Two 3-phosphoglycerate kinase genes (
pgk1 and
pgk2) were cloned from
Rhizopus niveus. It was deduced that both
pgk genes have two introns. They have open reading frames of 1355 bp and 1356 bp, and code for proteins of 417 and 416 amino acids, respectively. The first introns of both genes are located at similar positions as those of
pgk genes from other fungi based on the deduced amino-acid sequences of PGK proteins. The position of their second introns was similar to that of the seventh intron of the human
pgk gene. The deduced amino-acid sequences of PGK proteins show high identity (64.8–72.2%) to those of PGKs of other filamentous fungi. When the promoters of each of the
pgk genes were fused to the
E. coli 
-glucuronidase (GUS) gene and introduced into
R. niveus, significant GUS activities were detected in the cell lysates of the transformants, suggesting that GUS protein was expressed under the control of both
pgk gene promoters in
R. niveus. GUS activity was induced by glucose but not by glycerol, indicating that expression of
R. niveus pgk genes was regulated by the carbon source.
Key words
Rhizopus niveus
- 3-Phosphoglycerate kinase -
-Glucuronidase (uidA) - Gene expression
Communicated by C. P. Hollenberg