Global gene regulation by RNA-binding protein NrdA in Aspergillus luchuensis mut. kawachii

We report that the RNA-binding protein NrdA has a significant role on the global mRNA expression in the white koji fungus, Aspergillus luchuensis mut. kawachii. We constructed the nrdA conditional expression strain using the Tet-On system in A. kawachii. Downregulation of nrdA caused severe growth defect, indicating that NrdA is essential for proliferation of A. kawachii. Parallel RNA-seq and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP)-seq analysis identified potential NrdA-interacted transcripts, corresponding to 32% of predicted protein coding genes of A. kawachii. Subsequent gene ontology analysis suggested that overexpression of NrdA affects a variety of metabolic activity including secondary metabolite production. Overall design: Examination of functional role of RNA-binding protein NrdA in the white koji fungus