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. 2017:2017:6923849.
doi: 10.1155/2017/6923849. Epub 2017 Jul 9.

Transcriptome-Based Modeling Reveals that Oxidative Stress Induces Modulation of the AtfA-Dependent Signaling Networks in Aspergillus nidulans

Erzsébet Orosz  1 , Károly Antal  2 , Zoltán Gazdag  3 , Zsuzsa Szabó  1 , Kap-Hoon Han  4 , Jae-Hyuk Yu  5 , István Pócsi  1 , Tamás Emri  1
Affiliations

Transcriptome-Based Modeling Reveals that Oxidative Stress Induces Modulation of the AtfA-Dependent Signaling Networks in Aspergillus nidulans

Erzsébet Orosz et al. Int J Genomics. 2017.

Abstract

To better understand the molecular functions of the master stress-response regulator AtfA in Aspergillus nidulans, transcriptomic analyses of the atfA null mutant and the appropriate control strains exposed to menadione sodium bisulfite- (MSB-), t-butylhydroperoxide- and diamide-induced oxidative stresses were performed. Several elements of oxidative stress response were differentially expressed. Many of them, including the downregulation of the mitotic cell cycle, as the MSB stress-specific upregulation of FeS cluster assembly and the MSB stress-specific downregulation of nitrate reduction, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and ER to Golgi vesicle-mediated transport, showed AtfA dependence. To elucidate the potential global regulatory role of AtfA governing expression of a high number of genes with very versatile biological functions, we devised a model based on the comprehensive transcriptomic data. Our model suggests that an important function of AtfA is to modulate the transduction of stress signals. Although it may regulate directly only a limited number of genes, these include elements of the signaling network, for example, members of the two-component signal transduction systems. AtfA acts in a stress-specific manner, which may increase further the number and diversity of AtfA-dependent genes. Our model sheds light on the versatility of the physiological functions of AtfA and its orthologs in fungi.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation between microarray and RT-qPCR data in case of the control (a) and the ΔatfA (b) strains.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Venn-diagram of stress-responsive genes. (a) Distribution of stress-responsive (upregulated/downregulated) genes among the 3 oxidative stresses in the control strain. (b) Distribution of stress-responsive (upregulated/downregulated) genes among the 3 oxidative stresses in the ΔatfA strain. (c) Distribution of AtfA-dependent genes (showing upregulation/downregulation in the control strain) according to their stress dependence lost in the mutant strain. (d) Distribution of coregulated genes between the two strains. Stress-responsive, upregulated, downregulated, AtfA-dependent, and coregulated genes are defined in Materials and Methods.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Stress-type dependence of “ribosome biogenesis” and “signal transduction” genes. (a and b) Distribution of downregulated “ribosome biogenesis” genes among the 3 stresses in the control and the ΔatfA strain, respectively. (c and d) Distribution of upregulated/downregulated “signal transduction” genes among the 3 stresses in the control and the ΔatfA strains, respectively. (e) Distribution of AtfA-dependent “signal transduction” genes (showing upregulation/downregulation in the control strain) according to their stress dependence lost in the mutant strain.
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