The new role of KAEA, the highly conserved subunit of the KEOPS/EKC complex, in the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans

Some proteins are studied for many years and it seems that their function is well known. However, sometimes new technologies enable us to discover that such proteins may be multifunctional. The Kae1p, a subunit of KEOPS/EKC complex, appears to be such protein. Kae1p mainly participates in a specific, highly evolutionary conserved tRNA modification, that plays a crucial role in translation fidelity. This modification is found in almost every organism. However, many researchers suppose that Kae1p has some other functions. These observations confirm our preliminary results showing that Kae1p may participate in transcription. The aim of this project is to confirm that Kae1p participates in transcription in the model organism filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, using the ChIP-seq experiment to identify chromatin regions directly or indirectly bound by Kae1p.

This project will advance our knowledge about metabolism of A. nidulans, a model organism for
filamentous fungi, which are important for biotechnological industry, food production and human
health.