Regulation of freA, acoA, lysF, and cycA Expression by Iron Availability in Aspergillus nidulans

In the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, iron homeostasis is regulated at the transcriptional level by the negative-acting GATA factor SREA. In this study the expression of a putative heme-containing metalloreductase-encoding gene, freA, was found to be upregulated by iron limitation independently of SREA, demonstrating the existence of an iron-regulatory mechanism which does not involve SREA. In contrast to freA, various other genes encoding proteins in need of iron-containing cofactors—acoA, lysF, and cycA—were downregulated in response to iron depletion. Remarkably, SREA deficiency led to increased expression of acoA, lysF, and cycA under iron-replete growth conditions.