scholarly journals Flagellar Radial Spokes Contain a Ca2+-stimulated Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 3891-3902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramila S. Patel-King ◽  
Oksana Gorbatyuk ◽  
Sachiko Takebe ◽  
Stephen M. King
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase ◽  
Terminal Segment ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Repetitive Region ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Calmodulin Binding ◽  
Radial Spokes

The radial spokes are required for Ca2+-initiated intraflagellar signaling, resulting in modulation of inner and outer arm dynein activity. However, the mechanochemical properties of this signaling pathway remain unknown. Here, we describe a novel nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDK) from the Chlamydomonas flagellum. This protein (termed p61 or RSP23) consists of an N-terminal catalytic NDK domain followed by a repetitive region that includes three IQ motifs and a highly acidic C-terminal segment. We find that p61 is missing in axonemes derived from the mutants pf14 (lacks radial spokes) and pf24 (lacks the spoke head and several stalk components) but not in those from pf17 (lacking only the spoke head). The p61 protein can be extracted from oda1 (lacks outer dynein arms) and pf17 axonemes with 0.5 M KI, and copurifies with radial spokes in sucrose density gradients. Furthermore, p61 contains two classes of calmodulin binding site: IQ1 interacts with calmodulin-Sepharose beads in a Ca2+-independent manner, whereas IQ2 and IQ3 show Ca2+-sensitive associations. Wild-type axonemes exhibit two distinct NDKase activities, at least one of which is stimulated by Ca2+. This Ca2+-responsive enzyme, which accounts for ∼45% of total axonemal NDKase, is missing from pf14 axonemes. We found that purified radial spokes also exhibit NDKase activity. Thus, we conclude that p61 is an integral component of the radial spoke stalk that binds calmodulin and exhibits Ca2+-controlled NDKase activity. These observations suggest that nucleotides other than ATP may play an important role in the signal transduction pathway that underlies the regulatory mechanism defined by the radial spokes.

scholarly journals Mating in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: The Role of the Pheromone Signal Transduction Pathway in the Chemotropic Response to Pheromone

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Schrick ◽  
Barbara Garvik ◽  
Leland H Hartwell
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mating Partner ◽  
Map Kinase Cascade ◽  
Kinase Cascade ◽  
Wild Type Control

Abstract The mating process in yeast has two distinct aspects. One is the induction and activation of proteins required for cell fusion in response to a pheromone signal; the other is chemotropism, i.e., detection of a pheromone gradient and construction of a fusion site available to the signaling cell. To determine whether components of the signal transduction pathway necessary for transcriptional activation also play a role in chemotropism, we examined strains with null mutations in components of the signal transduction pathway for diploid formation, prezygote formation and the chemotropic process of mating partner discrimination when transcription was induced downstream of the mutation. Cells mutant for components of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade (ste5, ste20, ste11, ste7 or fus3 kss1) formed diploids at a frequency 1% that of the wild-type control, but formed prezygotes as efficiently as the wild-type control and showed good mating partner discrimination, suggesting that the MAP kinase cascade is not essential for chemotropism. In contrast, cells mutant for the receptor (ste2) or the β or γ subunit (ste4 and stel8) of the G protein were extremely defective in both diploid and prezygote formation and discriminated poorly between signaling and nonsignaling mating partners, implying that these components are important for chemotropism.

The ULTRAPETALA gene controls shoot and floral meristem size in Arabidopsis

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (8) ◽  
pp. 1323-1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Floral Meristem ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Inflorescence Meristem ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Meristem Cell ◽  
Meristem Size ◽  
Cell Accumulation ◽  
Floral Meristems

The regulation of proper shoot and floral meristem size during plant development is mediated by a complex interaction of stem cell promoting and restricting factors. The phenotypic effects of mutations in the ULTRAPETALA gene, which is required to control shoot and floral meristem cell accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana, are described. ultrapetala flowers contain more floral organs and whorls than wild-type plants, phenotypes that correlate with an increase in floral meristem size preceding organ initiation. ultrapetala plants also produce more floral meristems than wild-type plants, correlating with an increase in inflorescence meristem size without visible fasciation. Expression analysis indicates that ULTRAPETALA controls meristem cell accumulation partly by limiting the domain of CLAVATA1 expression. Genetic studies show that ULTRAPETALA acts independently of ERA1, but has overlapping functions with PERIANTHIA and the CLAVATA signal transduction pathway in controlling shoot and floral meristem size and meristem determinacy. Thus ULTRAPETALA defines a novel locus that restricts meristem cell accumulation in Arabidopsis shoot and floral meristems.

scholarly journals Function of a Chemotaxis-Like Signal Transduction Pathway in Modulating Motility, Cell Clumping, and Cell Length in the Alphaproteobacterium Azospirillum brasilense

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (19) ◽  
pp. 6365-6375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber N. Bible ◽  
Bonnie B. Stephens ◽  
Davi R. Ortega ◽  
Zhihong Xie ◽  
Gladys Alexandre
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Cell Aggregation ◽  
Cell Length ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Swimming Pattern ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Nutritional Imbalance

ABSTRACT A chemotaxis signal transduction pathway (hereafter called Che1) has been previously identified in the alphaproteobacterium Azospirillum brasilense. Previous experiments have demonstrated that although mutants lacking CheB and/or CheR homologs from this pathway are defective in chemotaxis, a mutant in which the entire chemotaxis pathway has been mutated displayed a chemotaxis phenotype mostly similar to that of the parent strain, suggesting that the primary function of this Che1 pathway is not the control of motility behavior. Here, we report that mutants carrying defined mutations in the cheA1 (strain AB101) and the cheY1 (strain AB102) genes and a newly constructed mutant lacking the entire operon [Δ(cheA1-cheR1)::Cm] (strain AB103) were defective, but not null, for chemotaxis and aerotaxis and had a minor defect in swimming pattern. We found that mutations in genes of the Che1 pathway affected the cell length of actively growing cells but not their growth rate. Cells of a mutant lacking functional cheB1 and cheR1 genes (strain BS104) were significantly longer than wild-type cells, whereas cells of mutants impaired in the cheA1 or cheY1 genes, as well as a mutant lacking a functional Che1 pathway, were significantly shorter than wild-type cells. Both the modest chemotaxis defects and the observed differences in cell length could be complemented by expressing the wild-type genes from a plasmid. In addition, under conditions of high aeration, cells of mutants lacking functional cheA1 or cheY1 genes or the Che1 operon formed clumps due to cell-to-cell aggregation, whereas the mutant lacking functional CheB1 and CheR1 (BS104) clumped poorly, if at all. Further analysis suggested that the nature of the exopolysaccharide produced, rather than the amount, may be involved in this behavior. Interestingly, mutants that displayed clumping behavior (lacking cheA1 or cheY1 genes or the Che1 operon) also flocculated earlier and quantitatively more than the wild-type cells, whereas the mutant lacking both CheB1 and CheR1 was delayed in flocculation. We propose that the Che1 chemotaxis-like pathway modulates the cell length as well as clumping behavior, suggesting a link between these two processes. Our data are consistent with a model in which the function of the Che1 pathway in regulating these cellular functions directly affects flocculation, a cellular differentiation process initiated under conditions of nutritional imbalance.

scholarly journals Calcium/calmodulin transduces thrombin-stimulated secretion: studies in intact and minimally permeabilized human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

1992 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 1501-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
K A Birch ◽  
J S Pober ◽  
G B Zavoico ◽  
A R Means ◽  
B M Ewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Phorbol Esters ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Inhibitory Peptide ◽  
Permeabilized Cells ◽  
Calmodulin Binding ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Thrombin stimulates cultured endothelial cells (EC) to secrete stored von Willebrand factor (vWF), but the signal transduction pathways are poorly defined. Thrombin is known to elevate the concentration of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) and to activate protein kinase C (PKC) in EC. Since both calcium ionophores and phorbol esters release vWF, both second messenger pathways have been postulated to participate in vWF secretion in response to naturally occurring agonists. We find that in intact human EC, vWF secretion stimulated by either thrombin or by a thrombin receptor activating peptide, TR(42-55), can be correlated with agonist-induced elevations of [Ca2+]i. Further evidence implicating calcium in the signal transduction pathway is suggested by the finding that MAPTAM, a cell-permeant calcium chelator, in combination with the extracellular calcium chelator EGTA, can inhibit thrombin-stimulated secretion. In contrast, the observation that staurosporine (a pharmacological inhibitor of PKC) blocks phorbol ester- but not thrombin-stimulated secretion provides evidence against PKC-mediated signal transduction. To examine further the signal transduction pathway initiated by thrombin, we developed novel conditions for minimal permeabilization of EC with saponin (4-8 micrograms/ml for 5-15 min at 37 degrees C) which allow the introduction of small extracellular molecules without the loss of large intracellular proteins and which retain thrombin-stimulated secretion. These minimally permeabilized cells secrete vWF in response to exogenous calcium, and EGTA blocks thrombin-induced secretion. Moreover, in these cells, thrombin-stimulated secretion is blocked by a calmodulin-binding inhibitory peptide but not by a PKC inhibitory peptide. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that thrombin-stimulated vWF secretion is transduced by a rise in [Ca2+]i and provide the first evidence for the role of calmodulin in this process.

scholarly journals Ventralization of the Drosophila embryo by deletion of extracellular leucine-rich repeats in the Toll protein.

1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 587-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
K A Winans ◽  
C Hashimoto
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Transmembrane Protein ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Extracellular Domain ◽  
Drosophila Embryo ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Truncated Form ◽  
Biochemical Analyses ◽  
Leucine Rich Repeats

Dorsoventral polarity of the Drosophila embryo is established by a signal transduction pathway in which the maternal transmembrane protein Toll appears to function as the receptor for a ventrally localized extracellular ligand. Certain dominant Toll alleles encode proteins that behave as partially ligand-independent receptors, causing embryos containing these proteins to become ventralized. In extracts of embryos derived from mothers carrying these dominant alleles, we detected a polypeptide of approximately 35 kDa in addition to full-length Toll polypeptides with antibodies to Toll. Our biochemical analyses suggest that the smaller polypeptide is a truncated form of Toll lacking extracellular domain sequences. To assay the biological activity of such a shortened form of Toll, we synthesized RNA encoding a mutant polypeptide lacking the leucine-rich repeats that comprise most of Toll's extracellular domain and injected this RNA into embryos. The truncated Toll protein elicited the most ventral cell fate independently of the wild-type Toll protein and its ligand. These results support the view that Toll is a receptor whose extracellular domain regulates the intrinsic signaling activity of its cytoplasmic domain.

Distinct roles of PMCA isoforms in Ca2+ homeostasis of bladder smooth muscle: evidence from PMCA gene-ablated mice

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. C423-C431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Liu ◽  
Yukisato Ishida ◽  
Gbolahan Okunade ◽  
Gail J. Pyne-Geithman ◽  
Gary E. Shull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Contractile Response ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle

We previously showed that plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) activity accounted for 25–30% of relaxation in bladder smooth muscle ( 8 ). Among the four PMCA isoforms only PMCA1 and PMCA4 are expressed in smooth muscle. To address the role of these isoforms, we measured cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) using fura-PE3 and simultaneously measured contractility in bladder smooth muscle from wild-type (WT), Pmca1+/−, Pmca4+/−, Pmca4−/−, and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− mice. There were no differences in basal [Ca2+]i values between bladder preparations. KCl (80 mM) elicited both larger forces (150–190%) and increases in [Ca2+]i (130–180%) in smooth muscle from Pmca1+/− and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− bladders than those in WT or Pmca4−/−. The responses to carbachol (CCh: 10 μM) were also greater in Pmca1+/− (120–150%) than in WT bladders. In contrast, the responses in Pmca4−/− and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− bladders to CCh were significantly smaller (40–50%) than WT. The rise in half-times of force and [Ca2+]i increases in response to KCl and CCh, and the concomitant half-times of their decrease upon washout of agonist were prolonged in Pmca4−/− (130–190%) and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− (120–250%) bladders, but not in Pmca1+/− bladders with respect to WT. Our evidence indicates distinct isoform functions with the PMCA1 isoform involved in overall Ca2+ clearance, while PMCA4 is essential for the [Ca2+]i increase and contractile response to the CCh receptor-mediated signal transduction pathway.

Kinetic analysis of a signal-transduction pathway by time-resolved somatic complementation of mutants.

1998 ◽  
Vol 201 (13) ◽  
pp. 1991-1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Starostzik ◽  
W Marwan
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Blue Light ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Intermediate Phenotype ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Small Change

Sensory control of sporulation in Physarum polycephalum plasmodia is mediated by a branched signal-transduction pathway that integrates blue light, far-red light, heat shock and the starvation state. Mutants defective in the pathway were isolated and three phenotypes obtained: blue-blind, general-blind and light-independent sporulating. When plasmodia of the blue-blind mutant Blu1 were exposed to a pulse of blue light and subsequently fused to non-induced wild-type plasmodia, the resulting heterokaryons sporulated, indicating a functional blue- light photoreceptor in the mutant. When the general-blind mutant Nos1 was fused to a wild-type plasmodium which had been induced by light, sporulation of the heterokaryon was blocked. However, the dominant inhibition of sporulation by Nos1 was gradually lost with increasing time between induction by light and time of fusion, suggesting that Nos1 can be bypassed by the time-dependent formation of a downstream signal-transduction intermediate. Phenotype expression in constitutively sporulating (Cos) mutants depended on starvation. The Cos2 product was titrated by fusing mutant plasmodia of different sizes to wild-type plasmodia of constant size and analysing the sporulation probability of the resulting heterokaryon. The titration curve indicates that a small change in the amount of Cos2 product can cause sporulation. We conclude that somatic complementation analysis allows the time-resolved evaluation of the regulatory function of mutations in a signal-transduction pathway without prior cloning of the gene. This shortcut allows us to characterize many mutants quickly and to select those for molecular analysis that display a well-defined regulatory function.

A role for the Drosophila Toll/Cactus pathway in larval hematopoiesis

Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (10) ◽  
pp. 1909-1920 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Qiu ◽  
P.C. Pan ◽  
S. Govind
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Lymph Gland ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Drosophila Larva ◽  
Common Signal ◽  
Almost All

In the Drosophila larva, blood cells or hemocytes are formed in the lymph gland. The major blood cell type, called plasmatocyte, is small, non-adhesive and phagocytic. Plasmatocytes differentiate into adhesive lamellocytes to form multilayered capsules around foreign substances or, in mutant melanotic tumor strains, around self tissue. Mutations in cactus or Toll, or constitutive expression of dorsal can induce lamellocyte differentiation and cause the formation of melanotic capsules. As maternally encoded proteins, Toll, Cactus and Dorsal, along with Tube and Pelle, participate in a common signal transduction pathway to specify the embryonic dorsal-ventral axis. Using the maternal pathway as a paradigm, we investigated if these proteins have additional roles in larval hemocyte formation and differentiation. Analysis of cactus mutants that lack Cactus protein revealed that almost all of these animals have an overabundance of hemocytes, carry melanotic capsules and die before reaching pupal stages. In addition, the lymph glands of cactus larvae are considerably enlarged. The number of mitotic cells in the cactus and TollD hemolymph is higher than that in the wild-type hemolymph. The hemocyte density of mutant Toll, tube or pelle hemolymph is significantly lower than that of the wild type. Lethality of mutant cactus animals could be rescued either by the selective expression of wild-type Cactus protein in the larval lymph gland or by the introduction of mutations in Toll, tube or pelle. Cactus, Toll, Tube and Pelle proteins are expressed in the nascent hemocytes of the larval lymph gland. Our results suggest that the Toll/Cactus signal transduction pathway plays a significant role in regulating hemocyte proliferation and hemocyte density in the Drosophila larva. These findings are discussed in light of similar hematopoietic functions of Rel/I(kappa)B-family proteins in mice.

scholarly journals Investigation of Downstream Signals of the Soybean Autoregulation of Nodulation Receptor Kinase GmNARK

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 1337-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Kinkema ◽  
Peter M. Gresshoff
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Foliar Application ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Nodule Development ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Receptor Kinase ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Autoregulation Of Nodulation ◽  
Supernodulating Mutant

The Glycine max nodule autoregulation receptor kinase (GmNARK) plays a central role in the systemic signal transduction pathway controlling nodulation in soybean. We used transcriptional profiling to identify potential downstream signals of this receptor kinase. These studies revealed that GmNARK-mediated signaling controls the expression of genes involved in the jasmonic acid (JA) pathway. Genes encoding the key enzymes controlling JA biosynthesis as well as JA-response genes were regulated systemically but not locally by root inoculation with Bradyrhizobium japonicum. This systemic regulation was abolished in Gmnark mutant plants, indicating that their expression was specifically controlled by signaling events associated with this receptor kinase. Foliar application of a JA biosynthesis inhibitor significantly reduced nodulation specifically in supernodulating mutant plants. These results indicate that the receptor-mediated regulation of JA signaling plays an important role in the AON signal transduction pathway. A second class of genes was identified that were controlled by GmNARK in a rhizobia-independent manner. These candidates provide insight on additional, nonsymbiotic signaling pathways that are likely regulated by GmNARK, such as those involved in root growth and defense. The discovery of downstream components of the GmNARK receptor kinase advances our understanding of the systemic control of nodule development and its association with other signaling networks.

scholarly journals Different Evolutionary Constraints on Chemotaxis Proteins CheW and CheY Revealed by Heterologous Expression Studies and Protein Sequence Analysis

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (2) ◽  
pp. 544-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gladys Alexandre ◽  
Igor B. Zhulin
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Heterologous Expression ◽  
Protein Sequence ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Evolutionary Constraints ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Protein Sequence Analysis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
E Coli

ABSTRACT CheW and CheY are single-domain proteins from a signal transduction pathway that transmits information from transmembrane receptors to flagellar motors in bacterial chemotaxis. In various bacterial and archaeal species, the cheW and cheY genes are usually encoded within homologous chemotaxis operons. We examined evolutionary changes in these two proteins from distantly related proteobacterial species, Escherichia coli and Azospirillum brasilense. We analyzed the functions of divergent CheW and CheY proteins from A. brasilense by heterologous expression in E. coli wild-type and mutant strains. Both proteins were able to specifically inhibit chemotaxis of a wild-type E. coli strain; however, only CheW from A. brasilense was able to restore signal transduction in a corresponding mutant of E. coli. Detailed protein sequence analysis of CheW and CheY homologs from the two species revealed substantial differences in the types of amino acid substitutions in the two proteins. Multiple, but conservative, substitutions were found in CheW homologs. No severe mismatches were found between the CheW homologs in positions that are known to be structurally or functionally important. Substitutions in CheY homologs were found to be less conservative and occurred in positions that are critical for interactions with other components of the signal transduction pathway. Our findings suggest that proteins from the same cellular pathway encoded by genes from the same operon have different evolutionary constraints on their structures that reflect differences in their functions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document