scholarly journals Editing homologous copies of an essential gene affords crop resistance against two cosmopolitan necrotrophic pathogens

Author(s):  
Xuekun Zhang ◽  
Jiasen Cheng ◽  
Yang Lin ◽  
Yanping Fu ◽  
Jiatao Xie ◽  
...  
2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 6147-6153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Puckett ◽  
Kaleb A. Reese ◽  
Georgi M. Mitev ◽  
Valerie Mullen ◽  
Rudd C. Johnson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPeptide phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PPMOs) are synthetic DNA mimics that bind cRNA and inhibit bacterial gene expression. The PPMO (RFF)3RXB-AcpP (where R is arginine, F, phenylalanine, X is 6-aminohexanoic acid, B is β-alanine, and AcpP is acyl carrier protein) is complementary to 11 bases of the essential geneacpP(which encodes acyl carrier protein). The MIC of (RFF)3RXB-AcpP was 2.5 μM (14 μg/ml) inEscherichia coliW3110. The rate of spontaneous resistance ofE. colito (RFF)3RXB-AcpP was 4 × 10−7mutations/cell division. A spontaneous (RFF)3RXB-AcpP-resistant mutant (PR200.1) was isolated. The MIC of (RFF)3RXB-AcpP was 40 μM (224 μg/ml) for PR200.1. The MICs of standard antibiotics for PR200.1 and W3110 were identical. The sequence ofacpPwas identical in PR200.1 and W3110. PR200.1 was also resistant to other PPMOs conjugated to (RFF)3RXB or peptides with a similar composition or pattern of cationic and nonpolar residues. Genomic sequencing of PR200.1 identified a mutation insbmA, which encodes an active transport protein. In separate experiments, a (RFF)3RXB-AcpP-resistant isolate (RR3) was selected from a transposome library, and the insertion was mapped tosbmA. Genetic complementation of PR200.1 or RR3 withsbmArestored susceptibility to (RFF)3RXB-AcpP. Deletion ofsbmAcaused resistance to (RFF)3RXB-AcpP. We conclude that resistance to (RFF)3RXB-AcpP was linked to the peptide and not the phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer, dependent on the composition or repeating pattern of amino acids, and caused by mutations insbmA. The data further suggest that (RFF)3R-XB PPMOs may be transported across the plasma membrane by SbmA.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 154 (4) ◽  
pp. 1561-1576
Author(s):  
Neil Macpherson ◽  
Vivien Measday ◽  
Lynda Moore ◽  
Brenda Andrews

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Swi6 protein is a component of two transcription factors, SBF and MBF, that promote expression of a large group of genes in the late G1 phase of the cell cycle. Although SBF is required for cell viability, SWI6 is not an essential gene. We performed a synthetic lethal screen to identify genes required for viability in the absence of SWI6 and identified 10 complementation groups of swi6-dependent lethal mutants, designated SLM1 through SLM10. We were most interested in mutants showing a cell cycle arrest phenotype; both slm7-1 swi6Δ and slm8-1 swi6Δ double mutants accumulated as large, unbudded cells with increased 1N DNA content and showed a temperature-sensitive growth arrest in the presence of Swi6. Analysis of the transcript levels of cell cycle-regulated genes in slm7-1 SWI6 mutant strains at the permissive temperature revealed defects in regulation of a subset of cyclin-encoding genes. Complementation and allelism tests showed that SLM7 is allelic with the TAF17 gene, which encodes a histone-like component of the general transcription factor TFIID and the SAGA histone acetyltransferase complex. Sequencing showed that the slm7-1 allele of TAF17 is predicted to encode a version of Taf17 that is truncated within a highly conserved region. The cell cycle and transcriptional defects caused by taf17slm7-1 are consistent with the role of TAFIIs as modulators of transcriptional activation and may reflect a role for TAF17 in regulating activation by SBF and MBF.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1175
Author(s):  
Ryuta Inukai ◽  
Kanako Mori ◽  
Keiko Kuwata ◽  
Chihiro Suzuki ◽  
Masatoshi Maki ◽  
...  

Apoptosis-linked gene 2 (ALG-2, also known as PDCD6) is a member of the penta-EF-hand (PEF) family of Ca2+-binding proteins. The murine gene encoding ALG-2 was originally reported to be an essential gene for apoptosis. However, the role of ALG-2 in cell death pathways has remained elusive. In the present study, we found that cell death-inducing p53 target protein 1 (CDIP1), a pro-apoptotic protein, interacts with ALG-2 in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis of GFP-fused CDIP1 (GFP-CDIP1) revealed that GFP-CDIP1 associates with tumor susceptibility gene 101 (TSG101), a known target of ALG-2 and a subunit of endosomal sorting complex required for transport-I (ESCRT-I). ESCRT-I is a heterotetrameric complex composed of TSG101, VPS28, VPS37 and MVB12/UBAP1. Of diverse ESCRT-I species originating from four VPS37 isoforms (A, B, C, and D), CDIP1 preferentially associates with ESCRT-I containing VPS37B or VPS37C in part through the adaptor function of ALG-2. Overexpression of GFP-CDIP1 in HEK293 cells caused caspase-3/7-mediated cell death. In addition, the cell death was enhanced by co-expression of ALG-2 and ESCRT-I, indicating that ALG-2 likely promotes CDIP1-induced cell death by promoting the association between CDIP1 and ESCRT-I. We also found that CDIP1 binds to vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated protein (VAP)A and VAPB through the two phenylalanines in an acidic tract (FFAT)-like motif in the C-terminal region of CDIP1, mutations of which resulted in reduction of CDIP1-induced cell death. Therefore, our findings suggest that different expression levels of ALG-2, ESCRT-I subunits, VAPA and VAPB may have an impact on sensitivity of anticancer drugs associated with CDIP1 expression.


Genetics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
pp. 1507-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Meléndez ◽  
W Li ◽  
D Kalderon

Abstract The DC2 gene was isolated previously on the basis of sequence similarity to DC0, the major Drosophila protein kinase A (PKA) catalytic subunit gene. We show here that the 67-kD Drosophila DC2 protein behaves as a PKA catalytic subunit in vitro. DC2 is transcribed in mesodermal anlagen of early embryos. This expression depends on dorsal but on neither twist nor snail activity. DC2 transcriptional fusions mimic this embryonic expression and are also expressed in subsets of cells in the optic lamina, wing disc and leg discs of third instar larvae. A saturation screen of a small deficiency interval containing DC2 for recessive lethal mutations yielded no DC2 alleles. We therefore isolated new deficiencies to generate deficiency trans-heterozygotes that lacked DC2 activity. These animals were viable and fertile. The absence of DC2 did not affect the viability or phenotype of imaginal disc cells lacking DC0 activity or embryonic hatching of animals with reduced DC0 activity. Furthermore, transgenes expressing DC2 from a DC0 promoter did not efficiently rescue a variety of DC0 mutant phenotypes. These observations indicate that DC2 is not an essential gene and is unlikely to be functionally redundant with DC0, which has multiple unique functions during development.


Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 1277-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh R Naik ◽  
Elizabeth W Jones

Abstract The vacuolar hydrolase protease B in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is synthesized as an inactive precursor (Prb1p). The precursor undergoes post-translational modifications while transiting the secretory pathway. In addition to N- and O -linked glycosylations, four proteolytic cleavages occur during the maturation of Prb1p. Removal of the signal peptide by signal peptidase and the autocatalytic cleavage of the large aminoterminal propeptide occur in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Two carboxy-terminal cleavages of the post regions occur in the vacuole: the first cleavage is catalyzed by protease A and the second results from autocatalysis. We have isolated a mutant, pbn1-1, that exhibits a defect in the ER processing of Prb1p. The autocatalytic cleavage of the propeptide from Prb1p does not occur and Prb1p is rapidly degraded in the cytosol. PBN1 was cloned and is identical to YCL052c on chromosome III. PBN1 is an essential gene that encodes a novel protein. Pbn1p is predicted to contain a sub-C-terminal transmembrane domain but no signal sequence. A functional HA epitope-tagged Pbn1p fusion localizes to the ER. Pbn1p is N-glycosylated in its amino-terminal domain, indicating a lumenal orientation despite the lack of a signal sequence. Based on these results, we propose that one of the functions of Pbn1p is to aid in the autocatalytic processing of Prb1p.


Author(s):  
Albino Bacolla ◽  
Shiladitya Sengupta ◽  
Zu Ye ◽  
Chunying Yang ◽  
Joy Mitra ◽  
...  

Abstract Human genome stability requires efficient repair of oxidized bases, which is initiated via damage recognition and excision by NEIL1 and other base excision repair (BER) pathway DNA glycosylases (DGs). However, the biological mechanisms underlying detection of damaged bases among the million-fold excess of undamaged bases remain enigmatic. Indeed, mutation rates vary greatly within individual genomes, and lesion recognition by purified DGs in the chromatin context is inefficient. Employing super-resolution microscopy and co-immunoprecipitation assays, we find that acetylated NEIL1 (AcNEIL1), but not its non-acetylated form, is predominantly localized in the nucleus in association with epigenetic marks of uncondensed chromatin. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) revealed non-random AcNEIL1 binding near transcription start sites of weakly transcribed genes and along highly transcribed chromatin domains. Bioinformatic analyses revealed a striking correspondence between AcNEIL1 occupancy along the genome and mutation rates, with AcNEIL1-occupied sites exhibiting fewer mutations compared to AcNEIL1-free domains, both in cancer genomes and in population variation. Intriguingly, from the evolutionarily conserved unstructured domain that targets NEIL1 to open chromatin, its damage surveillance of highly oxidation-susceptible sites to preserve essential gene function and to limit instability and cancer likely originated ∼500 million years ago during the buildup of free atmospheric oxygen.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 4305-4311 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Liu ◽  
B Li ◽  
GorovskyMA

Although variants have been identified for every class of histone, their functions remain unknown. We have been studying the histone H2A variant hv1 in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. Sequence analysis indicates that hv1 belongs to the H2A.F/Z type of histone variants. On the basis of the high degree of evolutionary conservation of this class of histones, they are proposed to have one or more distinct and essential functions that cannot be performed by their major H2A counterparts. Considerable evidence supports the hypothesis that the hv1 protein in T. thermophila and hv1-like proteins in other eukaryotes are associated with active chromatin. In T. thermophila, simple mass transformation and gene replacement techniques have recently become available. In this report, we demonstrate that either the HTA1 gene or the HTA2 gene, encoding the major H2As, can be completely replaced by disrupted genes in the polyploid, transcriptionally active macronucleus, indicating that neither of the two genes is essential. However, only some of the HTA3 genes encoding hv1 can be replaced by disrupted genes, indicating that the H2A.F/Z type variants have an essential function that cannot be performed by the major H2A genes. Thus, an essential gene in T. thermophila can be defined by the fact that it can be partially, but not completely, eliminated from the polyploid macronucleus. To our knowledge, this study represents the first use of gene disruption technology to study core histone gene function in any organism other than yeast and the first demonstration of an essential gene in T. thermophila using these methods. When a rescuing plasmid carrying a wild-type HTA3 gene was introduced into the T. thermophila cells, the endogenous chromosomal HTA3 could be completely replaced, defining a gene replacement strategy that can be used to analyze the function of essential genes.


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