RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 A relationship between carotenoid accumulation and the distribution of species of the fungus Neurospora in Spain
A1 García Tagua, Víctor
A1 Luque, Eva M.
A1 Gutiérrez, Gabriel
A1 Navarro-Sampedro, Laura
A1 Olmedo, María
A1 Rodríguez-Romero, Julio
A1 Ruger-Herreros, Carmen
A1 Corrochano, Luis M.
K1 Neurospora crassa
K1 Carotenoids
K1 Neurospora
K1 Latitude
K1 Genetic loci
K1 Mycelium
K1 Ultraviolet radiation
K1 Solar radiation
AB The ascomycete fungus Neurospora is present in many parts of the world, in particular in tropical and subtropical areas, where it is found growing on recently burned vegetation. We have sampled the Neurospora population across Spain. The sampling sites were located in the region of Galicia (northwestern corner of the Iberian peninsula), the province of Cáceres, the city of Seville, and the two major islands of the Canary Islands archipelago (Tenerife and Gran Canaria, west coast of Africa). The sites covered a latitude interval between 27.88° and 42.74°. We have identified wild-type strains of N. discreta, N. tetrasperma, N. crassa, and N. sitophila and the frequency of each species varied from site to site. It has been shown that after exposure to light Neurospora accumulates the orange carotenoid neurosporaxanthin, presumably for protection from UV radiation. We have found that each Neurospora species accumulates a different amount of carotenoids after exposure to light, but these differences did not correlate with the expression of the carotenogenic genes al-1 or al-2. The accumulation of carotenoids in Neurospora shows a correlation with latitude, as Neurospora strains isolated from lower latitudes accumulate more carotenoids than strains isolated from higher latitudes. Since regions of low latitude receive high UV irradiation we propose that the increased carotenoid accumulation may protect Neurospora from high UV exposure. In support of this hypothesis, we have found that N. crassa, the species that accumulates more carotenoids, is more resistant to UV radiation than N. discreta or N. tetrasperma. The photoprotection provided by carotenoids and the capability to accumulate different amounts of carotenoids may be responsible, at least in part, for the distribution of Neurospora species that we have observed across a range of latitudes.
SN 1932-6203
YR 2012
FD 2012
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/35646
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/35646
LA en
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 31-oct-2024