scholarly journals CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing in a reef-building coral

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (20) ◽  
pp. 5235-5240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip A. Cleves ◽  
Marie E. Strader ◽  
Line K. Bay ◽  
John R. Pringle ◽  
Mikhail V. Matz
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Mutant Gene ◽  
Mutation Induction ◽  
Induced Mutations ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Complexes ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Reef-building corals are critically important species that are threatened by anthropogenic stresses including climate change. In attempts to understand corals’ responses to stress and other aspects of their biology, numerous genomic and transcriptomic studies have been performed, generating a variety of hypotheses about the roles of particular genes and molecular pathways. However, it has not generally been possible to test these hypotheses rigorously because of the lack of genetic tools for corals. Here, we demonstrate efficient genome editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the coral Acropora millepora. We targeted the genes encoding fibroblast growth factor 1a (FGF1a), green fluorescent protein (GFP), and red fluorescent protein (RFP). After microinjecting CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes into fertilized eggs, we detected induced mutations in the targeted genes using changes in restriction-fragment length, Sanger sequencing, and high-throughput Illumina sequencing. We observed mutations in ∼50% of individuals screened, and the proportions of wild-type and various mutant gene copies in these individuals indicated that mutation induction continued for at least several cell cycles after injection. Although multiple paralogous genes encoding green fluorescent proteins are present in A. millepora, appropriate design of the guide RNA allowed us to induce mutations simultaneously in more than one paralog. Because A. millepora larvae can be induced to settle and begin colony formation in the laboratory, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing should allow rigorous tests of gene function in both larval and adult corals.

Visualization ofToxoplasma gondiistage conversion by expression of stage-specific dual fluorescent proteins

Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
pp. 579-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. UNNO ◽  
K. SUZUKI ◽  
T. BATANOVA ◽  
S.-Y. CHA ◽  
H.-K. JANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescence ◽  
Red Fluorescence ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Transgenic Parasite ◽  
P38 Mapk Inhibitor ◽  
Green Fluorescent

SUMMARYTo recognize the stage conversion ofToxoplasma gondiibetween tachyzoite and bradyzoite in live host cells, a transgenicT. gondiiline, which expressed stage-specific red and green fluorescence, was constructed.T. gondiiPLK strain tachyzoites were stably transformed with genes encoding red fluorescent protein (DsRed Express) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of tachyzoite-specific SAG1 and bradyzoite-specific BAG1 promoters, respectively. The resulting transgenic parasite was designated PLK/DUAL. When PLK/DUAL was cultured in pH 7·0 medium, the PLK/DUAL zoites expressed red fluorescence, but no detectable levels of green fluorescence were observed. The PLK/DUAL zoites reacted with anti-SAG1 antibody, but not anti-BAG1 antiserum. When PLK/DUAL was cultured under high pH conditions, or in the presence of the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB202190, a small number of zoites expressed green fluorescence and were BAG1 positive. C57BL/6J mice were infected with PLK/DUAL tachyzoites. During the acute and reactivating phase, zoites expressed red fluorescence. However, green fluorescence was not detectable. By contrast, latent cysts expressed green fluorescence. The stage-specific dual fluorescence of PLK/DUAL facilitates identification of the parasitic stage in live cells, with the advantage that fixation or immunostaining is not required.

Structural Evidence of Photoisomerization Pathways in Fluorescent Proteins

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Chang ◽  
Matthew Romei ◽  
Steven Boxer
Keyword(s):  
Rational Design ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Unit Cell Size ◽  
Chlorine Substituent ◽  
Gfp Chromophore ◽  
The One ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Super Resolution Microscopy

<p>Double-bond photoisomerization in molecules such as the green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore can occur either via a volume-demanding one-bond-flip pathway or via a volume-conserving hula-twist pathway. Understanding the factors that determine the pathway of photoisomerization would inform the rational design of photoswitchable GFPs as improved tools for super-resolution microscopy. In this communication, we reveal the photoisomerization pathway of a photoswitchable GFP, rsEGFP2, by solving crystal structures of <i>cis</i> and <i>trans</i> rsEGFP2 containing a monochlorinated chromophore. The position of the chlorine substituent in the <i>trans</i> state breaks the symmetry of the phenolate ring of the chromophore and allows us to distinguish the two pathways. Surprisingly, we find that the pathway depends on the arrangement of protein monomers within the crystal lattice: in a looser packing, the one-bond-flip occurs, whereas in a tighter packing (7% smaller unit cell size), the hula-twist occurs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> <p> </p>

scholarly journals Probing chemotaxis activity inEscherichia coliusing fluorescent protein fusions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clémence Roggo ◽  
Jan Roelof van der Meer
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Bacterial Chemotaxis ◽  
Ph Sensitive ◽  
Flagellar Motors ◽  
Receptor Interactions ◽  
Split Egfp ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACTChemotaxis is based on ligand-receptor interactions that are transmitted via protein-protein interactions to the flagellar motors. Ligand-receptor interactions in chemotaxis can be deployed for the development of rapid biosensor assays, but there is no consensus as to what the best readout of such assays would have to be. Here we explore two potential fluorescent readouts of chemotactically activeEscherichia colicells. In the first, we probed interactions between the chemotaxis signaling proteins CheY and CheZ by fusing them individually with non-fluorescent parts of a ‘split’-Green Fluorescent Protein. Wild-type chemotactic cells but not mutants lacking the CheA kinase produced distinguishable fluorescence foci, two-thirds of which localize at the cell poles with the chemoreceptors and one-third at motor complexes. Cells expressing fusion proteins only were attracted to serine sources, demonstrating measurable functional interactions between CheY~P and CheZ. Fluorescent foci based on stable split-eGFP displayed small fluctuations in cells exposed to attractant or repellent, but those based on an unstable ASV-tagged eGFP showed a higher dynamic behaviour both in the foci intensity changes and the number of foci per cell. For the second readout, we expressed the pH-sensitive fluorophore pHluorin in the cyto- and periplasm of chemotactically activeE. coli. Calibrations of pHluorin fluorescence as a function of pH demonstrated that cells accumulating near a chemo-attractant temporally increase cytoplasmic pH while decreasing periplasmic pH. Both readouts thus show promise as proxies for chemotaxis activity, but will have to be further optimized in order to deliver practical biosensor assays.IMPORTANCEBacterial chemotaxis may be deployed for future biosensing purposes with the advantages of its chemoreceptor ligand-specificity and its minute-scale response time. On the downside, chemotaxis is ephemeral and more difficult to quantitatively read out than, e.g., reporter gene expression. It is thus important to investigate different alternative ways to interrogate chemotactic response of cells. Here we gauge the possibilities to measure dynamic response in theEscherichia colichemotaxis pathway resulting from phosphorylated CheY-CheZ interactions by using (unstable) split-fluorescent proteins. We further test whether pH differences between cyto- and periplasm as a result of chemotactic activity can be measured with help of pH-sensitive fluorescent proteins. Our results show that both approaches conceptually function, but will need further improvement in terms of detection and assay types to be practical for biosensing.

scholarly journals Fluorescence-Based Reporter for Gauging Cyclic Di-GMP Levels in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (15) ◽  
pp. 5060-5069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten T. Rybtke ◽  
Bradley R. Borlee ◽  
Keiji Murakami ◽  
Yasuhiko Irie ◽  
Morten Hentzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Host Immune System ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACTThe increased tolerance toward the host immune system and antibiotics displayed by biofilm-formingPseudomonas aeruginosaand other bacteria in chronic infections such as cystic fibrosis bronchopneumonia is of major concern. Targeting of biofilm formation is believed to be a key aspect in the development of novel antipathogenic drugs that can augment the effect of classic antibiotics by decreasing antimicrobial tolerance. The second messenger cyclic di-GMP is a positive regulator of biofilm formation, and cyclic di-GMP signaling is now regarded as a potential target for the development of antipathogenic compounds. Here we describe the development of fluorescent monitors that can gauge the cellular level of cyclic di-GMP inP. aeruginosa. We have created cyclic di-GMP level reporters by transcriptionally fusing the cyclic di-GMP-responsivecdrApromoter to genes encoding green fluorescent protein. We show that the reporter constructs give a fluorescent readout of the intracellular level of cyclic di-GMP inP. aeruginosastrains with different levels of cyclic di-GMP. Furthermore, we show that the reporters are able to detect increased turnover of cyclic di-GMP mediated by treatment ofP. aeruginosawith the phosphodiesterase inducer nitric oxide. Considering that biofilm formation is a necessity for the subsequent development of a chronic infection and therefore a pathogenicity trait, the reporters display a significant potential for use in the identification of novel antipathogenic compounds targeting cyclic di-GMP signaling, as well as for use in research aiming at understanding the biofilm biology ofP. aeruginosa.

High agonist-independent clearance of rabbit kinin B1 receptors in cultured cells

2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (5) ◽  
pp. H1647-H1654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Fortin ◽  
Johanne Bouthillier ◽  
François Marceau
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Brefeldin A ◽  
Metabolic Inhibitors ◽  
Maximal Effect ◽  
Hek 293 ◽  
B1 Receptors ◽  
Green Fluorescent

We hypothesized that the inducible kinin B1 receptor (B1R) is rapidly cleared from cells when its synthesis subsides. The agonist-independent degradation of the rabbit B1Rs and related B2 receptors (B2Rs) was investigated. Endocytosis of the B1R-yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) conjugate was more intense than that of B2R-green fluorescent protein (GFP) based on fluorescence accumulation in HEK 293 cells treated with a lysosomal inhibitor. The cells expressing B1R-YFP contained more GFP/YFP-sized degradation product(s) than those expressing B2R-GFP (immunoblot, antibodies equally reacting with both fluorescent proteins). The binding site density of B1R-YFP decreased in the presence of protein synthesis or maturation inhibitors (anisomycin, brefeldin A), whereas that of B2R-GFP remained constant. Wild-type B1Rs were also cleared faster than B2Rs in rabbit smooth muscle cells treated with metabolic inhibitors. Contractility experiments based on brefeldin A-treated isolated rabbit blood vessels also functionally support that B1Rs are more rapidly eliminated than B2Rs (decreased maximal effect of agonist over 2 h). The highly regulated B1R is rapidly degraded, relative to the constitutive B2R.

scholarly journals Multiple Adhesin-Like Functions of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae Are Involved in Promoting Leaf Attachment, Entry, and Virulence on Rice

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Das ◽  
Nandini Rangaraj ◽  
Ramesh V. Sonti
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Adhesion ◽  
Bacterial Blight ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Xanthomonas Oryzae ◽  
Type Iv ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is the causal agent of bacterial blight of rice. We have used enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged X. oryzae pv. oryzae cells in conjunction with confocal microscopy to monitor the role of several adhesin-like functions in bacterial adhesion to leaf surface and early stages of leaf entry. Mutations in genes encoding either the Xanthomonas adhesin-like protein A (XadA) or its paralog, Xanthomonas adhesin-like protein B (XadB), as well as the X. oryzae pv. oryzae homolog of Yersinia autotransporter-like protein H (YapH), exhibit deficiencies in leaf attachment or entry. A mutation in the X. oryzae pv. oryzae pilQ gene, which is predicted to encode the type IV pilus secretin, appears to have no effect on leaf attachment or entry. The xadA– mutant is deficient in the ability to cause disease following surface inoculation while the XadB, YapH, and PilQ functions are less important than XadA for this process. The xadA– and xadB– mutants have no effect on virulence following wound inoculation whereas the yapH– and pilQ– mutants are always virulence deficient following wound inoculation. Overall, these results indicate that multiple adhesin-like functions are involved in promoting virulence of X. oryzae pv. oryzae, with preferential involvement of individual functions at different stages of the disease process.

scholarly journals Negative-Strand Tospoviruses and Tenuiviruses Carry a Gene for a Suppressor of Gene Silencing at Analogous Genomic Positions

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 1329-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Bucher ◽  
Titia Sijen ◽  
Peter de Haan ◽  
Rob Goldbach ◽  
Marcel Prins
Keyword(s):  
Rna Silencing ◽  
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Negative Strand ◽  
Tomato Spotted Wilt ◽  
Ns3 Protein ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Wilt Virus ◽  
Suppressor Of Rna Silencing

ABSTRACT Posttranscriptional silencing of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene in Nicotiana benthamiana plants was suppressed when these plants were infected with Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), a plant-infecting member of the Bunyaviridae. Infection with TSWV resulted in complete reactivation of GFP expression, similar to the case for Potato virus Y, but distinct from that for Cucumber mosaic virus, two viruses known to carry genes encoding silencing suppressor proteins. Agrobacterium-based leaf injections with individual TSWV genes identified the NSS gene to be responsible for the RNA silencing-suppressing activity displayed by this virus. The absence of short interfering RNAs in NSS-expressing leaf sectors suggests that the tospoviral NSS protein interferes with the intrinsic RNA silencing present in plants. Suppression of RNA silencing was also observed when the NS3 protein of the Rice hoja blanca tenuivirus, a nonenveloped negative-strand virus, was expressed. These results indicate that plant-infecting negative-strand RNA viruses carry a gene for a suppressor of RNA silencing.

scholarly journals Small fluorescence-activating and absorption-shifting tag for tunable protein imaging in vivo

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Aude Plamont ◽  
Emmanuelle Billon-Denis ◽  
Sylvie Maurin ◽  
Carole Gauron ◽  
Frederico M. Pimenta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Fluorescent Labeling ◽  
Activation Mechanism ◽  
Photoactive Yellow Protein ◽  
Reversible Binding ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Rapid Labeling ◽  
Green Fluorescent

This paper presents Yellow Fluorescence-Activating and absorption-Shifting Tag (Y-FAST), a small monomeric protein tag, half as large as the green fluorescent protein, enabling fluorescent labeling of proteins in a reversible and specific manner through the reversible binding and activation of a cell-permeant and nontoxic fluorogenic ligand (a so-called fluorogen). A unique fluorogen activation mechanism based on two spectroscopic changes, increase of fluorescence quantum yield and absorption red shift, provides high labeling selectivity. Y-FAST was engineered from the 14-kDa photoactive yellow protein by directed evolution using yeast display and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Y-FAST is as bright as common fluorescent proteins, exhibits good photostability, and allows the efficient labeling of proteins in various organelles and hosts. Upon fluorogen binding, fluorescence appears instantaneously, allowing monitoring of rapid processes in near real time. Y-FAST distinguishes itself from other tagging systems because the fluorogen binding is highly dynamic and fully reversible, which enables rapid labeling and unlabeling of proteins by addition and withdrawal of the fluorogen, opening new exciting prospects for the development of multiplexing imaging protocols based on sequential labeling.

scholarly journals The evolution of genes encoding for green fluorescent proteins: insights from cephalochordates (amphioxus)

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Xing Yue ◽  
Nicholas D. Holland ◽  
Linda Z. Holland ◽  
Dimitri D. Deheyn
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Green Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Green Fluorescent
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