WHIRLY1 maintains leaf photosynthetic capacity in tomato by regulating the expression of RbcS1 under chilling stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 3653-3663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunyang Zhuang ◽  
Jieyu Wang ◽  
Baozhen Jiao ◽  
Chong Chen ◽  
Junjie Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Rubisco, which consists of eight large subunits (RBCLs) and eight small subunits (RBCSs), is a major photosynthetic enzyme that is sensitive to chilling stress. However, it is largely unclear how plants maintain high Rubisco content under low temperature conditions. Here, we report that tomato WHIRLY1 (SlWHY1) positively regulates the Rubisco level under chilling stress by directly binding to the promoter region of SlRbcS1, resulting in the activation of SlRbcS1 expression. SlRbcS1-overexpressing lines had higher Rubisco contents and were more resistant to chilling stress compared with the wild type. Quantitative real-time PCR analyses showed that, among the five RbcS genes, only SlRbcS1 expression is up-regulated by chilling treatment. These results indicate that SlWHIRLY1 specifically enhances the levels of SlRbcS1 and confers tolerance to chilling stress. The amino acid sequence of SlRBCS1 shows 92.67% identity with those of another two RBCS proteins and three residues are specifically found in SlRBCS1. However, mutation of these residues to alanine in SlRBCS1 does not influence its function during cold adaptation. Thus, we conclude that high levels of Rubisco, but not the specific residues in SlRBCS1, play important roles in tolerance to chilling stress in tomato.

2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 1410-1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiichi Taguchi ◽  
Shingo Komada ◽  
Haruo Momose

ABSTRACT To ascertain whether position 131 of a mesophilic protease, subtilisin BPN′, is a potential critical site for cold adaptation as screened by evolutionary engineering (S. Taguchi, A. Ozaki, and H. Momose, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:492–495, 1998), a full set of subtilisin BPN′ mutants with mutations at position 131 was constructed by site-saturation mutagenesis. All mutated enzymes were measured for specific activity at 10°C by the quantitative titer microplate assay system using polyclonal antibody against subtilisin BPN′ and a synthetic chromogenic substrate. All the mutants exhibited proteolytic activities almost the same as or higher than that of the wild-type enzyme, suggesting that position 131 may be important for cold adaptation. In comparison with the wild type, purified mutants G131F, G131R, G131M, and G131W were found to acquire proteolytic activities (k cat/Km ) at 10°C that were 150, 94, 84, and 50% higher, respectively. In particular, for the G131F mutant, temperature dependency in enzyme activity was shown by an increase in k cat and a decrease inKm . All of these amino acid substitution mutants, G131F, G131R, G131M, and G131W, acquired increased proteolytic activities at 10°C for three different synthetic peptide substrates but no increase in caseinolytic activity. Furthermore, they all conferred thermolability on the enzyme to differing extents in terms of the half-life of enzyme inactivation at 60°C. No significant correlation was found between the amino acids preferred for cold adaptation surveyed here and those present at position 131 of subtilisin of psychrophilic cells naturally occurring in cold environments. Based on these findings, position 131 is a contributor in artificial evolution for acquiring a cold-active character and may not be related to physiological requirements for subtilisin-producing cells living in cold environments. Therefore, saturation mutagenesis would be effective in achieving rapid improvement in protein properties via evolutionary engineering.


1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (06) ◽  
pp. 672-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hitoshi Yahara ◽  
Keiji Matsumoto ◽  
Hiroyuki Maruyama ◽  
Tetsuya Nagaoka ◽  
Yasuhiro Ikenaka ◽  
...  

SummaryTissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is a fibrin-specific agent which has been used to treat acute myocardial infarction. In an attempt to clarify the determinants for its rapid clearance in vivo and high affinity for fibrin clots, we produced five variants containing amino acid substitutions in the finger domain, at amino acid residues 7–9, 10–14, 15–19, 28–33, and 37–42. All the variants had a prolonged half-life and a decreased affinity for fibrin of various degrees. The 37–42 variant demonstrated about a 6-fold longer half-life with a lower affinity for fibrin. Human plasma clot lysis assay estimated the fibrinolytic activity of the 37–42 variant to be 1.4-fold less effective than that of the wild-type rt-PA. In a rabbit jugular vein clot lysis model, doses of 1.0 and 0.15 mg/kg were required for about 70% lysis in the wild-type and 37–42 variant, respectively. Fibrinogen was degraded only when the wild-type rt-PA was administered at a dose of 1.0 mg/kg. These findings suggest that the 37–42 variant can be employed at a lower dosage and that it is a more fibrin-specific thrombolytic agent than the wild-type rt-PA.


mBio ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan W. Bogard ◽  
Bryan W. Davies ◽  
John J. Mekalanos

ABSTRACTLysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs) are the largest, most diverse family of prokaryotic transcription factors, with regulatory roles spanning metabolism, cell growth and division, and pathogenesis. Using a sequence-defined transposon mutant library, we screened a panel ofV. choleraeEl Tor mutants to identify LTTRs required for host intestinal colonization. Surprisingly, out of 38 LTTRs, only one severely affected intestinal colonization in the suckling mouse model of cholera: the methionine metabolism regulator, MetR. Genetic analysis of genes influenced by MetR revealed thatglyA1andmetJwere also required for intestinal colonization. Chromatin immunoprecipitation of MetR and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed interaction with and regulation ofglyA1, indicating that misregulation ofglyA1is likely responsible for the colonization defect observed in themetRmutant. TheglyA1mutant was auxotrophic for glycine but exhibited wild-type trimethoprim sensitivity, making folate deficiency an unlikely cause of its colonization defect. MetJ regulatory mutants are not auxotrophic but are likely altered in the regulation of amino acid-biosynthetic pathways, including those for methionine, glycine, and serine, and this misregulation likely explains its colonization defect. However, mutants defective in methionine, serine, and cysteine biosynthesis exhibited wild-type virulence, suggesting that these amino acids can be scavenged in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that glycine biosynthesis may be required to alleviate an in vivo nutritional restriction in the mouse intestine; however, additional roles for glycine may exist. Irrespective of the precise nature of this requirement, this study illustrates the importance of pathogen metabolism, and the regulation thereof, as a virulence factor.IMPORTANCEVibrio choleraecontinues to be a severe cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Identification ofV. choleraefactors critical to disease progression offers the potential to develop or improve upon therapeutics and prevention strategies. To increase the efficiency of virulence factor discovery, we employed a regulator-centric approach to multiplex our in vivo screening capabilities and allow whole regulons inV. choleraeto be interrogated for pathogenic potential. We identified MetR as a new virulence regulator and serine hydroxymethyltransferase GlyA1 as a new MetR-regulated virulence factor, both required byV. choleraeto colonize the infant mouse intestine. Bacterial metabolism is a prerequisite to virulence, and current knowledge of in vivo metabolism of pathogens is limited. Here, we expand the known role of amino acid metabolism and regulation in virulence and offer new insights into the in vivo metabolic requirements ofV. choleraewithin the mouse intestine.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 761-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori A Rinckel ◽  
David J Garfinkel

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the target site specificity of the retrotransposon Ty1 appears to involve the Ty integration complex recognizing chromatin structures. To determine whether changes in chromatin structure affect Ty1 and Ty2 target site preference, we analyzed Ty transposition at the CAN1 locus in mutants containing altered levels of histone proteins. A Δhta1-htb1 mutant with decreased levels of H2A and H2B histone proteins showed a pattern of Ty1 and Ty2 insertions at CAN1 that was significantly different from that of both the wild-type and a Δhta2-htb2 mutant, which does not have altered histone protein levels. Altered levels of H2A and H2B proteins disrupted a dramatic orientation bias in the CAN1 promoter region. In the wild-type strains, few Ty1 and Ty2 insertions in the promoter region were oriented opposite to the direction of CAN1 transcription. In the Δhta1-htb1 background, however, numerous Ty1 and Ty2 insertions were in the opposite orientation clustered within the TATA region. This altered insertion pattern does not appear to be due to a bias caused by selecting canavanine resistant isolates in the different HTA1-HTB1 backgrounds. Our results suggest that reduced levels of histone proteins alter Ty target site preference and disrupt an asymmetric Ty insertion pattern.


Genetics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Fackenthal ◽  
J A Hutchens ◽  
F R Turner ◽  
E C Raff

Abstract We have determined the lesions in a number of mutant alleles of beta Tub85D, the gene that encodes the testis-specific beta 2-tubulin isoform in Drosophila melanogaster. Mutations responsible for different classes of functional phenotypes are distributed throughout the beta 2-tubulin molecule. There is a telling correlation between the degree of phylogenetic conservation of the altered residues and the number of different microtubule categories disrupted by the lesions. The majority of lesions occur at positions that are evolutionarily highly conserved in all beta-tubulins; these lesions disrupt general functions common to multiple classes of microtubules. However, a single allele B2t6 contains an amino acid substitution within an internal cluster of variable amino acids that has been identified as an isotype-defining domain in vertebrate beta-tubulins. Correspondingly, B2t6 disrupts only a subset of microtubule functions, resulting in misspecification of the morphology of the doublet microtubules of the sperm tail axoneme. We previously demonstrated that beta 3, a developmentally regulated Drosophila beta-tubulin isoform, confers the same restricted morphological phenotype in a dominant way when it is coexpressed in the testis with wild-type beta 2-tubulin. We show here by complementation analysis that beta 3 and the B2t6 product disrupt a common aspect of microtubule assembly. We therefore conclude that the amino acid sequence of the beta 2-tubulin internal variable region is required for generation of correct axoneme morphology but not for general microtubule functions. As we have previously reported, the beta 2-tubulin carboxy terminal isotype-defining domain is required for suprastructural organization of the axoneme. We demonstrate here that the beta 2 variant lacking the carboxy terminus and the B2t6 variant complement each other for mild-to-moderate meiotic defects but do not complement for proper axonemal morphology. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis drawn from comparisons of vertebrate beta-tubulins that the two isotype-defining domains interact in a three-dimensional structure in wild-type beta-tubulins. We propose that the integrity of this structure in the Drosophila testis beta 2-tubulin isoform is required for proper axoneme assembly but not necessarily for general microtubule functions. On the basis of our observations we present a model for regulation of axoneme microtubule morphology as a function of tubulin assembly kinetics.


1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 2616-2620 ◽  
Author(s):  
K De Vreese ◽  
I Van Nerum ◽  
K Vermeire ◽  
J Anné ◽  
E De Clercq

The bicyclams are a new class of anti-human immunodeficiency virus (anti-HIV) compounds targeted at viral entry. From marker rescue experiments, it appears that the envelope gp120 glycoprotein plays an important role in the anti-HIV activity of the bicyclams. Bicyclam-resistant strains contain a number of amino acid changes scattered over the V2 to V5 region of gp120. Experiments aimed at estimating the relative importance of particular amino acid changes with regard to the overall resistance pattern are described. The sequences of some partially bicyclam-resistant virus strains, obtained during the resistance development process, were analyzed, and the corresponding 50% effective concentrations were determined. Selected mutations observed in bicyclam-resistant strains were introduced in the wild-type background by site-directed mutagenesis. In addition, some amino acids were back-mutated to their wild-type counterparts in an otherwise JM3100-resistant strain. The sensitivities of these mutant viruses to bicyclams were determined. Construction of chimeric viruses, carrying the V3 loop of JM3100-resistant virus in a wild-type HIV type 1 HXB2 background, enabled us to investigate the importance of the mutations in the V3 loop of JM3100-resistant virus. From the results described in the report, it can be concluded that single amino acid substitutions do not influence the observed resistance to JM3100. Also, the mutations in the V3 loop are not sufficient to engender even a partially resistant phenotype. We postulate that the overall conformation of gp120 determines the degree of sensitivity or resistance of HIV strains to bicyclams.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomofumi Mochizuki ◽  
Rie Ohara ◽  
Marilyn J. Roossinck

ABSTRACTThe effect of large-scale synonymous substitutions in a small icosahedral, single-stranded RNA viral genome on virulence, viral titer, and protein evolution were analyzed. The coat protein (CP) gene of the Fny stain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was modified. We created four CP mutants in which all the codons of nine amino acids in the 5′ or 3′ half of the CP gene were replaced by either the most frequently or the least frequently used synonymous codons in monocot plants. When the dicot host (Nicotiana benthamiana) was inoculated with these four CP mutants, viral RNA titers in uninoculated symptomatic leaves decreased, while all mutants eventually showed mosaic symptoms similar to those for the wild type. The codon adaptation index of these four CP mutants against dicot genes was similar to those of the wild-type CP gene, indicating that the reduction of viral RNA titer was due to deleterious changes of the secondary structure of RNAs 3 and 4. When two 5′ mutants were serially passaged inN. benthamiana, viral RNA titers were rapidly restored but competitive fitness remained decreased. Although no nucleic acid changes were observed in the passaged wild-type CMV, one to three amino acid changes were observed in the synonymously mutated CP of each passaged virus, which were involved in recovery of viral RNA titer of 5′ mutants. Thus, we demonstrated that deleterious effects of the large-scale synonymous substitutions in the RNA viral genome facilitated the rapid amino acid mutation(s) in the CP to restore the viral RNA titer.IMPORTANCERecently, it has been known that synonymous substitutions in RNA virus genes affect viral pathogenicity and competitive fitness by alteration of global or local RNA secondary structure of the viral genome. We confirmed that large-scale synonymous substitutions in the CP gene of CMV resulted in decreased viral RNA titer. Importantly, when viral evolution was stimulated by serial-passage inoculation, viral RNA titer was rapidly restored, concurrent with a few amino acid changes in the CP. This novel finding indicates that the deleterious effects of large-scale nucleic acid mutations on viral RNA secondary structure are readily tolerated by structural changes in the CP, demonstrating a novel part of the adaptive evolution of an RNA viral genome. In addition, our experimental system for serial inoculation of large-scale synonymous mutants could uncover a role for new amino acid residues in the viral protein that have not been observed in the wild-type virus strains.


1996 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 673-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J Kreuz ◽  
A Simcox ◽  
D Maughan

Drosophila indirect flight muscle (IFM) contains two different types of tropomyosin: a standard 284-amino acid muscle tropomyosin, Ifm-TmI, encoded by the TmI gene, and two > 400 amino acid tropomyosins, TnH-33 and TnH-34, encoded by TmII. The two IFM-specific TnH isoforms are unique tropomyosins with a COOH-terminal extension of approximately 200 residues which is hydrophobic and rich in prolines. Previous analysis of a hypomorphic TmI mutant, Ifm(3)3, demonstrated that Ifm-TmI is necessary for proper myofibrillar assembly, but no null TmI mutant or TmII mutant which affects the TnH isoforms have been reported. In the current report, we show that four flightless mutants (Warmke et al., 1989) are alleles of TmI, and characterize a deficiency which deletes both TmI and TmII. We find that haploidy of TmI causes myofibrillar disruptions and flightless behavior, but that haploidy of TmII causes neither. Single fiber mechanics demonstrates that power output is much lower in the TmI haploid line (32% of wild-type) than in the TmII haploid line (73% of wild-type). In myofibers nearly depleted of Ifm-TmI, net power output is virtually abolished (< 1% of wild-type) despite the presence of an organized fibrillar core (approximately 20% of wild-type). The results suggest Ifm-TmI (the standard tropomyosin) plays a key role in fiber structure, power production, and flight, with reduced Ifm-TmI expression producing corresponding changes of IFM structure and function. In contrast, reduced expression of the TnH isoforms has an unexpectedly mild effect on IFM structure and function.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 294-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Pilgrim ◽  
E T Young

Alcohol dehydrogenase isoenzyme III (ADH III) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the product of the ADH3 gene, is located in the mitochondrial matrix. The ADH III protein was synthesized as a larger precursor in vitro when the gene was transcribed with the SP6 promoter and translated with a reticulocyte lysate. A precursor of the same size was detected when radioactively pulse-labeled proteins were immunoprecipitated with anti-ADH antibody. This precursor was rapidly processed to the mature form in vivo with a half-time of less than 3 min. The processing was blocked if the mitochondria were uncoupled with carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone. Mutant enzymes in which only the amino-terminal 14 or 16 amino acids of the presequence were retained were correctly targeted and imported into the matrix. A mutant enzyme that was missing the amino-terminal 17 amino acids of the presequence produced an active enzyme, but the majority of the enzyme activity remained in the cytoplasmic compartment on cellular fractionation. Random amino acid changes were produced in the wild-type presequence by bisulfite mutagenesis of the ADH3 gene. The resulting ADH III protein was targeted to the mitochondria and imported into the matrix in all of the mutants tested, as judged by enzyme activity. Mutants containing amino acid changes in the carboxyl-proximal half of the ADH3 presequence were imported and processed to the mature form at a slower rate than the wild type, as judged by pulse-chase studies in vivo. The unprocessed precursor appeared to be unstable in vivo. It was concluded that only a small portion of the presequence contains the necessary information for correct targeting and import. Furthermore, the information for correct proteolytic processing of the presequence appears to be distinct from the targeting information and may involve secondary structure information in the presequence.


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