BLI-4, A GENE THAT IS RAPIDLY INDUCED BY BLUE-LIGHT, ENCODES A NOVEL MITOCHONDRIAL, SHORT-CHAIN ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE-LIKE PROTEIN IN NEUROSPORA-CRASSA

Blue light plays an important role in developmental control throughout nature. The bli-4 gene of Neurospora crassa, together with bli-3, al- 1 and al-2, is rapidly inducible by blue light. Induction leads to a n inety-fold increase in transcription rate over the dark control level, and the gene therefore appears to be of prime importance in the blue- light induction pathway of N. crassa. We describe the sequencing and a nalysis of bli-4 and the 38 kDa protein it encodes. We show that the p rotein is very rapidly imported into the mitochondria and exhibits hig h homology with the family of short-chain alcohol dehydrogenases.