scholarly journals GENE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN POTASSIUM-SENSITIVE AND POTASSIUM-RESISTANT MUTATIONS OF PARAMECIUM TETRAURELIA

Genetics ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-160
Author(s):  
Donald L Cronkite

ABSTRACT Two unlinked recessive mutations (ks-1 and ks-2) have been induced in Paramecium tetraurelia stock 51. Wild-type survives and grows when up to 30 mm KCl is added to the medium, but the mutants cease to grow and die when added KCl reaches 20-25 m m. These K+-sensitives have been crossed to stocks containing the K+-resistant genes, fA (very resistant) and kA(moderately resistant). All four genes are unlinked. Double mutants of ks-1 and either kA or fA are as resistant as the resistant member of the pair. Doubles of ks-2 and kA are like wild type, and doubles of ks-2 and fA are shifted from high resistance toward wild type. Gene ks-2 acts like a suppressor of kA and fA. This suppression can be understood in terms of the known biochemical defects of the mutants.

Genetics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-440
Author(s):  
Susan J Brown ◽  
Donald L Riddle

ABSTRACT Revertants of unc-15(e73)I, a paralyzed mutant with an altered muscle paramyosin, include six dominant and two recessive intragenic unc-15 revertants, two new alleles of the previously identified suppressor gene, sup-3 V, and a new suppressor designated sup-19(m210)V. The recessive intragenic unc-15 revertants exhibit novel alterations in paramyosin paracrystal structure and distribution, and these alterations are modified by interaction with unc-82(e1220)IV, another mutation that affects paramyosin. A strain containing both unc-15 and a mutation in sup-3 V that restores movement was mutagenized, and paralyzed mutants resembling unc-15 were isolated. Twenty mutations that interfere with suppression were divided into three classes (nonmuscle, sus-1, and mutations within sup-3) based on phenotype, genetic map position and dominance. The nonmuscle mutations include dumpy and uncoordinated types that have no obvious direct effect on muscle organization. Two recessive mutations define a new gene, sus-1 III. These mutations modify the unc-15(e73) phenotype to produce a severely paralyzed, dystrophic double mutant that is not suppressed by sup-3. Five semidominant, intragenic sup-3 antisuppressor mutations, one of which occurred spontaneously, restore the wild-type sup-3 phenotype of nonsuppression. However, reversion of these mutants generated no new suppressor alleles of sup-3, suggesting that the sup-3 antisuppressor alleles are not wild type but may be null alleles.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Sun ◽  
Helen K. Alexander ◽  
Balazs Bogos ◽  
Daniel J. Kiviet ◽  
Martin Ackermann ◽  
...  

Whether mutations in bacteria exhibit a noticeable delay before expressing their corresponding mutant phenotype was discussed intensively in the 1940s-50s, but the discussion eventually waned for lack of supportive evidence and perceived incompatibility with observed mutant distributions in fluctuation tests. Phenotypic delay in bacteria is widely assumed to be negligible, despite lack of direct evidence. Here we revisited the question using recombineering to introduce antibiotic resistance mutations into E. coli at defined time points and then tracking expression of the corresponding mutant phenotype over time. Contrary to previous assumptions, we found a substantial median phenotypic delay of 3-4 generations. We provided evidence that the primary source of this delay is multifork replication causing cells to be effectively polyploid, whereby wild-type gene copies transiently mask the phenotype of recessive mutant gene copies in the same cell. Using modeling and simulation methods, we explored the consequences of effective polyploidy for mutation rate estimation by fluctuation tests and sequencing-based methods. For recessive mutations, despite the substantial phenotypic delay, the per-copyor per-genome mutation rate is accurately estimated. However, the per-cell rate cannot be estimated by existing methods. Finally, with a mathematical model, we showed that effective polyploidy increases the frequency of costly recessive mutations in the standing genetic variation, and thus their potential contribution to evolutionary adaptation, while drastically reducing the chance that de novo recessive mutations can rescue populations facing a harsh environmental change such as antibiotic treatment. Overall, we have identified phenotypic delay and effective polyploidy as previously overlooked but essential components in bacterial evolvability, including antibiotic resistance evolution.Author summaryWhat is the time delay between the occurrence of a genetic mutation in a bacterial cell and manifestation of its phenotypic effect? We show that antibiotic resistance mutations in E.coli show a remarkably long phenotypic delay of 3-4 bacterial generations. The primary underlying mechanism of this delay is effective polyploidy. In a polyploid cell with multiple chromosomes, once a mutation arises on one of the chromosomes, the presence of non-mutated, wild-type gene copies on other chromosomes may mask the phenotype of the mutation. One implication of this finding is that conventional methods to determine the mutation rates of bacteria do not detect polyploidy and thus underestimate their potential for adaptation. More generally, the effect that a new mutation may become useful only in the “grand-children of the grand-children” suggests that pre-existing mutations are more important for surviving sudden environmental catastrophe.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 155 (3) ◽  
pp. 1105-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
W John Haynes ◽  
Kit-Yin Ling ◽  
Robin R Preston ◽  
Yoshiro Saimi ◽  
Ching Kung

Abstract Pawn mutants of Paramecium tetraurelia lack a depolarization-activated Ca2+ current and do not swim backward. Using the method of microinjection and sorting a genomic library, we have cloned a DNA fragment that complements pawn-B (pwB/pwB). The minimal complementing fragment is a 798-bp open reading frame (ORF) that restores the Ca2+ current and the backward swimming when expressed. This ORF contains a 29-bp intron and is transcribed and translated. The translated product has two putative transmembrane domains but no clear matches in current databases. Mutations in the available pwB alleles were found within this ORF. The d4-95 and d4-96 alleles are single base substitutions, while d4-662 (previously pawn-D) harbors a 44-bp insertion that matches an internal eliminated sequence (IES) found in the wild-type germline DNA except for a single C-to-T transition. Northern hybridizations and RT-PCR indicate that d4-662 transcripts are rapidly degraded or not produced. A second 155-bp IES in the wild-type germline ORF excises at two alternative sites spanning three asparagine codons. The pwB ORF appears to be separated from a 5′ neighboring ORF by only 36 bp. The close proximity of the two ORFs and the location of the pwB protein as indicated by GFP-fusion constructs are discussed.


Genetics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 867-874
Author(s):  
P A Okubara ◽  
P A Anderson ◽  
O E Ochoa ◽  
R W Michelmore

Abstract As part of our investigation of disease resistance in lettuce, we generated mutants that have lost resistance to Bremia lactucae, the casual fungus of downy mildew. Using a rapid and reliable screen, we identified 16 distinct mutants of Latuca sativa that have lost activity of one of four different downy mildew resistance genes (Dm). In all mutants, only a single Dm specificity was affected. Genetic analysis indicated that the lesions segregated as single, recessive mutations at the Dm loci. Dm3 was inactivated in nine of the mutants. One of five Dm 1 mutants was selected from a population of untreated seeds and therefore carried a spontaneous mutation. All other Dm1, Dm3, Dm5/8 and Dm7 mutants were derived from gamma- or fast neutron-irradiated seed. In two separate Dm 1 mutants and in each of the eight Dm3 mutants analyzed, at least one closely linked molecular marker was absent. Also, high molecular weight genomic DNA fragments that hybridized to a tightly linked molecular marker in wild type were either missing entirely or were truncated in two of the Dm3 mutants, providing additional evidence that deletions had occurred in these mutants. Absence of mutations at loci epistatic to the Dm genes suggested that such loci were either members of multigene families, were critical for plant survival, or encoded components of duplicated pathways for resistance; alternatively, the genes determining downy mildew resistance might be limited to the Dm loci.


Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 157 (4) ◽  
pp. 1503-1512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy A Khalaf ◽  
Richard S Zitomer

AbstractWe have identified a repressor of hyphal growth in the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. The gene was originally cloned in an attempt to characterize the homologue of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rox1, a repressor of hypoxic genes. Rox1 is an HMG-domain, DNA binding protein with a repression domain that recruits the Tup1/Ssn6 general repression complex to achieve repression. The C. albicans clone also encoded an HMG protein that was capable of repression of a hypoxic gene in a S. cerevisiae rox1 deletion strain. Gel retardation experiments using the purified HMG domain of this protein demonstrated that it was capable of binding specifically to a S. cerevisiae hypoxic operator DNA sequence. These data seemed to indicate that this gene encoded a hypoxic repressor. However, surprisingly, when a homozygous deletion was generated in C. albicans, the cells became constitutive for hyphal growth. This phenotype was rescued by the reintroduction of the wild-type gene on a plasmid, proving that the hyphal growth phenotype was due to the deletion and not a secondary mutation. Furthermore, oxygen repression of the hypoxic HEM13 gene was not affected by the deletion nor was this putative ROX1 gene regulated positively by oxygen as is the case for the S. cerevisiae gene. All these data indicate that this gene, now designated RFG1 for Repressor of Filamentous Growth, is a repressor of genes required for hyphal growth and not a hypoxic repressor.


Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D Perkins ◽  
Brian S Margolin ◽  
Eric U Selker ◽  
S D Haedo

Abstract Previous studies of repeat induced point mutation (RIP) have typically involved gene-size duplications resulting from insertion of transforming DNA at ectopic chromosomal positions. To ascertain whether genes in larger duplications are subject to RIP, progeny were examined from crosses heterozygous for long segmental duplications obtained using insertional or quasiterminal translocations. Of 17 distinct mutations from crossing 11 different duplications, 13 mapped within the segment that was duplicated in the parent, one was closely linked, and three were unlinked. Half of the mutations in duplicated segments were at previously unknown loci. The mutations were recessive and were expressed both in haploid and in duplication progeny from Duplication × Normal, suggesting that both copies of the wild-type gene had undergone RIP. Seven transition mutations characteristic of RIP were found in 395 base pairs (bp) examined in one ro-11 allele from these crosses and three were found in ~750 bp of another. A single chain-terminating C to T mutation was found in 800 bp of arg-6. RIP is thus responsible. These results are consistent with the idea that the impaired fertility that is characteristic of segmental duplications is due to inactivation by RIP of genes needed for progression through the sexual cycle.


Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 146 (3) ◽  
pp. 871-880
Author(s):  
Robin R Preston ◽  
Jocelyn A Hammond

Three mutant strains of Paramecium tetraurelia with an enhanced sensitivity to magnesium have been isolated. These new “Chameleon” mutants result from partial- or codominant mutations at a single locus, Cha. Whereas the wild type responded to 5 mm Mg2+ by swimming backward for 10–15 sec, Cha mutants responded with ∼30 sec backward swimming. Electrophysiological analysis suggested that this behavior may be caused by slowing in the rate at which a Mg2+-specific ion conductance deactivates following membrane excitation. This would be consistent with an observed increase in the sensitivity of Cha mutants to nickel poisoning, since Ni2+ is also able to enter the cell via this pathway. More extensive behavioral analysis showed that Cha cells also overresponded to Na+, but there was no evidence for a defect in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis that might account for a simultaneous enhancement of both the Mg2+ and Na+ conductances. The possibility that the Cha locus may encode a specific regulator of the Mg2+- and Na+-permeabilities is considered.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (23) ◽  
pp. 6801-6808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon A. Carroll ◽  
Torsten Hain ◽  
Ulrike Technow ◽  
Ayub Darji ◽  
Philippos Pashalidis ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A novel cell wall hydrolase encoded by the murA gene of Listeria monocytogenes is reported here. Mature MurA is a 66-kDa cell surface protein that is recognized by the well-characterized L. monocytogenes-specific monoclonal antibody EM-7G1. MurA displays two characteristic features: (i) an N-terminal domain with homology to muramidases from several gram-positive bacterial species and (ii) four copies of a cell wall-anchoring LysM repeat motif present within its C-terminal domain. Purified recombinant MurA produced in Escherichia coli was confirmed to be an authentic cell wall hydrolase with lytic properties toward cell wall preparations of Micrococcus lysodeikticus. An isogenic mutant with a deletion of murA that lacked the 66-kDa cell wall hydrolase grew as long chains during exponential growth. Complementation of the mutant strain by chromosomal reintegration of the wild-type gene restored expression of this murein hydrolase activity and cell separation levels to those of the wild-type strain. Studies reported herein suggest that the MurA protein is involved in generalized autolysis of L. monocytogenes.


1999 ◽  
Vol 340 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa DANAIE ◽  
Michael ALTMANN ◽  
Michael N. HALL ◽  
Hans TRACHSEL ◽  
Stephen B. HELLIWELL

The essential cap-binding protein (eIF4E) of Saccharomycescerevisiae is encoded by the CDC33 (wild-type) gene, originally isolated as a mutant, cdc33-1, which arrests growth in the G1 phase of the cell cycle at 37 °C. We show that other cdc33 mutants also arrest in G1. One of the first events required for G1-to-S-phase progression is the increased expression of cyclin 3. Constructs carrying the 5ʹ-untranslated region of CLN3 fused to lacZ exhibit weak reporter activity, which is significantly decreased in a cdc33-1 mutant, implying that CLN3 mRNA is an inefficiently translated mRNA that is sensitive to perturbations in the translation machinery. A cdc33-1 strain expressing either stable Cln3p (Cln3-1p) or a hybrid UBI4 5ʹ-CLN3 mRNA, whose translation displays decreased dependence on eIF4E, arrested randomly in the cell cycle. In these cells CLN2 mRNA levels remained high, indicating that Cln3p activity is maintained. Induction of a hybrid UBI4 5ʹ-CLN3 message in a cdc33-1 mutant previously arrested in G1 also caused entry into a new cell cycle. We conclude that eIF4E activity in the G1-phase is critical in allowing sufficient Cln3p activity to enable yeast cells to enter a new cell cycle.


1963 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 588-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Sinha ◽  
H. A. H. Wallace

AbstractTetranychus sinhai Baker (Acarina, Tetranychidae), a new pest was observed to infest barley, wheat, and rye crops in the Prairie Provinces of Canada. In barley, typical symptoms of the mite attack are manifested by a darkening of leaves, followed by yellowing and wilting from the bend of the leaf to its tip. The increase in number of mites per leaf was reflected by the showing of advanced symptoms on leaves. One hundred and sixty-five barley varieties from different parts of the world were examined for their reaction to T. sinhai infestation in the field. Of these 15 were found to be resistant, 47 moderately resistant, 88 moderately susceptible, and 15 susceptible. In general, the barley varieties grown in arid regions of the world appeared to be more resistant to T. sinhai infestation.The most commonly grown barley varieties in Canada, Parkland, and Montcalm, were moderately susceptible. Only two North American varieties, Canadian Lake Shore–C.I. 2750, and Gem C.I. 7243 showed high resistance to T. sinhai infestation.


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