Disruption of the gene encoding the ChiB1 chitinase of Aspergillus fumigatus and characterization of a recombinant gene product

Microbiology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 149 (10) ◽  
pp. 2931-2939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex K. Jaques ◽  
Tamo Fukamizo ◽  
Diana Hall ◽  
Richard C. Barton ◽  
Gemma M. Escott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Chitinase Activity ◽  
Gene Replacement ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Batch Cultures ◽  
Putative Active Site ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

The gene encoding a major, inducible 45 kDa chitinase of Aspergillus fumigatus was cloned and analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence identified a chitinase of the fungal/bacterial class which was designated ChiB1. Recombinant ChiB1, expressed in Pichia pastoris, was shown to function by a retaining mechanism of action. That is, the β-conformation of the chitin substrate linkage was preserved in the product in a manner typical of family 18 chitinases. Cleavage patterns with the N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) oligosaccharide substrates GlcNAc4, GlcNAc5 and GlcNAc6 indicated that the predominant reaction involved hydrolysis of GlcNAc2 from the non-reducing end of each substrate. Products of transglycosylation were also identified in each incubation. Following disruption of chiB1 by gene replacement, growth and morphology of disruptants and of the wild-type strain were essentially identical. However, during the autolytic phase of batch cultures the level of chitinase activity in culture filtrate from a disruptant was much lower than the activity from the wild-type. The search for chitinases with morphogenetic roles in filamentous fungi should perhaps focus on chitinases of the fungal/plant class although such an investigation will be complicated by the identification of at least 11 putative active site domains for family 18 chitinases in the A. fumigatus TIGR database (http://www.tigr.org/).

scholarly journals Isolation and Characterization of Burkholderia cenocepacia Mutants Deficient in Pyochelin Production: Pyochelin Biosynthesis Is Sensitive to Sulfur Availability

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate L. Farmer ◽  
Mark S. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Burkholderia Cenocepacia ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Iron Starvation ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Putative Operon ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The opportunistic pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia produces the yellow-green fluorescent siderophore, pyochelin. To isolate mutants which do not produce this siderophore, we mutagenized B. cenocepacia with the transposon mini-Tn5Tp. Two nonfluorescent mutants were identified which were unable to produce pyochelin. In both mutants, the transposon had integrated into a gene encoding an orthologue of CysW, a component of the sulfate/thiosulfate transporter. The cysW gene was located within a putative operon encoding other components of the transporter and a polypeptide exhibiting high homology to the LysR-type regulators CysB and Cbl. Sulfate uptake assays confirmed that both mutants were defective in sulfate transport. Growth in the presence of cysteine, but not methionine, restored the ability of the mutants to produce pyochelin, suggesting that the failure to produce the siderophore was the result of a depleted intracellular pool of cysteine, a biosynthetic precursor of pyochelin. Consistent with this, the wild-type strain did not produce pyochelin when grown in the presence of lower concentrations of sulfate that still supported efficient growth. We also showed that whereas methionine and certain organosulfonates can serve as sole sulfur sources for this bacterium, they do not facilitate pyochelin biosynthesis. These observations suggest that, under conditions of sulfur depletion, cysteine cannot be spared for production of pyochelin even under iron starvation conditions.

scholarly journals Identification and Characterization of hmr19 Gene Encoding a Multidrug Resistance Efflux Protein from Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. yingchengensis Strain 10–22

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 519-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Qin ◽  
Heng-An Wang ◽  
Zhong-Qin Wu ◽  
Xiao-Feng Zhang ◽  
Mei-Lei Jin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multidrug Resistance ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Gene Replacement ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Streptomyces Hygroscopicus ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Major Facilitator

Abstract The hmr19 gene was cloned from Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. yingchengensis strain 10–22, a bacterium strain producing agricultural antibiotics. Sequence similarity comparison indicates that hmr19 gene may encode a predicted protein with 14 putative transmembrane α-helical spanners, belonging to the drug:H+ antiporter-2 family of the major facilitator superfamily. The expression of hmr19 in the mycelium of strain 10-22 was detected by Western blotting analysis. Gene replacement technology was employed to construct an hmr19 disruption mutant. The growth inhibition test against different antibiotics indicated that the mutant strain was 5–20 fold more susceptible to tetracycline, vancomycin and mitomycin C than the parental wild type strain. The mutant took up tetracycline much faster and accumulated more antibiotics than the wild type strain 10-22. While with the addition of an energy uncoupler, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, the characteristics of the accumulation of [3H]tetracycline in these two strains were almost the same. It was thus concluded that hmr19 encoded a multidrug resistance efflux protein.

scholarly journals Characterization of the Phthalate Permease OphD from Burkholderia cepacia ATCC 17616

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (19) ◽  
pp. 6197-6199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung-Kuang Chang ◽  
Gerben J. Zylstra
Keyword(s):  
Burkholderia Cepacia ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Cell Uptake ◽  
Uptake System ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Knockout Mutant ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Uptake Inhibition

ABSTRACT The ophD gene, encoding a permease for phthalate transport, was cloned from Burkholderia cepacia ATCC 17616. Expression of the gene in Escherichia coli results in the ability to transport phthalate rapidly into the cell. Uptake inhibition experiments show that 4-hydroxyphthalate, 4-chlorophthalate, 4-methylphthalate, and cinchomeronate compete for the phthalate permease. An ophD knockout mutant of 17616 grows slightly more slowly on phthalate but is still able to take up phthalate at rates equivalent to that of the wild-type strain. This means that 17616 must have a second phthalate-inducible phthalate uptake system.

Molecular characterization of protein O-mannosyltransferase and its involvement in cell-wall synthesis in Aspergillus nidulans

Microbiology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 1973-1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuji Oka ◽  
Tetsu Hamaguchi ◽  
Yuka Sameshima ◽  
Masatoshi Goto ◽  
Kensuke Furukawa
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Aspergillus Nidulans ◽  
Protein Modification ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
And Function ◽  
Encoding Protein

Protein O-glycosylation is essential for protein modification and plays important roles in eukaryotic cells. O-Mannosylation of proteins occurs in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus. The structure and function of the pmtA gene, encoding protein O-d-mannosyltransferase, which is responsible for the initial O-mannosylation reaction in Aspergillus nidulans, was characterized. Disruption of the pmtA gene resulted in the reduction of in vitro protein O-d-mannosyltransferase activity to 6 % of that of the wild-type strain and led to underglycosylation of an extracellular glucoamylase. The pmtA disruptant exhibited abnormal cell morphology and alteration in carbohydrate composition, particularly reduction in the skeletal polysaccharides in the cell wall. The results indicate that PmtA is required for the formation of a normal cell wall in A. nidulans.

scholarly journals Expression and function of the cdgD gene, encoding a CHASE–PAS-DGC-EAL domain protein, in Azospirillum brasilense

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Francisco Cruz-Pérez ◽  
Roxana Lara-Oueilhe ◽  
Cynthia Marcos-Jiménez ◽  
Ricardo Cuatlayotl-Olarte ◽  
María Luisa Xiqui-Vázquez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Azospirillum Brasilense ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Wheat Roots ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting

AbstractThe plant growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense contains several genes encoding proteins involved in the biosynthesis and degradation of the second messenger cyclic-di-GMP, which may control key bacterial functions, such as biofilm formation and motility. Here, we analysed the function and expression of the cdgD gene, encoding a multidomain protein that includes GGDEF-EAL domains and CHASE and PAS domains. An insertional cdgD gene mutant was constructed, and analysis of biofilm and extracellular polymeric substance production, as well as the motility phenotype indicated that cdgD encoded a functional diguanylate protein. These results were correlated with a reduced overall cellular concentration of cyclic-di-GMP in the mutant over 48 h compared with that observed in the wild-type strain, which was recovered in the complemented strain. In addition, cdgD gene expression was measured in cells growing under planktonic or biofilm conditions, and differential expression was observed when KNO3 or NH4Cl was added to the minimal medium as a nitrogen source. The transcriptional fusion of the cdgD promoter with the gene encoding the autofluorescent mCherry protein indicated that the cdgD gene was expressed both under abiotic conditions and in association with wheat roots. Reduced colonization of wheat roots was observed for the mutant compared with the wild-type strain grown in the same soil conditions. The Azospirillum-plant association begins with the motility of the bacterium towards the plant rhizosphere followed by the adsorption and adherence of these bacteria to plant roots. Therefore, it is important to study the genes that contribute to this initial interaction of the bacterium with its host plant.

Characterization of Enterococcus faecium mutants resistant to mundticin KS, a class IIa bacteriocin

Microbiology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 149 (10) ◽  
pp. 2901-2908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youko Sakayori ◽  
Mizuho Muramatsu ◽  
Satoshi Hanada ◽  
Yoichi Kamagata ◽  
Shinichi Kawamoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enterococcus Faecium ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Unsaturated Fatty Acids ◽  
Class I ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Food Preservatives ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Resistant Mutants

The emergence and spread of mutants resistant to bacteriocins would threaten the safety of using bacteriocins as food preservatives. To determine the physiological characteristics of resistant mutants, mutants of Enterococcus faecium resistant to mundticin KS, a class IIa bacteriocin, were isolated. Two types of mutant were found that had different sensitivities to other antimicrobial agents such as nisin (class I) and kanamycin. Both mutants were resistant to mundticin KS even in the absence of Mg2+ ions. The composition of unsaturated fatty acids in the resistant mutants was significantly increased in the presence of mundticin KS. The composition of the phospholipids in the two resistant mutants also differed from those in the wild-type strain. The putative zwitterionic amino-containing phospholipid in both mutants significantly increased, whereas amounts of phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin decreased. These changes in membrane structure may influence resistance of enterococci to class IIa and class I bacteriocins.

scholarly journals Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Bifidobacterium bifidum 1,2-α-l-Fucosidase (AfcA), a Novel Inverting Glycosidase (Glycoside Hydrolase Family 95)

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (15) ◽  
pp. 4885-4893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takane Katayama ◽  
Akiko Sakuma ◽  
Takatoshi Kimura ◽  
Yutaka Makimura ◽  
Jun Hiratake ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Genomic Library ◽  
Bifidobacterium Bifidum ◽  
Glycoside Hydrolases ◽  
Glycoside Hydrolase Family ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Sugar Chain ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

ABSTRACT A genomic library of Bifidobacterium bifidum constructed in Escherichia coli was screened for the ability to hydrolyze the α-(1→2) linkage of 2′-fucosyllactose, and a gene encoding 1,2-α-l-fucosidase (AfcA) was isolated. The afcA gene was found to comprise 1,959 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 205 kDa and containing a signal peptide and a membrane anchor at the N and C termini, respectively. A domain responsible for fucosidase activity (the Fuc domain; amino acid residues 577 to 1474) was localized by deletion analysis and then purified as a hexahistidine-tagged protein. The recombinant Fuc domain specifically hydrolyzed the terminal α-(1→2)-fucosidic linkages of various oligosaccharides and a sugar chain of a glycoprotein. The stereochemical course of the hydrolysis of 2′-fucosyllactose was determined to be inversion by using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance. The primary structure of the Fuc domain exhibited no similarity to those of any glycoside hydrolases (GHs) but showed high similarity to those of several hypothetical proteins in a database. Thus, it was revealed that the AfcA protein constitutes a novel inverting GH family (GH family 95).

Molecular characterization of three mutations in katG affecting the activity of hydroperoxidase I of Escherichia coli

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1037-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Loewen ◽  
Jacek Switala ◽  
Mark Smolenski ◽  
Barbara L. Triggs-Raine
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Wild Type Enzyme ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Reaction Amplification ◽  
Mutant Genes

Hydroperoxidase I (HPI) of Escherichia coli is a bifunctional enzyme exhibiting both catalase and peroxidase activities. Mutants lacking appreciable HPI have been generated using nitrosoguanidine and the gene encoding HPI, katG, has been cloned from three of these mutants using either classical probing methods or polymerase chain reaction amplification. The mutant genes were sequenced and the changes from wild-type sequence identified. Two mutants contained G to A changes in the coding strand, resulting in glycine to aspartate changes at residues 119 (katG15) and 314 (katG16) in the deduced amino acid sequence of the protein. A third mutant contained a C to T change resulting in a leucine to phenylalanine change at residue 139 (katG14). The Phe139-, Asp119-, and Asp314-containing mutants exhibited 13, < 1, and 18%, respectively, of the wild-type catalase specific activity and 43, 4, and 45% of the wild-type peroxidase specific activity. All mutant enzymes bound less protoheme IX than the wild-type enzyme. The sensitivities of the mutant enzymes to the inhibitors hydroxylamine, azide, and cyanide and the activators imidazole and Tris were similar to those of the wild-type enzyme. The mutant enzymes were more sensitive to high temperature and to β-mercaptoethanol than the wild-type enzyme. The pH profiles of the mutant catalases were unchanged from the wild-type enzyme.Key words: catalase, hydroperoxidase I, mutants, sequence analysis.

Characterization of yeast V-ATPase mutants lacking Vph1p or Stv1p and the effect on endocytosis

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (9) ◽  
pp. 1209-1219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Perzov ◽  
Vered Padler-Karavani ◽  
Hannah Nelson ◽  
Nathan Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Sucrose Gradient ◽  
Ph Sensor ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Vacuolar Acidification ◽  
Atpase Subunits ◽  
Immunological Assays ◽  
Gradient Fractionation

SUMMARYSubunit a of V-ATPase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in contrast to its other subunits, is encoded by two genes VPH1 and STV1. While disruption of any other gene encoding the V-ATPase subunits results in growth arrest at pH 7.5, null mutants of Vph1p or Stv1p can grow at this pH. We used a polyclonal antibody to yeast Stv1p and a commercially available monoclonal antibody to Vph1p for analysis of yeast membranes by sucrose gradient fractionation, and two different vital dyes to characterize the phenotype of vph1 ▵ and stv1 ▵mutants as compared to the double mutant and the wild-type cells. Immunological assays of sucrose gradient fractions revealed that the amount of Stv1p was elevated in the vph1 ▵ strain, and that vacuoles purified by this method with no detectable endosomal contamination contain an assembled V-ATPase complex, but with much lower activity than the wild type. These results suggest that Stv1p compensates for the loss of Vph1p in the vph1 ▵ strain. LysoSensor Green DND-189 was used as a pH sensor to demonstrate unexpected changes in vacuolar acidification in stv1▵ as the Vph1p-containing V-ATPase complex is commonly considered to acidify the vacuoles. In the vph1 ▵ strain, the dye revealed slight but definite acidification of the vacuole as well. The lipophilic dye FM4-64 was used as an endocytic marker. We show that the null V-ATPase mutants, as well as the vph1 ▵ one, markedly slow down endocytosis of the dye.

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