Studies on Quinic Acid (QA) Gene Cluster in Various Strains of Neurospora Crassa

Abstract

Neurospora crassa belongs to the kingdom of fungi, phylum ascomycota and is eukaryotic. Neurospora has the ability to adapt and grow in environments with a variety of carbon sources. Gene systems involved in this adaptation in N. crassa such as the quinic acid (qa) gene cluster have been studied for many years. We are utilizing a strain of Neurospora which has the qa-1S repressor gene deleted (δS) in it and is used for the study of carbon repression of qa gene cluster. In order to determine the levels of qa gene expression, RNA is isolated from the Neurospora (δS) tissue grown in dextrose and quinic acid and one step RT-PCR is carried out. qRT-PCR is used to quantitate the amount of qa gene expression. qa-x229}0strain which has qa-x gene deleted is grown in dextrose and quinic acid and a combination of both, a brown pigment is separated and phenotype and physical characteristic studies are carried out. Bioinformatic analysis is carried out on qa-x gene present in the quinic acid gene cluster of Neurospora crassa in order to find the function of the enzyme encoded by qa-x gene.