Carbon catabolite repression in plant pathogenic fungi: isolation and characterization of the Gibberella fujikuroi and Botrytis cinerea creA genes.

The creA genes of two plant pathogenic fungi, the gibberellin-producing rice pathogen Gibberella fujikuroi and the gray mold Botrytis cinerea, were isolated and characterized. The deduced amino acid sequences of both glucose repressors are 64% identical to each other and 59% (G. fujikuroi) and 61% (B. cinerea) identical to the CreA protein of Aspergillus nidulans. The zinc finger regions of the Gibberella and Botrytis CreA proteins shared 98% identity with the corresponding zinc finger region of the A. nidulans protein, and studies by complementation of a creA null mutant of A. nidulans showed that the proteins are functional homologues of A. nidulans CreA. Northern blot analysis revealed that creA transcript levels are independent of the carbon source in both fungi.