was produced by several strains of Aspergillus nidulans when grown in a low-iron, chemically defined medium. Its chemical and biological properties closely resembled those of desferritriacetylfusigen, a metabolite of several other Aspergilli and Penicillia.

The synchrony of nuclear replication in individual, multinucleate hyphae of Aspergillus nidulans has been investigated. Samples were taken from cultures of germinating conidiospores, and the relative frequency of hyphae containing two to eight nuclei was determined. Because the conidiospores are mononucleate, complete synchrony will yield populations of hyphae containing only 2(n) nuclei, n bei...

Biosynthesis and uptake of siderophores in Aspergillus nidulans are regulated not only by iron availability but also by ambient pH: expression of this high-affinity iron uptake system is elevated by an increase in the ambient pH. Mediation of this regulation by the transcriptional regulator PacC has been confirmed via acidity- and alkalinity-mimicking mutants.

A rapid method for nuclease digestion of Aspergillus nidulans chromatin is described. It overcomes the need for nuclear purification or protoplast preparation. The method is valid for the analysis of the nucleosomal repeat length in bulk chromatin, and allows the analysis of nucleosome phasing at a specific locus.