rhoA — Aspergillus fumigatus

Summary

AFU3G13340 (symbol rhoA) on chromosome 3 of Aspergillus fumigatus encodes a putative Rho-like small GTPase, a member of the small GTPase and P-loop NTPase families. The product exhibits GTPase activity, GTP and GDP binding, protein kinase binding, and protein Ser/Thr kinase activator activity. It is associated with Rho protein signal transduction, positive regulation of 1,3-beta-D-glucan biosynthetic process, gliotoxin anabolism, regulation of division septum assembly, regulation of establishment or maintenance of cell polarity regulating cell shape, and upregulation of endocytosis. The protein localizes to the hyphal tip, growing cell tip, cell cortex, 1,3-beta-glucan synthase complex, and medial ring. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to loss of pathogenicity, though this has not been established for A. fumigatus.