scholarly journals Procyclin Null Mutants ofTrypanosoma bruceiExpress Free Glycosylphosphatidylinositols on Their Surface

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1308-1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Vassella ◽  
Peter Bütikofer ◽  
Markus Engstler ◽  
Jennifer Jelk ◽  
Isabel Roditi
Keyword(s):  
Lower Number ◽  
Adaptation Period ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Null Mutants ◽  
Solvent Fraction

Procyclins are abundant, glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins on the surface of procyclic (insect) form trypanosomes. To investigate whether trypanosomes are able to survive without a procyclin coat, all four procyclin genes were deleted sequentially. Bloodstream forms of the null mutant exhibited no detectable phenotype and were able to differentiate to procyclic forms. Initially, differentiated null mutant cells were barely able to grow, but after an adaptation period of 2 mo in culture they proliferated at the same rate as wild-type trypanosomes. Analysis of these culture-adapted null mutants revealed that they were covered by free GPIs. These were closely related to the mature procyclin anchor in structure and were expressed on the surface in numbers comparable with that of procyclin in wild-type cells. However, free GPIs were smaller than the procyclin anchor, indicative of a lower number of poly-N-acetyllactosamine repeats, and a proportion contained diacylphosphatidic acid. Free GPIs are also expressed by wild-type cells, although to a lesser extent. These have been overlooked in the past because they partition in a solvent fraction (chloroform/water/methanol) that is normally discarded when GPI-anchored proteins are purified.

A mechanical function of myosin II in cell motility

1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 387-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.Y. Jay ◽  
P.A. Pham ◽  
S.A. Wong ◽  
E.L. Elson
Keyword(s):  
Cell Shape ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Mechanical Function ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cytoskeletal Network ◽  
Cytoskeletal Tension ◽  
Tractional Forces ◽  
Contractile Forces ◽  
Mutant Cells

Myosin II mutant Dictyostelium amoebae crawl more slowly than wild-type cells. Thus, myosin II must contribute to amoeboid locomotion. We propose that contractile forces generated by myosin II help the cell's rear edge to detach from the substratum and retract, allowing the cell to continue forward. To test this hypothesis, we measured the speed of wild-type and myosin II null mutant Dictyostelium cells on surfaces of varying adhesivity. As substratum adhesivity increased, the speed of myosin II null mutant cells decreased substantially compared to wild-type cells, suggesting that the mutant is less able to retract from sticky surfaces. Furthermore, interference reflection microscopy revealed a myosin-II-dependent contraction in wild-type but not null mutant cells that is consistent with a balance of adhesive and contractile forces in retraction. Although myosin II null mutant cells have a defect in retraction, pseudopod extension does not cause the cells to become elongated on sticky surfaces. This suggests a mechanism, based possibly on cytoskeletal tension, for regulating cell shape in locomotion. The tension would result from the transmission of tractional forces through the cytoskeletal network, providing the myosin II null mutant with a limited means of retraction and cell division on a surface.

scholarly journals The Dithiol:Disulfide Oxidoreductases DsbA and DsbB of Rhodobacter capsulatus Are Not Directly Involved in Cytochrome c Biogenesis, but Their Inactivation Restores the Cytochrome c Biogenesis Defect of CcdA-Null Mutants

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (11) ◽  
pp. 3361-3372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meenal Deshmukh ◽  
Serdar Turkarslan ◽  
Donniel Astor ◽  
Maria Valkova-Valchanova ◽  
Fevzi Daldal
Keyword(s):  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Double Mutant ◽  
Rhodobacter Capsulatus ◽  
Genomic Library ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Chromosomal Dna ◽  
Cytochrome C Biogenesis ◽  
Growth Phenotype ◽  
Null Mutants

ABSTRACT The cytoplasmic membrane protein CcdA and its homologues in other species, such as DsbD of Escherichia coli, are thought to supply the reducing equivalents required for the biogenesis of c-type cytochromes that occurs in the periplasm of gram-negative bacteria. CcdA-null mutants of the facultative phototroph Rhodobacter capsulatus are unable to grow under photosynthetic conditions (Ps−) and do not produce any active cytochrome c oxidase (Nadi−) due to a pleiotropic cytochrome c deficiency. However, under photosynthetic or respiratory growth conditions, these mutants revert frequently to yield Ps+ Nadi+ colonies that produce c-type cytochromes despite the absence of CcdA. Complementation of a CcdA-null mutant for the Ps+ growth phenotype was attempted by using a genomic library constructed with chromosomal DNA from a revertant. No complementation was observed, but plasmids that rescued a CcdA-null mutant for photosynthetic growth by homologous recombination were recovered. Analysis of one such plasmid revealed that the rescue ability was mediated by open reading frame 3149, encoding the dithiol:disulfide oxidoreductase DsbA. DNA sequence data revealed that the dsbA allele on the rescuing plasmid contained a frameshift mutation expected to produce a truncated, nonfunctional DsbA. Indeed, a dsbA ccdA double mutant was shown to be Ps+ Nadi+, establishing that in R. capsulatus the inactivation of dsbA suppresses the c-type cytochrome deficiency due to the absence of ccdA. Next, the ability of the wild-type dsbA allele to suppress the Ps+ growth phenotype of the dsbA ccdA double mutant was exploited to isolate dsbA-independent ccdA revertants. Sequence analysis revealed that these revertants carried mutations in dsbB and that their Ps+ phenotypes could be suppressed by the wild-type allele of dsbB. As with dsbA, a dsbB ccdA double mutant was also Ps+ Nadi+ and produced c-type cytochromes. Therefore, the absence of either DsbA or DsbB restores c-type cytochrome biogenesis in the absence of CcdA. Finally, it was also found that the DsbA-null and DsbB-null single mutants of R. capsulatus are Ps+ and produce c-type cytochromes, unlike their E. coli counterparts, but are impaired for growth under respiratory conditions. This finding demonstrates that in R. capsulatus the dithiol:disulfide oxidoreductases DsbA and DsbB are not essential for cytochrome c biogenesis even though they are important for respiration under certain conditions.

scholarly journals A Novel Membrane Protein Influencing Cell Shape and Multicellular Swarming of Proteus mirabilis

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (7) ◽  
pp. 2008-2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole A. Hay ◽  
Donald J. Tipper ◽  
Daniel Gygi ◽  
Colin Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Proteus Mirabilis ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Surface Migration ◽  
Multiple Copies ◽  
Type Gene ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Major Domain

ABSTRACT Swarming in Proteus mirabilis is characterized by the coordinated surface migration of multicellular rafts of highly elongated, hyperflagellated swarm cells. We describe a transposon mutant, MNS185, that was unable to swarm even though vegetative cells retained normal motility and the ability to differentiate into swarm cells. However, these elongated cells were irregularly curved and had variable diameters, suggesting that the migration defect results from the inability of these deformed swarm cells to align into multicellular rafts. The transposon was inserted at codon 196 of a 228-codon gene that lacks recognizable homologs. Multiple copies of the wild-type gene, called ccmA, for curved cell morphology, restored swarming to the mutant. The 25-kDa CcmA protein is predicted to span the inner membrane twice, with its C-terminal major domain being present in the cytoplasm. Membrane localization was confirmed both by immunoblotting and by electron microscopy of immunogold-labelled sections. Two forms of CcmA were identified for wild-type P. mirabilis; they were full-length integral membrane CcmA1 and N-terminally truncated peripheral membrane CcmA2, both present at approximately 20-fold higher concentrations in swarm cells. Differentiated MNS185 mutant cells contained wild-type levels of the C-terminally truncated versions of both proteins. Elongated cells of accmA null mutant were less misshapen than those of MNS185 and were able to swarm, albeit more slowly than wild-type cells. The truncated CcmA proteins may therefore interfere with normal morphogenesis, while the wild-type proteins, which are not essential for swarming, may enhance migration by maintaining the linearity of highly elongated cells. Consistent with this view, overexpression of the ccmA gene caused cells of both Escherichia coli and P. mirabilis to become enlarged and ellipsoidal.

scholarly journals Increasing the Ratio of Soj to Spo0J Promotes Replication Initiation in Bacillus subtilis

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (21) ◽  
pp. 6316-6324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitoshi Ogura ◽  
Naotake Ogasawara ◽  
Elizabeth J. Harry ◽  
Shigeki Moriya
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Replication Initiation ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Protein Families ◽  
Tight Control ◽  
Mutant Proteins ◽  
Cell Cycle Genes ◽  
Initiation Of Replication ◽  
Mutant Cells

ABSTRACT The ParA and ParB protein families are well conserved in bacteria. However, their functions are still unclear. In Bacillus subtilis, Soj and Spo0J are members of these two protein families, respectively. A previous report revealed that replication initiated early and asynchronously in spo0J null mutant cells, as determined by flow cytometry. In this study, we examined the cause of this promotion of replication initiation. Deletion of both the soj and spo0J genes restored the frequency of replication initiation to almost the wild-type level, suggesting that production of Soj in the absence of Spo0J leads to early and asynchronous initiation of replication. Consistent with this suggestion, overproduction of Soj in wild-type cells had the same effect on replication initiation as in the spo0J null mutant, and overproduction of both Soj and Spo0J did not. These results indicate that when the ratio of Soj to Spo0J increases, Soj interferes with tight control of replication initiation and causes early and asynchronous initiation. Whereas replication initiation also occurred significantly earlier in the two spo0J mutants, spo0J14 and spo0J17, it occurred only slightly early in the sojK16Q mutant and was delayed in the sojG12V mutant. Although Soj localized to nucleoids in the spo0J mutants, the two Soj mutant proteins were distributed throughout the cell or localized to cell poles. Thus, interestingly, the promotion of replication initiation seems to correlate with localization of Soj to nucleoids. This may suggest that Soj inhibits transcription of some cell cycle genes and leads to early and asynchronous initiation of replication. In wild-type cells Spo0J counteracts this Soj function.

scholarly journals Characterization of a Hypovirus-Regulated Septin Cdc11 Ortholog, CpSep1, from the Chestnut Blight Fungus Cryphonectria parasitica

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myeongjin Jo ◽  
Kum-Kang So ◽  
Yo-Han Ko ◽  
Jeesun Chun ◽  
Jung-Mi Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cryphonectria Parasitica ◽  
Chestnut Blight ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Chestnut Blight Fungus ◽  
Germination Process ◽  
Cryphonectria Hypovirus ◽  
Null Mutants

We identified a protein spot showing downregulation in the presence of Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 and tannic acid supplementation as a septin subunit with the highest homology to the Aspergillus nidulans aspA gene, an ortholog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cdc11 gene. To analyze the functional role of this septin component (CpSep1), we constructed its null mutant and obtained a total of eight CpSep1-null mutants from 137 transformants. All CpSep1-null mutants showed retarded growth, with fewer aerial mycelia and intense pigmentation on plates of potato dextrose agar supplemented with L-methionine and biotin. When the marginal hyphae were examined, hyperbranching was observed in contrast to the wild type. The inhibition of colonial growth was partially recovered when the CpSep1-null mutants were cultured in the presence of the osmostabilizing sorbitol. Conidia production of the CpSep1-null mutants was significantly increased by at least 10-fold more. Interestingly, the conidial morphology of the CpSep1-null mutants changed to circular in contrast to the typical rod-shaped spores of the wild type, indicating a role of septin in the spore morphology of Cryphonectria parasitica. However, no differences in the germination process were observed. Virulence assays using excised chestnut bark, stromal pustule formation on chestnut stems, and apple inoculation indicated that the CpSep1 gene is important in pathogenicity.

scholarly journals Study of Cyclin Proteolysis in Anaphase-Promoting Complex (APC) Mutant Cells Reveals the Requirement for APC Function in the Final Steps of the Fission Yeast Septation Initiation Network

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (19) ◽  
pp. 6681-6694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Chang ◽  
Jennifer L. Morrell ◽  
Anna Feoktistova ◽  
Kathleen L. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Nuclear Division ◽  
Cyclin B ◽  
Cyclin Dependent Kinase ◽  
Anaphase Promoting Complex ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mitotic Cyclin ◽  
Septation Initiation Network ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Null Mutants

ABSTRACT Cytokinesis in eukaryotic cells requires the inactivation of mitotic cyclin-dependent kinase complexes. An apparent exception to this relationship is found in Schizosaccharomyces pombemutants with mutations of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC). These conditional lethal mutants arrest with unsegregated chromosomes because they cannot degrade the securin, Cut2p. Although failing at nuclear division, these mutants septate and divide. Since septation requires Cdc2p inactivation in wild-type S. pombe, it has been suggested that Cdc2p inactivation occurs in these mutants by a mechanism independent of cyclin degradation. In contrast to this prediction, we show that Cdc2p kinase activity fluctuates in APCcut mutants due to Cdc13/cyclin B destruction. In APC-null mutants, however, septation and cutting do not occur and Cdc13p is stable. We conclude that APC cut mutants are hypomorphic with respect to Cdc13p degradation. Indeed, overproduction of nondestructible Cdc13p prevents septation in APC cutmutants and the normal reorganization of septation initiation network components during anaphase.

scholarly journals The Global Nitrogen Regulator NtcA Regulates Transcription of the Signal Transducer PII (GlnB) and Influences Its Phosphorylation Level in Response to Nitrogen and Carbon Supplies in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 7942

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (9) ◽  
pp. 2697-2702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Mi Lee ◽  
María Félix Vázquez-Bermúdez ◽  
Nicole Tandeau de Marsac
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Carbon Supply ◽  
Phosphorylation Level ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Synechococcus Sp ◽  
Pcc 7942 ◽  
Mutant Cells

ABSTRACT The PII protein is encoded by a unique glnBgene in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942. Its expression has been analyzed in the wild type and in NtcA-null mutant cells grown under different conditions of nitrogen and carbon supply. RNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed the presence of one transcript species 680 nucleotides long, whatever the nutrient conditions tested. A second transcript species, 620 nucleotides long, absent in the NtcA null mutant, was observed in wild-type cells that were nitrogen starved for 2 h under both high and low CO2and in the presence of nitrate under a high CO2concentration. Primer extension analysis indicated that the two transcript species are generated from two tandem promoters, a ς70 Escherichia coli-type promoter and an NtcA-dependent promoter, located 120 and 53 nucleotides, respectively, from the glnB initiation codon. The NtcA-dependent promoter is up-regulated under the conditions mentioned above, while the ς70 E. coli-type promoter displays constitutive levels of transcripts in the NtcA null mutant and slightly different levels in the wild-type cells, depending on the nitrogen and carbon supplies. In general, a good correlation between the amounts of the two transcript species and that of the PII protein was observed, as revealed by immunodetection with specific antibodies. The phosphorylation level of PII in the wild type is inversely correlated with nitrogen availability and directly correlated with higher CO2 concentration. This regulation is correspondingly less stringent in the NtcA null mutant cells. In contrast, the dephosphorylation of PII is NtcA independent.

scholarly journals Deletion of an immunodominant Trypanosoma cruzi surface glycoprotein disrupts flagellum-cell adhesion

1993 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Cooper ◽  
AR de Jesus ◽  
GA Cross
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Cruzi ◽  
Gene Replacement ◽  
Surface Glycoprotein ◽  
Neomycin Phosphotransferase ◽  
Flagellar Pocket ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Targeted Gene Replacement ◽  
Null Mutants

Null mutants of the Trypanosoma cruzi insect stage-specific glycoprotein GP72 were created by targeted gene replacement. Targeting plasmids were constructed in which the neomycin phosphotransferase and hygromycin phosphotransferase genes were flanked by GP72 sequences. These plasmids were sequentially transfected into T. cruzi epimastigotes by electroporation. Southern blot analyzes indicated that precise replacement of the two genes had occurred. No aberrant rearrangements occurred at the GP72 locus and no GP72 gene sequences had been translocated elsewhere in the genome. Western blots confirmed that GP72 is not expressed in these null mutants. The morphology of the mutants is dramatically different from wild-type. In both mutant and wild-type parasites, the flagellum emerges from the flagellar pocket. In the null mutant the normal attachment of the flagellum to the cell membrane of the parasite is lost.

scholarly journals Glucose Transporters and Virulence inLeishmania mexicana

mSphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuhong Feng ◽  
Khoa D. Tran ◽  
Marco A. Sanchez ◽  
Hakima Al Mezewghi ◽  
Scott M. Landfear
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Leishmania Mexicana ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intracellular Amastigotes ◽  
Null Mutants

ABSTRACTGlucose transporters are important for viability and infectivity of the disease-causing amastigote stages ofLeishmania mexicana. The Δgt1-3null mutant, in which the 3 clustered glucose transporter genes,GT1,GT2, andGT3, have been deleted, is strongly impaired in growth inside macrophagesin vitro. We have now demonstrated that this null mutant is also impaired in virulence in the BALB/c murine model of infection and forms lesions considerably more slowly than wild-type parasites. Previously, we established that amplification of thePIFTC3gene, which encodes an intraflagellar transport protein, both facilitated and accompanied the isolation of the original Δgt1-3null mutant generated in extracellular insect-stage promastigotes. We have now isolated Δgt1-3null mutants without coamplification ofPIFTC3. These amplicon-negative null mutants are further impaired in growth as promastigotes, compared to the previously described null mutants containing thePIFTC3amplification. In contrast, the GT3 glucose transporter plays an especially important role in promoting amastigote viability. A line that expresses only the single glucose transporter GT3 grows as well inside macrophages and induces lesions in animals as robustly as do wild-type amastigotes, but lines expressing only the GT1 or GT2 transporters replicate poorly in macrophages. Strikingly, GT3 is restricted largely to the endoplasmic reticulum in intracellular amastigotes. This observation raises the possibility that GT3 may play an important role as an intracellular glucose transporter in the infectious stage of the parasite life cycle.IMPORTANCEGlucose transport plays important roles forin vitrogrowth of insect-stage promastigotes and especially for viability of intramacrophage mammalian host-stage amastigotes ofLeishmania mexicana. However, the roles of the three distinct glucose transporters, GT1, GT2, and GT3, in parasite viability inside macrophages and virulence in mice have not been fully explored. Parasite lines expressing GT1 or GT2 alone were strongly impaired in growth inside macrophages, but lines expressing GT3 alone infected macrophages and caused lesions in mice as robustly as wild-type parasites. Notably, GT3 localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum of intracellular amastigotes, suggesting a potential role for salvage of glucose from that organelle for viability of infectious amastigotes. This study establishes the unique role of GT3 for parasite survival inside host macrophages and for robust virulence in infected animals.

Ultrastructure and Morphology of the Neurospora Crassa Cell Wall Mutants, Slime And Slime X, Using Tem and Sem

1976 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 54-55
Author(s):  
Karen S. Howard ◽  
H. D. Braymer ◽  
M. D. Socolofsky ◽  
S. A. Milligan
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Morphological Comparison ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Solid Media ◽  
Thin Sectioning ◽  
X Cells ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Isolated Cell

The recently isolated cell wall mutant slime X of Neurospora crassa was prepared for ultrastructural and morphological comparison with the cell wall mutant slime. The purpose of this article is to discuss the methods of preparation for TEM and SEM observations, as well as to make a preliminary comparison of the two mutants.TEM: Cells of the slime mutant were prepared for thin sectioning by the method of Bigger, et al. Slime X cells were prepared in the same manner with the following two exceptions: the cells were embedded in 3% agar prior to fixation and the buffered solutions contained 5% sucrose throughout the procedure.SEM: Two methods were used to prepare mutant and wild type Neurospora for the SEM. First, single colonies of mutant cells and small areas of wild type hyphae were cut from solid media and fixed with OSO4 vapors similar to the procedure used by Harris, et al. with one alteration. The cell-containing agar blocks were dehydrated by immersion in 2,2-dimethoxypropane (DMP).

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