scholarly journals ON THE EVOLUTION OF NEW METABOLIC FUNCTIONS IN DIPLOID ORGANISMS

Genetics ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 1007-1017
Author(s):  
Barry G Hall
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Structural Gene ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Metabolic Functions ◽  
Lactose Utilization

ABSTRACT Evolution of lactose utilization via the ebg system of Escherichia coli requires both structural gene (ebgA) and regulatory gene (ebgR) mutations. Because evolution of new metabolic functions in diploids might be subject to constraints not present in haploid organisms, merodiploid strains carrying a wild-type and an evolved ebgA allele, or a wild-type and an evolved ebgR allele were constructed. I show that heterozygosity at ebgA does not significantly affect the selective advantage of the evolved ebgA allele; whereas heterozygosity at ebgR eliminates the selective advantage of the evolved ebgR allele. It is suggested that, in diploid organisms, evolution of new functions for systems under negative control would be very difficult.

Regulation of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (AldDH) in Aspergillus nidulans

1983 ◽  
Vol 217 (1208) ◽  
pp. 243-264 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Dehydrogenase ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Structural Gene ◽  
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase ◽  
Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cell Extracts

There is a single major alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and a single major aldehyde dehydrogenase (AldDH) in Aspergillus nidulans . Both ADH and AldDH are induced by ethanol and by acetaldehyde and both are subject to carbon catabolite repression. ADH and AldDH are necessary for the utilization of ethanol and of threonine, indicating that both compounds are utilized via acetaldehyde. ADH and AldDH each give a single major activity band on gel electrophoresis. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of cell extracts shows at least two similar ADH polypeptides of approximate relative molecular mass (r. m. m.) 41000 and two similar AldDH polypeptides of approximate r. m. m. 57000. The in vitro translation of mRNA from induced, carbon derepressed wild-type cells gives up to three ADH polypeptides in the r. m. m. range 39000-43000 and an AldDH polypeptide of approximate r. m. m. 57000. The mRNA from uninduced, carbon repressed wild-type cells does not direct the synthesis of the ADH and AldDH polypeptides. This indicates that the regulation of ADH and AldDH is at the level of transcription and/or post-transcriptional modification. The probable explanation of the multiple ADH polypeptides is post-transcriptional modification of the mRNA. Allyl alcohol mutants were made by using diepoxyoctane and γ-rays as mutagens. There are two classes, alcA and alcR . Neither class can utilize ethanol or threonine as a carbon source. The alcA mutants lack normal ADH and are recessive. Of the 47 alcA mutants examined 39 do not make the ADH polypeptides while eight do so. Therefore alcA is the structural gene for ADH. The two alcA mutants tested do not make functional mRNA for ADH. The alcR mutants lack both ADH and AldDH and are recessive. No alcR mutants make the ADH or the AldDH polypeptides. The three alcR mutants tested do not make functional ADH or AldDH mRNA. The mutant alcR 125 is a nonsense mutant, which establishes that alcR codes for a protein. The alcA and alcR genes are adjacent on chromosome VII and a preliminary fine-structure map of the alcA gene has been made. Three mutants that cannot utilize ethanol or threonine and have ADH, but lack AldDH, define a gene AldA on chromosome VIII. The aldA 23 mutant makes the AldDH polypeptides, the other two aldA mutants do not. Therefore aldA is probably the structural gene for AldDH. Our current hypothesis is that alcA and aldA are the structural genes for ADH and AldDH respectively and alcR is a transacting regulatory gene coding for a protein whose function is necessary for the expression of the alcA and aldA genes.

A regulatory gene and a structural gene for alaninase in Escherichia coli

1973 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. J. Beelen ◽  
A. M. Feldmann ◽  
H. J. W. Wijsman
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Structural Gene ◽  
Regulatory Gene

scholarly journals REGULATION OF NEWLY EVOLVED ENZYMES. III EVOLUTION OF THE ebg REPRESSOR DURING SELECTION FOR ENHANCED LACTASE ACTIVITY

Genetics ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-201
Author(s):  
Barry G Hall ◽  
Norma D Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Enzyme Synthesis ◽  
Lactase Activity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Regulatory Mutation ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Lactose Induction ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Lactose Utilization ◽  
Selection For

ABSTRACT The evolution of lactose utilization by lacZ deletion strains of E. coli occurs via mutations in the ebg genes. We show that one kind of mutation in the regulatory gene ebgR results in a repressor which retains the ability to repress synthesis of ebg enzymes, but which permits 4.5-fold more ebg enzyme synthesis during lactose induction than does the wild-type repressor. A comparison between the growth rate of various ebg  + strains on lactose and the amount of ebg enzyme synthesized by these strains shows that the rate of enzyme synthesis permitted by the wild-type repressor is insufficient for growth on lactose as a sole carbon source by a cell with the most active ebg lactase yet isolated. We conclude, therefore, that the evolution of lactose utilization requires both a structural and a regulatory mutation.

The structural gene for a phosphorus-repressible phosphate permease in Neurospora crassa can complement a mutation in positive regulatory gene nuc-1

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1376-1379
Author(s):  
B J Mann ◽  
R A Akins ◽  
A M Lambowitz ◽  
R L Metzenberg
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Structural Gene ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Cosmid Clone ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Regulatory Locus

van+, a gene encoding a phosphorus-repressible phosphate permease, was isolated by its ability to complement nuc-1, a positive regulatory locus that normally regulates van+ expression. This was unexpected because the nuc-1 host already contained a resident van+ gene. Plasmids carrying van+ complemented a nuc-2 mutation as well. Probing of RNA from untransformed wild-type (nuc-1+) and constitutive (nuc-1c) strains by van+ probes indicated that levels of the van+ transcript were subject to control by nuc-1+. Probing of the same RNAs with a cosmid clone, containing approximately 15 kilobases of upstream and downstream DNA, revealed no other detectable phosphorus-regulated transcripts within this 40-kilobase region of the chromosome.

scholarly journals Genes of the GadX-GadW Regulon in Escherichia coli

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (10) ◽  
pp. 3190-3201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don L. Tucker ◽  
Nancy Tucker ◽  
Zhuo Ma ◽  
John W. Foster ◽  
Regina L. Miranda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Bacterial Colonization ◽  
Gene Expression Profiles ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Wild Type

ABSTRACT Acid in the stomach is thought to be a barrier to bacterial colonization of the intestine. Escherichia coli, however, has three systems for acid resistance, which overcome this barrier. The most effective of these systems is dependent on transport and decarboxylation of glutamate. GadX regulates two genes that encode isoforms of glutamate decarboxylase critical to this system, but additional genes associated with the glutamate-dependent acid resistance system remained to be identified. The gadX gene and a second downstream araC-like transcription factor gene, gadW, were mutated separately and in combination, and the gene expression profiles of the mutants were compared to those of the wild-type strain grown in neutral and acidified media under conditions favoring induction of glutamate-dependent acid resistance. Cluster and principal-component analyses identified 15 GadX-regulated, acid-inducible genes. Reverse transcriptase mapping demonstrated that these genes are organized in 10 operons. Analysis of the strain lacking GadX but possessing GadW confirmed that GadX is a transcriptional activator under acidic growth conditions. Analysis of the strain lacking GadW but possessing GadX indicated that GadW exerts negative control over three GadX target genes. The strain lacking both GadX and GadW was defective in acid induction of most but not all GadX target genes, consistent with the roles of GadW as an inhibitor of GadX-dependent activation of some genes and an activator of other genes. Resistance to acid was decreased under certain conditions in a gadX mutant and even more so by combined mutation of gadX and gadW. However, there was no defect in colonization of the streptomycin-treated mouse model by the gadX mutant in competition with the wild type, and the gadX gadW mutant was a better colonizer than the wild type. Thus, E. coli colonization of the mouse does not appear to require glutamate-dependent acid resistance.

KINETICS OF THREONINE DEAMINASE OF ESCHERICHIA COLI K-12 AND A STREPTOMYCIN-DEPENDENT MUTANT

1967 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. D. Desai ◽  
W. J. Polglase
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Kinetic Properties ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Threonine Deaminase ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Type K ◽  
Hyperbolic Curve ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Kinetics Of

The relation between threonine deaminase activity and threonine concentration in sonic extracts of wild-type and streptomycin-dependent Escherichia coli K-12 was found to follow a hyperbolic curve. A similar relationship was obtained between enzyme activity and pyridoxal concentration. However, when serine was used as substrate, the activity–concentration curve was sigmoid, suggesting that serine may be a weaker effector of allosteric transition than threonine. The kinetic properties of the (derepressed) threonine deaminase of streptomycin-dependent E. coli K-12 were found to be similar to those of the enzyme of the wild-type K-12.It is postulated that derepression of threonine deaminase in streptomycin-dependent E. coli K-12 provides a selective advantage which permits exponential growth of this mutant in the presence of L-valine, which is an excretory product of streptomycin-dependent microorganisms.

scholarly journals Emergence of Secretion-Defective Sublines of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Resulting from Spontaneous Mutations in the vfr Global Regulatory Gene

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1902-1908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Áine Fox ◽  
Dieter Haas ◽  
Cornelia Reimmann ◽  
Stephan Heeb ◽  
Alain Filloux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Extracellular Enzymes ◽  
Spontaneous Mutation ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Strain Pao1 ◽  
Cultivation In Vitro

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa undergoes spontaneous mutation that impairs secretion of several extracellular enzymes during extended cultivation in vitro in rich media, as well as during long-term colonization of the cystic fibrosis lung. A frequent type of strong secretion deficiency is caused by inactivation of the quorum-sensing regulatory gene lasR. Here we analyzed a spontaneously emerging subline of strain PAO1 that exhibited moderate secretion deficiency and partial loss of quorum-sensing control. Using generalized transduction, we mapped the secretion defect to the vfr gene, which is known to control positively the expression of the lasR gene and type II secretion of several proteases. We confirmed this secretion defect by sequencing and complementation of the vfr mutation. In a reconstruction experiment conducted with a 1:1 mixture of wild-type strain PAO1 and a vfr mutant of PAO1, we observed that the vfr mutant had a selective advantage over the wild type after growth in static culture for 4 days. Under these conditions, spontaneous vfr emerged in a strain PAO1 population after four growth cycles, and these mutants accounted for more than 40% of the population after seven cycles. These results suggest that partial or complete loss of quorum sensing and secretion can be beneficial to P. aeruginosa under certain environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Inferring the stabilization effects of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the binding with ACE2 receptor

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattia Miotto ◽  
Lorenzo Di Rienzo ◽  
Giorgio Gosti ◽  
Leonardo Bo’ ◽  
Giacomo Parisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
South African ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Shape Complementarity ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

AbstractAs the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic continues to spread, several variants of the virus, with mutations distributed all over the viral genome, are emerging. While most of the variants present mutations having little to no effects at the phenotypic level, some of these variants are spreading at a rate that suggests they may present a selective advantage. In particular, these rapidly spreading variants present specific mutations on the spike protein. These observations call for an urgent need to characterize the effects of these variants’ mutations on phenotype features like contagiousness and antigenicity. With this aim, we performed molecular dynamics simulations on a selected set of possible spike variants in order to assess the stabilizing effect of particular amino acid substitutions on the molecular complex. We specifically focused on the mutations that are both characteristic of the top three most worrying variants at the moment, i.e the English, South African, and Amazonian ones, and that occur at the molecular interface between SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and its human ACE2 receptor. We characterize these variants’ effect in terms of (i) residue mobility, (ii) compactness, studying the network of interactions at the interface, and (iii) variation of shape complementarity via expanding the molecular surfaces in the Zernike basis. Overall, our analyses highlighted greater stability of the three variant complexes with respect to both the wild type and two negative control systems, especially for the English and Amazonian variants. In addition, in the three variants, we investigate the effects a not-yet observed mutation in position 501 could provoke on complex stability. We found that a phenylalanine mutation behaves similarly to the English variant and may cooperate in further increasing the stability of the South African one, hinting at the need for careful surveillance for the emergence of these mutations in the population. Ultimately, we show that the proposed observables describe key features for the stability of the ACE2-spike complex and can help to monitor further possible spike variants.

scholarly journals The structural gene for a phosphorus-repressible phosphate permease in Neurospora crassa can complement a mutation in positive regulatory gene nuc-1.

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1376-1379 ◽  
Author(s):  
B J Mann ◽  
R A Akins ◽  
A M Lambowitz ◽  
R L Metzenberg
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Structural Gene ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Cosmid Clone ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Regulatory Locus

van+, a gene encoding a phosphorus-repressible phosphate permease, was isolated by its ability to complement nuc-1, a positive regulatory locus that normally regulates van+ expression. This was unexpected because the nuc-1 host already contained a resident van+ gene. Plasmids carrying van+ complemented a nuc-2 mutation as well. Probing of RNA from untransformed wild-type (nuc-1+) and constitutive (nuc-1c) strains by van+ probes indicated that levels of the van+ transcript were subject to control by nuc-1+. Probing of the same RNAs with a cosmid clone, containing approximately 15 kilobases of upstream and downstream DNA, revealed no other detectable phosphorus-regulated transcripts within this 40-kilobase region of the chromosome.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document