scholarly journals Efficiency of the synthetic self-splicing RiboJ ribozyme is robust to ​cis​- and trans​-changes in genetic background

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markéta Vlková ◽  
Bhargava Morampalli ◽  
Olin K Silander

The expanding knowledge of the variety of synthetic genetic elements has enabled the construction of new and more efficient genetic circuits and yielded novel insights into molecular mechanisms. However, context dependence, in which interactions between proximal (cis) or distal (trans) elements affect the behaviour of these elements, can reduce their general applicability or predictability. Genetic insulators, which mitigate unintended context-dependent cis-interactions, have been used to address this issue. One of the most commonly used genetic insulators is a self-splicing ribozyme called RiboJ, which can be used to decouple upstream 5-prime UTR in mRNA from downstream sequences (e.g., open reading frames). Despite its general use as an insulator, there has been no systematic study quantifying the efficiency of RiboJ splicing or whether this autocatalytic activity is robust to trans- and cis-genetic context. Here, we determine the robustness of RiboJ splicing in the genetic context of six widely divergent E. coli strains. We also check for possible cis-effects by assessing two SNP versions close to the catalytic site of RiboJ. We show that mRNA molecules containing RiboJ are rapidly spliced even during rapid exponential growth and high levels of gene expression, with a mean efficiency of 98%. We also show that neither the cis- nor trans-genetic context has a significant impact on RiboJ activity, suggesting this element is robust to both cis- and trans-genetic changes.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (32) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Te Liao ◽  
Yujie Zhang ◽  
Alexandra Salvador ◽  
Vivian C. H. Wu

Escherichia phage vB_EcoM-Sa45lw, a new member of the T4-like phages, was isolated from surface water in a produce-growing area. The phage, containing double-stranded DNA with a genome size of 167,353 bp and 282 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), is able to infect generic Escherichia coli and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O45 and O157 strains.


2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 869-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana M. López-Contreras ◽  
Aernout A. Martens ◽  
Nora Szijarto ◽  
Hans Mooibroek ◽  
Pieternel A. M. Claassen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The genome sequence of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, a noncellulolytic solvent-producing strain, predicts the production of various proteins with domains typical for cellulosomal subunits. Most of the genes coding for these proteins are grouped in a cluster similar to that found in cellulolytic clostridial species, such as Clostridium cellulovorans. CAC0916, one of the open reading frames present in the putative cellulosome gene cluster, codes for CelG, a putative endoglucanase belonging to family 9, and it was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The overproduced CelG protein was purified by making use of its high affinity for cellulose and was characterized. The biochemical properties of the purified CelG were comparable to those of other known enzymes belonging to the same family. Expression of CelG by C. acetobutylicum grown on different substrates was studied by Western blotting by using antibodies raised against the purified E. coli-produced protein. Whereas the antibodies cross-reacted with CelG-like proteins secreted by cellobiose- or cellulose-grown C. cellulovorans cultures, CelG was not detectable in extracellular medium from C. acetobutylicum grown on cellobiose or glucose. However, notably, when lichenan-grown cultures were used, several bands corresponding to CelG or CelG-like proteins were present, and there was significantly increased extracellular endoglucanase activity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bohlen ◽  
Liza Harbrecht ◽  
Saioa Blanco ◽  
Katharina Clemm von Hohenberg ◽  
Kai Fenzl ◽  
...  

Abstract Translation efficiency varies considerably between different mRNAs, thereby impacting protein expression. Translation of the stress response master-regulator ATF4 increases upon stress, but the molecular mechanisms are not well understood. We discover here that translation factors DENR, MCTS1 and eIF2D are required to induce ATF4 translation upon stress by promoting translation reinitiation in the ATF4 5′UTR. We find DENR and MCTS1 are only needed for reinitiation after upstream Open Reading Frames (uORFs) containing certain penultimate codons, perhaps because DENR•MCTS1 are needed to evict only certain tRNAs from post-termination 40S ribosomes. This provides a model for how DENR and MCTS1 promote translation reinitiation. Cancer cells, which are exposed to many stresses, require ATF4 for survival and proliferation. We find a strong correlation between DENR•MCTS1 expression and ATF4 activity across cancers. Furthermore, additional oncogenes including a-Raf, c-Raf and Cdk4 have long uORFs and are translated in a DENR•MCTS1 dependent manner.


mBio ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adi Oron-Gottesman ◽  
Martina Sauert ◽  
Isabella Moll ◽  
Hanna Engelberg-Kulka

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli mazEF is an extensively studied stress-induced toxin-antitoxin (TA) system. The toxin MazF is an endoribonuclease that cleaves RNAs at ACA sites. Thereby, under stress, the induced MazF generates a stress-induced translation machinery (STM), composed of MazF-processed mRNAs and selective ribosomes that specifically translate the processed mRNAs. Here, we further characterized the STM system, finding that MazF cleaves only ACA sites located in the open reading frames of processed mRNAs, while out-of-frame ACAs are resistant. This in-frame ACA cleavage of MazF seems to depend on MazF binding to an extracellular-death-factor (EDF)-like element in ribosomal protein bS1 (bacterial S1), apparently causing MazF to be part of STM ribosomes. Furthermore, due to the in-frame MazF cleavage of ACAs under stress, a bias occurs in the reading of the genetic code causing the amino acid threonine to be encoded only by its synonym codon ACC, ACU, or ACG, instead of by ACA. IMPORTANCE The genetic code is a universal characteristic of all living organisms. It defines the set of rules by which nucleotide triplets specify which amino acid will be incorporated into a protein. Our results represent the first existing report on a stress-induced bias in the reading of the genetic code. We found that in E. coli , under stress, the amino acid threonine is encoded only by its synonym codon ACC, ACU, or ACG, instead of by ACA. This is because under stress, MazF generates a stress-induced translation machinery (STM) in which MazF cleaves in-frame ACA sites of the processed mRNAs.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (14) ◽  
pp. 4730-4739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea K. White ◽  
William W. Metcalf

ABSTRACT DNA sequencing and analysis of two distinct C—P lyase operons in Pseudomonas stutzeri WM88 were completed. The htxABCDEFGHIJKLMN operon encodes a hypophosphite-2-oxoglutarate dioxygenase (HtxA), whereas the predicted amino acid sequences of HtxB to HtxN are each homologous to the components of the Escherichia coli phn operon, which encodes C—P lyase, although homologs of E. coli phnF and phnO are absent. The genes in the htx operon are cotranscribed based on gene organization, and the presence of the intergenic sequences is verified by reverse transcription-PCR with total RNA. Deletion of the htx locus does not affect the ability of P. stutzeri to grow on phosphonates, indicating the presence of an additional C—P lyase pathway in this organism. To identify the genes comprising this pathway, a Δhtx strain was mutagenized and one mutant lacking the ability to grow on methylphosphonate as the sole P source was isolated. A ca.-10.6-kbp region surrounding the transposon insertion site of this mutant was sequenced, revealing 13 open reading frames, designated phnCDEFGHIJKLMNP, which were homologous to the E. coli phn genes. Deletion of both the htx and phn operons of P. stutzeri abolishes all growth on methylphosphonate and aminoethylphosphonate. Both operons individually support growth on methylphosphonate; however, the phn operon supports growth on aminoethylphosphonate and phosphite, as well. The substrate ranges of both C—P lyases are limited, as growth on other phosphonate compounds, including glyphosate and phenylphosphonate, was not observed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 2612-2620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Haneda ◽  
Nobuhiko Okada ◽  
Noriko Nakazawa ◽  
Takatoshi Kawakami ◽  
Hirofumi Danbara

ABSTRACT The complete nucleotide sequence of pKDSC50, a large virulence plasmid from Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis strain RF-1, has been determined. We identified 48 of the open reading frames (ORFs) encoded by the 49,503-bp molecule. pKDSC50 encodes a known virulence-associated operon, the spv operon, which is composed of genes essential for systemic infection by nontyphoidalSalmonella. Analysis of the genetic organization of pKDSC50 suggests that the plasmid is composed of several virulence-associated genes, which include the spvRABCD genes, plasmid replication and maintenance genes, and one insertion sequence element. A second virulence-associated region including the pef(plasmid-encoded fimbria) operon and rck (resistance to complement killing) gene, which has been identified on the virulence plasmid of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, was absent. Two different replicon regions, similar to the RepFIIA and RepFIB replicons, were found. Both showed high similarity to those of the pO157 plasmid of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coliO157:H7 and the enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) adherence factor plasmid harbored by EPEC strain B171 (O111:NM), as well as the virulence plasmids of Salmonella serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis. Comparative analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the 50-kb virulence plasmid of serovar Choleraesuis and the 94-kb virulence plasmid of serovar Typhimurium revealed that 47 out of 48 ORFs of the virulence plasmid of serovar Choleraesuis are highly homologous to the corresponding ORFs of the virulence plasmid of serovar Typhimurium, suggesting a common ancestry.


2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (10) ◽  
pp. 3580-3588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidya Dhote ◽  
Shuchi Gupta ◽  
Kevin A. Reynolds

ABSTRACT The antibiotic hygromycin A (HA) binds to the 50S ribosomal subunit and inhibits protein synthesis in gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The HA biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces hygroscopicus NRRL 2388 contains 29 open reading frames, which have been assigned putative roles in biosynthesis, pathway regulation, and self-resistance. The hyg21 gene encodes an O-phosphotransferase with a proposed role in self-resistance. We observed that insertional inactivation of hyg21 in S. hygroscopicus leads to a greater than 90% decrease in HA production. The wild type and the hyg21 mutant were comparably resistant to HA. Using Escherichia coli as a heterologous host, we expressed and purified Hyg21. Kinetic analyses revealed that the recombinant protein catalyzes phosphorylation of HA (Km = 30 ± 4 μM) at the C-2‴ position of the fucofuranose ring in the presence of ATP (Km = 200 ± 20 μM) or GTP (Km = 350 ± 60 μM) with a k cat of 2.2 ± 0.1 min−1. The phosphorylated HA is inactive against HA-sensitive ΔtolC E. coli and Streptomyces lividans. Hyg21 also phosphorylates methoxyhygromycin A and desmethylenehygromycin A with k cat and Km values similar to those observed with HA. Phosphorylation of the naturally occurring isomers of 5‴-dihydrohygromycin A and 5‴-dihydromethoxyhygromycin A was about 12 times slower than for the corresponding non-natural isomers. These studies demonstrate that Hyg21 is an O-phosphotransferase with broad substrate specificity, tolerating changes in the aminocyclitol moiety more than in the fucofuranose moiety, and that phosphorylation by Hyg21 is one of several possible mechanisms of self-resistance in S. hygroscopicus NRRL 2388.


1992 ◽  
Vol 285 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Mathieu ◽  
J Meyer ◽  
J M Moulis

A 3.9 kb BglII-HindIII DNA fragment containing the rubredoxin gene from Clostridium pasteurianum has been cloned using oligonucleotide probes designed from the protein sequence. The 2675 bp SspI-HindIII portion of this fragment has been sequenced and found to contain three open reading frames in addition to the rubredoxin gene. The putative product of one of these open reading frames is similar to various thioredoxin reductases. The rubredoxin gene translates into a sequence that differs from the previously published protein sequence in three positions, D-14, D-22 and E-48 being replaced by the corresponding amides. These changes have been confirmed by partial resequencing of the protein. Promoter-like sequences and a transcription termination signal have been found near the sequence of the rubredoxin gene, which may therefore constitute an independent transcriptional unit. Expression of C. pasteurianum rubredoxin in Escherichia coli strain JM109 has been optimized by subcloning a 476 bp SspI-SspI fragment encompassing the rubredoxin gene. Under these conditions, the latter gene was partly under the control of the lac promoter of pUC18, and the level of rubredoxin production could be increased twofold on addition of a lactose analogue, thus reaching 2-3 mg of pure protein/l of culture. Recombinant rubredoxin was produced in E. coli cells as the holoprotein, and displayed a u.v.-visible-absorption spectrum identical with that of the rubredoxin purified from C. pasteurianum. M.s. and N-terminal sequencing showed that C. pasteurianum rubredoxin expressed in E. coli differs from its native counterpart by having an unblocked N-terminal methionine.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shraddha Puntambekar ◽  
Rachel Newhouse ◽  
Jaime San Miguel Navas ◽  
Ruchi Chauhan ◽  
Grégoire Vernaz ◽  
...  

AbstractNovel open reading frames (nORFs) with coding potential may arise from noncoding DNA. Not much is known about their emergence, functional role, fixation in a population or contribution to adaptive radiation. Cichlids fishes exhibit extensive phenotypic diversification and speciation. Encounters with new environments alone are not sufficient to explain this striking diversity of cichlid radiation because other taxa coexistent with the Cichlidae demonstrate lower species richness. Wagner et al. analyzed cichlid diversification in 46 African lakes and reported that both extrinsic environmental factors and intrinsic lineage-specific traits related to sexual selection have strongly influenced the cichlid radiation, which indicates the existence of unknown molecular mechanisms responsible for rapid phenotypic diversification, such as emergence of novel open reading frames (nORFs). In this study, we integrated transcriptomic and proteomic signatures from two tissues of two cichlids species, identified nORFs and performed evolutionary analysis on these nORF regions. Our results suggest that the time scale of speciation of the two species and evolutionary divergence of these nORF genomic regions are similar and indicate a potential role for these nORFs in speciation of the cichlid fishes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 5087-5096 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. R. Parreira ◽  
C. L. Gyles

ABSTRACT We report the complete nucleotide sequence and genetic organization of the Vat-encoding pathogenicity island (PAI) of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli strain Ec222. The 22,139-bp PAI is situated adjacent to the 3′ terminus of the thrW tRNA gene, has a G+C content of 41.2%, and includes a bacteriophage SfII integrase gene, mobile genetic elements, two open reading frames with products exhibiting sequence similarity to known proteins, and several other open reading frames of unknown function. The PAI encodes an autotransporter protein, Vat (vacuolating autotransporter toxin), which induces the formation of intracellular vacuoles resulting in cytotoxic effects similar to those caused by the VacA toxin from Helicobacter pylori. The predicted 148.3-kDa protein product possesses the three domains that are typical of serine protease autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae: an N-terminal signal sequence of 55 amino acids, a 111.8-kDa passenger domain containing a modified serine protease site (ATSGSG), and a C-terminal outer membrane translocator of 30.5 kDa. Vat has 75% protein homology with the hemagglutinin Tsh, an autotransporter of avian pathogenic E. coli. A vat deletion mutant of Ec222 showed no virulence in respiratory and cellulitis infection models of disease in broiler chickens. We conclude that the newly described PAI and Vat may be involved in the pathogenicity of avian septicemic E. coli strain Ec222 and other avian pathogenic E. coli strains.


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