Species of ascomycete fungus in the family Sordariaceae
Neurospora crassa
Scientific 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.
^Davis, Perkins (2002). "Neurospora: a model of model microbes". Nature Reviews Genetics. 3 (5): 397–403. doi:10.1038/nrg797. PMID 11988765. S2CID 15642417.
^Trans-NIH Neurospora Initiative
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
Neurosporacrassa is a type of red bread mold of the phylum Ascomycota. The genus name, meaning 'nerve spore' in Greek, refers to the characteristic striations...
Neurosporacrassa, a common model organism in biology. Neurospora intermedia var. oncomensis is believed to be the only mold belonging to Neurospora which...
Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium marneffei and Neurosporacrassa. The heterothallic life cycle of N. crassa is given in some detail, since similar life cycles...
karyogamy occurs in the fruiting body. Neurosporacrassa is a type of red bread mold of the phylum Ascomycota. N. crassa is used as a model organism because...
to both blue and red light. Roenneberg has also completed work on Neurosporacrassa, determining the masking qualities of entrainment through a Frequency...
mutants of eukaryotes, e.g. purine mutants of the Ascomycete fungus Neurosporacrassa, that also require exogenous purines for growth. Higher levels of...
geneticist known for his work on genetic regulation and metabolism with Neurosporacrassa. Robert Lee Metzenberg was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. In 1951...
biological model organisms in laboratory research. Most famously, Neurosporacrassa, several species of yeasts, and Aspergillus species are used in many...
consist of CRY-positive, s-LNv M cells, and the CRY-negative E cells. Neurosporacrassa, a type of fungus, have shown circadian rhythms in conidiation patterns...
gametes that are required for fertilization. In some fungi, such as Neurosporacrassa, spermatia are identical to microconidia as they can perform both...
has been studied at the biochemical and genetic level in the fungus Neurosporacrassa. A gene (His-3) was found to encode a protein that functions as a...
The histidine biosynthesis pathway has been studied in the fungus Neurosporacrassa, and a gene (His-3) encoding a multienzyme complex was found that...
2006) was an American microbial geneticist who studied mutations of Neurosporacrassa. Norman H. Giles was a pioneer in genetics research. He was a member...
for species of Peziza and other cup fungi. Asci, notably those of Neurosporacrassa, have been used in laboratories for studying the process of meiosis...
studied example of uniparental inheritance involves the poky mutants of Neurosporacrassa. The original poky mutant was isolated by Mitchell and Mitchell in...
PMID 17247004. McClintock, B. (1945). "Neurospora. I. Preliminary Observations of the Chromosomes of Neurosporacrassa". American Journal of Botany. 32 (10):...
Actinomycetota, such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and certain fungi, such as Neurosporacrassa. The metabolic pathway to produce ergothioneine starts with the methylation...
PMID 16868943. S2CID 36938621. Glass, N. L.; Lee, L. (1992). "Isolation of Neurosporacrassa a mating type mutants by repeat induced point (RIP) mutation". Genetics...
been used for elucidating principles of genetics and heredity (e.g., Neurosporacrassa). Members of the Basidiomycota, commonly known as the club fungi or...
include the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the filamentous fungi Neurosporacrassa and Mucor mucedo, the water mold Achlya ambisexualis, the aquatic...
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