PKPA, A NOVEL PHYCOMYCES-BLAKESLEEANUS SERINE THREONINE PROTEIN-KINASE

This work reports the cloning and sequencing of pkpA, a gene of the fi lamentous fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus, whose expression seems to b e coupled to vegetative growth. This gene encodes a putative serine/th reonine-specific protein kinase, whose sequence is related to that of the yeast protein STE20, involved in pheromone-response pathways, and to a number of MAPK kinase proteins. However, detailed analysis of the kinase sequence suggests that PkpA is a novel serine/threonine protei n kinase that probably participates as an intermediate in an intracell ular system controlling nuclear proliferation in P. blakesleeanus.