Algal partner regulates fungal urease in the lichen Evernia prunastri by producing a protein which inhibits urease synthesis.

Occurrence of a protein controlling urease synthesis (PIUS) at the transcriptional level in the lichen Evernia prunastri has been previously reported (Perez-Urria & Vicente, Physiol Plant 65: 433-438, 1985; id. Endocyt C Res 3: 311-316, 1986). In this work it was found that 0.1 mM cycloheximide seems to inhibit PIUS synthesis when lichen thalli are incubated on PIUS inducer, L-arginine. PIUS has been purified and characterized by PAGE, electrofocusing and amino acid analysis. It is a glycoprotein containing a homopolymer of fructose bound to the protein. PIUS has been located in whole thallus and lichenized mycobiont but remains undetectable in cultured fungi. PIUS is only detected in photobiont cells when they are axenically cultured on arginine. Thus, it is postulated that PIUS could be synthesized by lichenized photobionts from which it moves to mycobionts where it inhibits the production of fungal urease.