Neurospora crassa

Neurospora crassa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Sordariomycetes
Order: Sordariales
Family: Sordariaceae
Genus: Neurospora
Species:
N. crassa
Binomial name
Neurospora crassa
Shear & B.O. Dodge

Neurospora crassa is a type of red bread mold of the phylum Ascomycota. The genus name, meaning 'nerve spore' in Greek, refers to the characteristic striations on the spores. The first published account of this fungus was from an infestation of French bakeries in 1843.[1]

Neurospora crassa is used as a model organism because it is easy to grow and has a haploid life cycle that makes genetic analysis simple since recessive traits will show up in the offspring. Analysis of genetic recombination is facilitated by the ordered arrangement of the products of meiosis in Neurospora ascospores. Its entire genome of seven chromosomes has been sequenced.[2]

Neurospora was used by Edward Tatum and George Wells Beadle in their experiments for which they won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1958. Beadle and Tatum exposed N. crassa to x-rays, causing mutations. They then observed failures in metabolic pathways caused by errors in specific enzymes. This led them to propose the "one gene, one enzyme" hypothesis that specific genes code for specific proteins. Their hypothesis was later elaborated to enzyme pathways by Norman Horowitz, also working on Neurospora. As Norman Horowitz reminisced in 2004,[3] "These experiments founded the science of what Beadle and Tatum called 'biochemical genetics'. In actuality, they proved to be the opening gun in what became molecular genetics and all developments that have followed from that."

In the 24 April 2003 issue of Nature, the genome of N. crassa was reported as completely sequenced.[4] The genome is about 43 megabases long and includes approximately 10,000 genes. There is a project underway to produce strains containing knockout mutants of every N. crassa gene.[5]

In its natural environment, N. crassa lives mainly in tropical and sub-tropical regions.[6] It can be found growing on dead plant matter after fires.

Neurospora is actively used in research around the world. It is important in the elucidation of molecular events involved in circadian rhythms, epigenetics and gene silencing, cell polarity, cell fusion, development, as well as many aspects of cell biology and biochemistry.

  1. ^ Davis, Perkins (2002). "Neurospora: a model of model microbes". Nature Reviews Genetics. 3 (5): 397–403. doi:10.1038/nrg797. PMID 11988765. S2CID 15642417.
  2. ^ Trans-NIH Neurospora Initiative
  3. ^ Horowitz NH, Berg P, Singer M, et al. (January 2004). "A centennial: George W. Beadle, 1903–1989". Genetics. 166 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1534/genetics.166.1.1. PMC 1470705. PMID 15020400.
  4. ^ Galagan J.; Calvo S.; Borkovich K.; Selker E.; Read N. D.; et al. (2003). "The genome sequence of the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa". Nature. 422 (6934): 859–868. Bibcode:2003Natur.422..859G. doi:10.1038/nature01554. PMID 12712197.
  5. ^ Colot H.V.; Park G.; Turner G.E.; Ringleberg C.; Crew C.M.; Litvinkova L.; Weiss R.L.; Borkovitch K.A.; Dunlap J.C.; et al. (2006). "A high-throughput gene knockout procedure for Neurospora reveals functions for multiple transcription factors". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 103 (27): 10352–10357. Bibcode:2006PNAS..10310352C. doi:10.1073/pnas.0601456103. PMC 1482798. PMID 16801547.
  6. ^ Perkins D. D.; Turner B. C. (1988). "Neurospora from natural populations: Toward the population biology of a haploid eukaryote". Experimental Mycology. 12 (2): 91–131. doi:10.1016/0147-5975(88)90001-1.