The CRZ-1 Transcription Factor Regulates Hsp 80 Involves in the Acquisition of Thermotolerance, and NCA-2 for Calcium Stress Tolerance in Neurospora Crassa

Abstract Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are molecular chaperones and required for survival of organisms under heat stress conditions. In this study, we studied Hsp80, a member of the Hsp90 family, in Neurospora crassa. The expression of hsp80 was severely reduced in the N. crassa calcineurin B subunit RIP-mutant (cnb-1RIP) strains under the heat shock conditions. Furthermore, the expression levels of cnb-1, hsp60, hsp80, and the calcineurin-regulated transcription factor crz-1 were increased, but expression levels were reduced in the presence of the calcineurin inhibitor FK506 under the heat shock stress in the N. crassa wild type. Therefore, the calcineurin-crz-1 signaling pathway transcriptionally regulates hsp60 and hsp80 under the heat shock stress condition in N. crassa. In addition, the transcript levels of trm-9 and nca-2, a Ca2+ sensor and a Ca2+ ATPase, respectively, were increased under the heat shock stress condition. Moreover, the expression of the hsp80, but not the hsp60, was reduced in the Δtrm-9, Δnca-2, and the Δtrm-9 Δnca-2 double mutants. These results suggested that hsp80, trm-9, and nca-2 play a role in coping the heat shock stress in N. crassa. We found that CRZ-1 binds to 5ʹ-CCTTCACA-3ʹ and 5ʹ-AGCGGAGC-3ʹ 8 bp nucleotide sequences, located about 1075 bp and 679 bp upstream of the ATG start codon, respectively, of hsp80. We also found that CRZ-1 binds to an 8 bp nucleotide sequence 5ʹ-ACCGCGCC-3ʹ, located 234 bp upstream of the ATG start codon of nca-2 under Ca2+ stress condition. Thus, cnb-1, hsp60, hsp80, and crz-1 are involved in the heat shock stress response in N. crassa. Moreover, CRZ-1 upregulates the expressions of hsp80 and nca-2 under the heat shock stress and Ca2+ stress conditions, respectively, in N. crassa.