HXK1 regulates carbon catabolism, sporulation, fumonisin B1 production and pathogenesis in Fusarium verticillioides

Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (9) ◽  
pp. 2658-2669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hun Kim ◽  
Jonathon E. Smith ◽  
John B. Ridenour ◽  
Charles P. Woloshuk ◽  
Burton H. Bluhm
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Metabolic Response ◽  
Fusarium Verticillioides ◽  
Fumonisin B1 ◽  
Genetic Regulatory Networks ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
Maize Kernels

In Fusarium verticillioides, a ubiquitous pathogen of maize, virulence and mycotoxigenesis are regulated in response to the types and amounts of carbohydrates present in maize kernels. In this study, we investigated the role of a putative hexokinase-encoding gene (HXK1) in growth, development and pathogenesis. A deletion mutant (Δhxk1) of HXK1 was not able to grow when supplied with fructose as the sole carbon source, and growth was impaired when glucose, sucrose or maltotriose was provided. Additionally, the Δhxk1 mutant produced unusual swollen hyphae when provided with fructose, but not glucose, as the sole carbon source. Moreover, the Δhxk1 mutant was impaired in fructose uptake, although glucose uptake was unaffected. On maize kernels, the Δhxk1 mutant was substantially less virulent than the wild-type, but virulence on maize stalks was not impaired, possibly indicating a metabolic response to tissue-specific differences in plant carbohydrate content. Finally, disruption of HXK1 had a pronounced effect on fungal metabolites produced during colonization of maize kernels; the Δhxk1 mutant produced approximately 50 % less trehalose and 80 % less fumonisin B1 (FB1) than the wild-type. The reduction in trehalose biosynthesis likely explains observations of increased sensitivity to osmotic stress in the Δhxk1 mutant. In summary, this study links early events in carbohydrate sensing and glycolysis to virulence and secondary metabolism in F. verticillioides, and thus provides a new foothold from which the genetic regulatory networks that underlie pathogenesis and mycotoxigenesis can be unravelled and defined.

scholarly journals Amylopectin Induces Fumonisin B1 Production by Fusarium verticillioides During Colonization of Maize Kernels

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 1333-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. H. Bluhm ◽  
C. P. Woloshuk
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Fusarium Verticillioides ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Fumonisin B1 ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis ◽  
Defined Medium ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Fungal Genes ◽  
High Amylose ◽  
Maize Kernels

Fusarium verticillioides, a fungal pathogen of maize, produces fumonisin mycotoxins that adversely affect human and animal health. Basic questions remain unanswered regarding the interactions between the host plant and the fungus that lead to the accumulation of fumonisins in maize kernels. In this study, we evaluated the role of kernel endosperm composition in regulating fumonisin B1 (FB1) biosynthesis. We found that kernels lacking starch due to physiological immaturity did not accumulate FB1. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that kernel development also affected the expression of fungal genes involved in FB1 biosynthesis, starch metabolism, and nitrogen regulation. A mutant strain of F. verticillioides with a disrupted α-amylase gene was impaired in its ability to produce FB1 on starchy kernels, and both the wild-type and mutant strains produced significantly less FB1 on a high-amylose kernel mutant of maize. When grown on a defined medium with amylose as the sole carbon source, the wild-type strain produced only trace amounts of FB1, but it produced large amounts of FB1 when grown on amylopectin or dextrin, a product of amylopectin hydrolysis. We conclude that amylopectin induces FB1 production in F. verticillioides. This study provides new insight regarding the interaction between the fungus and maize kernel during pathogenesis and highlights important areas that need further study.

scholarly journals Mutants affecting histidine utilization inAspergillus nidulans

1975 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meryl Polkinghorne ◽  
M. J. Hynes
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Nitrogen Source ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Nitrogen Sources ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Sole Nitrogen Source ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Exogenous Substrate ◽  
Growth Properties ◽  
Type Strains

SUMMARYWild-type strains ofAspergillus nidulansgrow poorly onL-histidine as a sole nitrogen source. The synthesis of the enzyme histidase (EC. 4.3.1.3) appears to be a limiting factor in the growth of the wild type, as strains carrying the mutantareA102 allele have elevated histidase levels and grow strongly on histidine as a sole nitrogen source.L-Histidine is an extremely weak sole carbon source for all strains.Ammonium repression has an important role in the regulation of histidase synthesis and the relief of ammonium repression is dependent on the availability of a good carbon source. The level of histidase synthesis does not respond to the addition of exogenous substrate.Mutants carrying lesions in thesarA orsarB loci (suppressor ofareA102) have been isolated. The growth properties of these mutants on histidine as a sole nitrogen source correlate with the levels of histidase synthesized. Mutation at thesarA andsarB loci also reduces the utilization of a number of other nitrogen sources. The data suggest that these two genes may code for regulatory products involved in nitrogen catabolism. No histidase structural gene mutants were identified and possible explanations of this are discussed.

scholarly journals Inositol Catabolism, a Key Pathway in Sinorhizobium meliloti for Competitive Host Nodulation

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (24) ◽  
pp. 7972-7980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra R. A. Kohler ◽  
Jasmine Y. Zheng ◽  
Elke Schoffers ◽  
Silvia Rossbach
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Nodule Occupancy ◽  
Nitrogen Fixing ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Catabolic Pathway ◽  
Inositol Dehydrogenase

ABSTRACT The nitrogen-fixing symbiont of alfalfa, Sinorhizobium meliloti, is able to use myo-inositol as the sole carbon source. Putative inositol catabolism genes (iolA and iolRCDEB) have been identified in the S. meliloti genome based on their similarities with the Bacillus subtilis iol genes. In this study, functional mutational analysis revealed that the iolA and iolCDEB genes are required for growth not only with the myo-isomer but also for growth with scyllo- and d-chiro-inositol as the sole carbon source. An additional, hypothetical dehydrogenase of the IdhA/MocA/GFO family encoded by the smc01163 gene was found to be essential for growth with scyllo-inositol, whereas the idhA-encoded myo-inositol dehydrogenase was responsible for the oxidation of d-chiro-inositol. The putative regulatory iolR gene, located upstream of iolCDEB, encodes a repressor of the iol genes, negatively regulating the activity of the myo- and the scyllo-inositol dehydrogenases. Mutants with insertions in the iolA, smc01163, and individual iolRCDE genes could not compete against the wild type in a nodule occupancy assay on alfalfa plants. Thus, a functional inositol catabolic pathway and its proper regulation are important nutritional or signaling factors in the S. meliloti-alfalfa symbiosis.

scholarly journals PAC1, a pH-Regulatory Gene from Fusarium verticillioides

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 5222-5227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph E. Flaherty ◽  
Anna Maria Pirttilä ◽  
Burton H. Bluhm ◽  
Charles P. Woloshuk
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Verticillioides ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Synthetic Medium ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
Alkaline Ph ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Ph Responsive ◽  
Alkaline Conditions ◽  
Maize Kernels

ABSTRACT Fumonisins are a group of mycotoxins that contaminate maize and cause leukoencephalomalacia in equine, pulmonary edema in swine, and promote cancer in mice. Fumonisin biosynthesis in Fusarium verticillioides is repressed by nitrogen and alkaline pH. We cloned a PACC-like gene (PAC1) from F. verticillioides. PACC genes encode the major transcriptional regulators of several pH-responsive pathways in other filamentous fungi. In Northern blot analyses, a PAC1 probe hybridized to a 2.2-kb transcript present in F. verticillioides grown at alkaline pH. A mutant of F. verticillioides with a disrupted PAC1 gene had severely impaired growth at alkaline pH. The mutant produced more fumonisin than the wild type when grown on maize kernels and in a synthetic medium buffered at an acidic pH, 4.5. The mutant, but not the wild type, also produced fumonisin B1 when mycelia were resuspended in medium buffered at an alkaline pH, 8.4. Transcription of FUM1, a gene involved in fumonisin biosynthesis, was correlated with fumonisin production. We conclude that PAC1 is required for growth at alkaline pH and that Pac1 may have a role as a repressor of fumonisin biosynthesis under alkaline conditions.

scholarly journals Genetic Requirements for Klebsiella pneumoniae-Induced Liver Abscess in an Oral Infection Model

2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 2657-2671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Chun Tu ◽  
Min-Chi Lu ◽  
Ming-Ko Chiang ◽  
Shu-Ping Huang ◽  
Hwei-Ling Peng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Klebsiella Pneumoniae ◽  
Liver Abscess ◽  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Oral Infection ◽  
Genetic Regulatory Networks ◽  
Class I ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Virulence Attenuation ◽  
Mutant Strains

ABSTRACT Klebsiella pneumoniae is the predominant pathogen of primary liver abscess. However, our knowledge regarding the molecular basis of how K. pneumoniae causes primary infection in the liver is limited. We established an oral infection model that recapitulated the characteristics of liver abscess and conducted a genetic screen to identify the K. pneumoniae genes required for the development of liver abscess in mice. Twenty-eight mutants with attenuated growth in liver or spleen samples out of 2,880 signature-tagged mutants that produced the wild-type capsule were identified, and genetic loci which were disrupted in these mutants were identified to encode products with roles in cellular metabolism, adhesion, transportation, gene regulation, and unknown functions. We further evaluated the virulence attenuation of these mutants in independent infection experiments and categorized them accordingly into three classes. In particular, the class I and II mutant strains exhibited significantly reduced virulence in mice, and most of these strains were not detected in extraintestinal tissues at 48 h after oral inoculation. Interestingly, the mutated loci of about one-third of the class I and II mutant strains encode proteins with regulatory functions, and the transcript abundances of many other genes identified in the same screen were markedly changed in these regulatory mutant strains, suggesting a requirement for genetic regulatory networks for translocation of K. pneumoniae across the intestinal barrier. Furthermore, our finding that preimmunization with certain class I mutant strains protected mice against challenge with the wild-type strain implied a potential application for these strains in prophylaxis against K. pneumoniae infections.

In planta reduction of maize seedling stalk lesions by the bacterial endophyteBacillus mojavensis

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 485-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Bacon ◽  
Dorothy M. Hinton
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Verticillioides ◽  
Fusaric Acid ◽  
Maize Seedling ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
In Planta ◽  
Lesion Development ◽  
Bacillus Mojavensis ◽  
Acid Tolerant ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi ◽  
Maize Kernels

Maize ( Zea mays L.) is susceptible to infection by Fusarium verticillioides through autoinfection and alloinfection, resulting in diseases and contamination of maize kernels with the fumonisin mycotoxins. Attempts at controlling this fungus are currently being done with biocontrol agents such as bacteria, and this includes bacterial endophytes, such as Bacillus mojavensis . In addition to producing fumonisins, which are phytotoxic and mycotoxic, F. verticillioides also produces fusaric acid, which acts both as a phytotoxin and as an antibiotic. The question now is Can B. mojavensis reduce lesion development in maize during the alloinfection process, simulated by internode injection of the fungus? Mutant strains of B. mojavensis that tolerate fusaric acid were used in a growth room study to determine the development of stalk lesions, indicative of maize seedling blight, by co-inoculations with a wild-type strain of F. verticillioides and with non-fusaric acid producing mutants of F. verticillioides. Lesions were measured on 14-day-old maize stalks consisting of treatment groups inoculated with and without mutants and wild-type strains of bacteria and fungi. The results indicate that the fusaric-acid-tolerant B. mojavensis mutant reduced stalk lesions, suggesting an in planta role for this substance as an antibiotic. Further, lesion development occurred in maize infected with F. verticillioides mutants that do not produce fusaric acid, indicating a role for other phytotoxins, such as the fumonisins. Thus, additional pathological components should be examined before strains of B. mojavensis can be identified as being effective as a biocontrol agent, particularly for the control of seedling disease of maize.

scholarly journals Genetically Modified Strains of Ralstonia eutropha H16 with β-Ketothiolase Gene Deletions for Production of Copolyesters with Defined 3-Hydroxyvaleric Acid Contents

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (15) ◽  
pp. 5375-5383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Lindenkamp ◽  
Elena Volodina ◽  
Alexander Steinbüchel
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Ralstonia Eutropha ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Storage Behavior ◽  
Copolymer Poly

ABSTRACTβ-Ketothiolases catalyze the first step of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [poly(3HB)] biosynthesis in bacteria by condensation of two acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) molecules to acetoacetyl-CoA and also take part in the degradation of fatty acids. During growth on propionate or valerate,Ralstonia eutrophaH16 produces the copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [poly(3HB-co-3HV)]. InR. eutropha, 15 β-ketothiolase homologues exist. The synthesis of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA (3HB-CoA) could be significantly reduced in an 8-fold mutant (Lindenkamp et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 76:5373–5382, 2010). In this study, a 9-fold mutant deficient in nine β-ketothiolase gene homologues (phaA,bktB, H16_A1713, H16_B1771, H16_A1528, H16_B0381, H16_B1369, H16_A0170, andpcaF) was generated. In order to examine the polyhydroxyalkanoate production capacity when short- or long-chain and even- or odd-chain-length fatty acids were provided as carbon sources, the growth and storage behavior of several mutants from the previous study and the newly generated 9-fold mutant were analyzed. Propionate, valerate, octanoate, undecanoic acid, or oleate was chosen as the sole carbon source. On octanoate, no significant differences in growth or storage behavior were observed between wild-typeR. eutrophaand the mutants. In contrast, during the growth on oleate of a multiple mutant lackingphaA,bktB, and H16_A0170, diminished poly(3HB) accumulation occurred. Surprisingly, the amount of accumulated poly(3HB) in the multiple mutants grown on gluconate differed; it was much lower than that on oleate. The β-ketothiolase activity toward acetoacetyl-CoA in H16ΔphaAand all the multiple mutants remained 10-fold lower than the activity of the wild type, regardless of which carbon source, oleate or gluconate, was employed. During growth on valerate as a sole carbon source, the 9-fold mutant accumulated almost a poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) [poly(3HV)] homopolyester with 99 mol% 3HV constituents.

Rhizosphere competence of benomyl-tolerant mutants of Trichoderma spp.

1988 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 694-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaleed S. Ahmad ◽  
Ralph Baker
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Trichoderma Harzianum ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Linear Growth ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Linear Growth Rate ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Trichoderma Spp ◽  
Rhizosphere Competence

Two strains of Trichoderma harzianum and one each of T. koningii, T. polysporum, and T. viride were mutated for tolerance to the fungicide benomyl. Rhizosphere competence index of several mutants of each strain and species was determined by the rhizosphere competence assay. Most of the mutants and not their wild type parents were rhizosphere competent. When the strains and species were grown in Czapek–Dox broth for 6 days with cellulose as sole carbon source, the mutants produced significantly higher dry weight than their parent wild types. Neither the mutants nor the wild types produced biomass in glucose comparable to that in cellulose. Evidence indicates that Trichoderma spp. were induced by mutation to increase their linear growth rate and to become rhizosphere competent. Tolerance to benomyl does not seem to be a necessary attribute of rhizosphere competence.

Comparison of Fumonisin B1 Biosynthesis in Maize Germ and Degermed Kernels by Fusarium verticillioides

2003 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2116-2122 ◽  
Author(s):  
WON-BO SHIM ◽  
JOSEPH E. FLAHERTY ◽  
CHARLES P. WOLOSHUK
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Polyketide Synthase ◽  
Safety Issue ◽  
Fusarium Verticillioides ◽  
Fumonisin B1 ◽  
Tissue Expression ◽  
Polyketide Synthase Gene ◽  
Time Course Experiment ◽  
Kernel Growth ◽  
Maize Kernels

Fusarium verticillioides produces a group of mycotoxins known as fumonisins in maize kernels. Fumonisins are associated with a variety of mycotoxicoses in humans and animals; thus, their presence in food is a considerable safety issue. This study addressed fumonisin B1 (FB1) production in two components of the maize kernel, namely the germ tissues and the degermed kernel. Growth of F. verticillioides was similar in colonized germ tissue and degermed kernels, but FB1 production was at least five times higher in degermed maize kernels than in germ tissue. Expression of the fumonisin polyketide synthase gene, FUM1, as measured by β-glucuronidase (GUS) and Northern blot analysis, followed the same pattern as FB1 production. Also correlated to FB1 was a concomitant drop in pH of the colonized degermed kernels. A time course experiment showed that degermed kernels inoculated with F. verticillioides became acidified over time (from pH 6.4 to 4.7 after 10 days of incubation), whereas colonized germ tissue became alkaline over the same period (from pH 6.5 to 8.5). Because conditions of acidic pH are conducive to FB1 production and alkaline pH is repressive, the observed correlation between the acidification of degermed kernels and the increase in FB1 provides one explanation for the observed differences in FB1 levels.

Inhibition of phosphoglucomutase activity by lithium alters cellular calcium homeostasis and signaling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (1) ◽  
pp. C58-C67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Csutora ◽  
András Strassz ◽  
Ferenc Boldizsár ◽  
Péter Németh ◽  
Katalin Sipos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Key Enzyme ◽  
Transient Elevation ◽  
Glucose Metabolites ◽  
Wild Type Yeast ◽  
Cellular Ca

Phosphoglucomutase is a key enzyme of glucose metabolism that interconverts glucose-1-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate. Loss of the major isoform of phosphoglucomutase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae results in a significant increase in the cellular glucose-1-phosphate-to-glucose-6-phosphate ratio when cells are grown in medium containing galactose as carbon source. This imbalance in glucose metabolites was recently shown to also cause a six- to ninefold increase in cellular Ca2+ accumulation. We found that Li+ inhibition of phosphoglucomutase causes a similar elevation of total cellular Ca2+ and an increase in 45Ca2+ uptake in a wild-type yeast strain grown in medium containing galactose, but not glucose, as sole carbon source. Li+ treatment also reduced the transient elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ response that is triggered by exposure to external CaCl2 or by the addition of galactose to yeast cells starved of a carbon source. Finally, we found that the Ca2+ overaccumulation induced by Li+ exposure was significantly reduced in a strain lacking the vacuolar Ca2+-ATPase Pmc1p. These observations suggest that Li+ inhibition of phosphoglucomutase results in an increased glucose-1-phosphate-to-glucose-6-phosphate ratio, which results in an accelerated rate of vacuolar Ca2+ uptake via the Ca2+-ATPase Pmc1p.

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