Sequence analysis of the Aspergillus nidulans pectate lyase pelA gene and evidence for binding of promoter regions to CREA, a regulator of carbon catabolite repression.

The nucleic acid and deduced amino-acid sequences of the pectate lyase gene (pelA) from Aspergillus nidulans are presented. The pelA gene contains two short introns, 68 and 49 bp in length, and encodes a peptide of 326 amino acids. Five transcriptional start sites are clustered between 65 and 79 bp upstream of the start codon as determined by primer extension. Comparison of the amino-acid sequences of pectate or pectin lyases from bacteria, fungi and plants revealed less than 30% overall identity. However, five regions within these enzymes, in particular domains associated with the active site, are highly conserved with amino-acid similarities greater than 50%. Phylogenetic analysis using the principle of parsimony (PAUP 3.1.1) showed that pelA is most closely related to pectate lyases from plants rather than pectin lyases from other fungi. Previously, pelA was shown to be induced by polygalacturonic acid and repressed in the presence of preferred carbon sources, such as glucose. Gel mobility shift analysis indicates that a PstI-SphI fragment from the pelA promoter binds to a fusion protein composed of the N-terminal part of CREA, a protein involved in carbon catabolite repression, and glutathione-S-transferase. This result suggests CREA may contribute to the regulation of pelA expression.