scholarly journals Localization and Expression of MreB in Vibrio parahaemolyticus under Different Stresses

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (22) ◽  
pp. 7016-7022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shen-Wen Chiu ◽  
Shau-Yan Chen ◽  
Hin-chung Wong
Keyword(s):  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Vibrio Parahaemolyticus ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Cellular Stress Response ◽  
Vbnc State

ABSTRACT MreB, the homolog of eukaryotic actin, may play a vital role when prokaryotes cope with stress by altering their spatial organization, including their morphology, subcellular architecture, and localization of macromolecules. This study investigates the behavior of MreB in Vibrio parahaemolyticus under various stresses. The behavior of MreB was probed using a yellow fluorescent protein-MreB conjugate in merodiploid strain SC9. Under normal growth conditions, MreB formed helical filaments in exponential-phase cells. The shape of starved or stationary-phase cells changed from rods to small spheroids. The cells differentiated into the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state with small spherical cells via a “swelling-waning” process. In all cases, drastic remodeling of the MreB cytoskeleton was observed. MreB helices typically were loosened and fragmented into short filaments, arcs, and spots in bacteria under these stresses. The disintegrated MreB exhibited a strong tendency to attach to the cytoplasmic membrane. The expression of mreB generally declined in bacteria in the stationary phase and under starvation but was upregulated during the initial periods of cold shock and VBNC state differentiation and decreased afterwards. Our findings demonstrated the behavior of MreB in the morphological changes of V. parahaemolyticus under intrinsic or extrinsic stresses and may have important implications for studying the cellular stress response and aging.

scholarly journals Dynamic Localization of MreB in Vibrio parahaemolyticus and in the Ectopic Host Bacterium Escherichia coli

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (21) ◽  
pp. 6739-6745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shen-Wen Chiu ◽  
Shau-Yan Chen ◽  
Hin-chung Wong
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Vibrio Parahaemolyticus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Host Bacterium ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Division Cell

ABSTRACT MreB, a homolog of eukaryotic actin, participates in morphogenesis, cell division, cell polarity, and chromosome segregation in prokaryotes. In this study, a yellow fluorescent protein conjugate (YFP-MreBVp) was generated to investigate the behavior of MreB in merodiploid strain SC9 of the enteropathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Under normal growth conditions, YFP-MreBVp formed helical filaments with a pitch of 0.64 � 0.09 μm in about 85% of exponential-phase cells, and different clusters, relaxed coils, and ring configurations were observed in a small proportion of the cells. Overexpression of YFP-MreBVp substantially altered the structure of the MreB cytoskeleton and resulted in swollen and pleomorphic cells. Disturbing the activities of penicillin-binding proteins or adding magnesium suppressed the morphological distortions. These results indicate that mislocalization of cell wall-synthesizing machinery was responsible for morphological abnormality. By expressing YFP-MreBVp in the ectopic host bacterium Escherichia coli, shrinkage, fragmentation, and annealing of MreBVp filaments were directly observed. This work revealed the dynamic pattern of the localization of YFP-MreBVp in V. parahaemolyticus and its relationship to cell morphogenesis, and the YFP-MreBVp-E. coli system may be used to investigate the dynamic spatial structures of the MreB cytoskeleton in vivo.

scholarly journals Candida albicans SNO1 and SNZ1 expressed in stationary-phase planktonic yeast cells and base of biofilm

Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (7) ◽  
pp. 2031-2038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Uppuluri ◽  
Bhaskarjyoti Sarmah ◽  
W. LaJean Chaffin
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Protein Localization ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Yeast Culture

The Candida albicans homologues of the most studied Saccharomyces cerevisiae stationary-phase genes, SNO1 and SNZ1, were used to test the hypothesis that, within a biofilm, some cells reach stationary phase within continuously fed, as well as static, C. albicans biofilms grown on dental acrylic. The authors first studied the expression patterns of these two genes in planktonic growth conditions. Using real-time RT-PCR (RT-RTPCR), increased peak expression of both SNZ1 and SNO1 was observed at 5 and 6 days, respectively, in C. albicans grown in suspension culture. SNZ1–yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and SNO1–YFP were constructed to study expression at the cellular level and protein localization in C. albicans. Snz1p–YFP and Sno1p–YFP localized to the cytoplasm with maximum expression (>90 %) at 5 and 6 days, respectively, in planktonic conditions. When yeast growth was reinitiated, loss of fluorescence began immediately. Germ tubes and hyphae were non-fluorescent. Pseudohyphae began appearing at 9 days in planktonic yeast culture and expressed each protein by 11 days; however, the cells budding from pseudohyphae were not fluorescent. Biofilm was formed in vitro under either static or continuously fed conditions. Increased expression of the two genes was shown by RT-RTPCR, beginning by day 3 and increasing through to day 15 (continuously fed biofilm). Only the bottommost layer of acrylic-adhered cells in the biofilm showed 25 and 40 % fluorescence at 6 and 15 days, respectively. These observations suggest that only a few cells in C. albicans biofilms express genes associated with the planktonic stationary phase and that these are found at the bottom of the biofilm adhered to the surface.

HSF1 granules: a novel stress-induced nuclear compartment of human cells

1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (23) ◽  
pp. 2925-2934 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cotto ◽  
S. Fox ◽  
R. Morimoto
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Heat Shock Gene ◽  
Heat Shock Factor 1 ◽  
Flag Epitope ◽  
Nuclear Structures ◽  
Stress Dependent

Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is the ubiquitous stress-responsive transcriptional activator which is essential for the inducible transcription of genes encoding heat shock proteins and molecular chaperones. HSF1 localizes within the nucleus of cells exposed to heat shock, heavy metals, and amino acid analogues, to form large, irregularly shaped, brightly staining granules which are not detected during attenuation of the heat shock response or when cells are returned to their normal growth conditions. The kinetics of detection of HSF1 granules parallels the transient induction of heat shock gene transcription. HSF1 granules are also detected using an HSF1-Flag epitope tagged protein or a chimeric HSF1-green fluorescent protein which reveals that these nuclear structures are stress-induced and can be detected in living cells. The spatial organization of HSF1 granules in nuclei of stressed cells reveals that they are novel nuclear structures which are stress-dependent and provides evidence that the nucleus undergoes dynamic reorganization in response to stress.

Cdk5 mediates changes in morphology and promotes apoptosis of astrocytoma cells in response to heat shock

2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 1145-1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Gao ◽  
S. Negash ◽  
H.S. Wang ◽  
D. Ledee ◽  
H. Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Cell Matrix ◽  
Dominant Negative Mutation ◽  
U373 Cells

The cyclin-dependent kinase member, Cdk5, is expressed in a variety of cell types, but neuron-specific expression of its activator, p35, is thought to limit its activity to neurons. Here we demonstrate that both Cdk5 and p35 are expressed in the human astrocytoma cell line, U373. Cdk5 and p35 are present in the detergent-insoluble cytoskeletal fraction of this cell line and Cdk5 localizes to filopodia and vinculin-rich regions of cell-matrix contact in lamellopodia. When exposed to a 46(o)C heat shock, U373 cells change shape, lose cell-matrix contacts and show increased levels of apoptosis. To test whether Cdk5 activation might play a role in these events, U373 cells were stably transfected with histidine-tagged or green fluorescent protein-tagged constructs of Cdk5 or a dominant negative mutation, Cdk5T33. Under normal growth conditions, growth characteristics of the stably transfected lines were indistinguishable from untransfected U373 cells and Cdk5 localization was not changed. However, when subjected to heat shock, cells stably transfected with Cdk5-T33 remained flattened, showed little loss of cell-matrix adhesion, and exhibited significantly lower levels of apoptosis. In contrast, cells that overexpressed wild-type Cdk5 showed morphological changes similar to those seen in untransfected U373 cells in response to heat shock and had significantly higher levels of apoptosis. Heat-shocked cells showed changes in p35 mobility and stability of the Cdk5/p35 complex consistent with endogenous Cdk5 activity. Together these findings suggest that endogenous Cdk5 activity may play a key role in regulating morphology, attachment, and apoptosis in U373 cells, and raise the possibility that Cdk5 may be a general regulator of cytoskeletal organization and cell adhesion in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells.

scholarly journals Functional Analysis of the ATG8 Homologue Aoatg8 and Role of Autophagy in Differentiation and Germination in Aspergillus oryzae

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 1328-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Kikuma ◽  
Mamoru Ohneda ◽  
Manabu Arioka ◽  
Katsuhiko Kitamoto
Keyword(s):  
Aspergillus Oryzae ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Nitrogen Sources ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Conidial Germination ◽  
Aerial Hyphae ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Starvation Conditions

ABSTRACT Autophagy is a well-known degradation system, induced by nutrient starvation, in which cytoplasmic components and organelles are digested via vacuoles/lysosomes. Recently, it was reported that autophagy is involved in the turnover of cellular components, development, differentiation, immune responses, protection against pathogens, and cell death. In this study, we isolated the ATG8 gene homologue Aoatg8 from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae and visualized autophagy by the expression of DsRed2-AoAtg8 and enhanced green fluorescent protein-AoAtg8 fusion proteins in this fungus. While the fusion proteins were localized in dot structures which are preautophagosomal structure-like structures under normal growth conditions, starvation or rapamycin treatment caused their accumulation in vacuoles. DsRed2 expressed in the cytoplasm was also taken up into vacuoles under starvation conditions or during the differentiation of conidiophores and conidial germination. Deletion mutants of Aoatg8 did not form aerial hyphae and conidia, and DsRed2 was not localized in vacuoles under starvation conditions, indicating that Aoatg8 is essential for autophagy. Furthermore, Aoatg8 conditional mutants showed delayed conidial germination in the absence of nitrogen sources. These results suggest that autophagy functions in both the differentiation of aerial hyphae and in conidial germination in A. oryzae.

scholarly journals Estimation of the Size of Genetic Bottlenecks in Cell-to-Cell Movement of Soil-Borne Wheat Mosaic Virus and the Possible Role of the Bottlenecks in Speeding Up Selection of Variations in trans-Acting Genes or Elements

2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 1828-1837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuhei Miyashita ◽  
Hirohisa Kishino
Keyword(s):  
Mosaic Virus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Rna Viruses ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Cell Movement ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Genetic Bottlenecks ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACT Genetic bottlenecks facilitate the fixation and extinction of variants in populations, and viral populations are no exception to this theory. To examine the existence of genetic bottlenecks in cell-to-cell movement of plant RNA viruses, we prepared constructs for Soil -b orne wheat mosaic virus RNA2 vectors carrying two different fluorescent proteins, yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and cyan fluorescent protein (CFP). Coinoculation of host plant leaves with the two RNA2 vectors and the wild-type RNA1 showed separation of the two vector RNA2s, mostly within seven to nine cell-to-cell movements from individual initially coinfected cells. Our statistical analysis showed that the number of viral RNA genomes establishing infection in adjacent cells after the first cell-to-cell movement from an initially infected cell was 5.97 ± 0.22 on average and 5.02 ± 0.29 after the second cell-to-cell movement. These results indicate that plant RNA viruses may generally face narrow genetic bottlenecks in every cell-to-cell movement. Furthermore, our model suggests that, rather than suffering from fitness losses caused by the bottlenecks, the plant RNA viruses are utilizing the repeated genetic bottlenecks as an essential element of rapid selection of their adaptive variants in trans-acting genes or elements to respond to host shifting and changes in the growth conditions of the hosts.

scholarly journals Clp and Lon Proteases Occupy Distinct Subcellular Positions in Bacillus subtilis

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (20) ◽  
pp. 6758-6768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyle A. Simmons ◽  
Alan D. Grossman ◽  
Graham C. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Temporal Organization ◽  
Hexameric Atpase ◽  
Fluorescent Moiety ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT Among other functions, ATP-dependent proteases degrade misfolded proteins and remove several key regulatory proteins necessary to activate stress responses. In Bacillus subtilis, ClpX, ClpE, and ClpC form homohexameric ATPases that couple to the ClpP peptidase. To understand where these peptidases and ATPases localize in living cells, each protein was fused to a fluorescent moiety. We found that ClpX-GFP (green fluorescent protein) and ClpP-GFP localized as focal assemblies in areas that were not occupied by the nucleoid. We found that the percentage of cells with ClpP-GFP foci increased following heat shock independently of protein synthesis. We determined that ClpE-YFP (yellow fluorescent protein) and ClpC-YFP formed foci coincident with nucleoid edges, usually near cell poles. Furthermore, we found that ClpQ-YFP (HslV) localized as small foci, usually positioned near the cell membrane. We found that ClpQ-YFP foci were dependent on the presence of the cognate hexameric ATPase ClpY (HslU). Moreover, we found that LonA-GFP is coincident with the nucleoid during normal growth and that LonA-GFP also localized to the forespore during development. We also investigated LonB-GFP and found that this protein localized to the forespore membrane early in development, followed by localization throughout the forespore later in development. Our comprehensive study has shown that in B. subtilis several ATP-fueled proteases occupy distinct subcellular locations. With these data, we suggest that substrate specificity could be determined, in part, by the spatial and temporal organization of proteases in vivo.

scholarly journals Imaging OmpR Binding to Native Chromosomal Loci in Escherichia coli

2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (15) ◽  
pp. 4045-4053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Libby ◽  
Seda Ekici ◽  
Mark Goulian
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Chromosomal Location ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Inhomogeneous Distribution ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Protein Fusion ◽  
Chromosomal Loci

ABSTRACT Previously, an unexplained subcellular localization was reported for a functional fluorescent protein fusion to the response regulator OmpR in Escherichia coli. The pronounced regions of increased fluorescence, or foci, are dependent on OmpR phosphorylation and do not occupy fixed, easily identifiable positions, such as the poles or mid-cell. Here we show that the foci are due to OmpR-YFP (yellow fluorescent protein) fusion binding to specific sites in the chromosome. To identify positions of foci and quantify their fluorescence intensity, we used a simple system to tag virtually any chromosomal location with arrays of lacO or tetO. The brightest foci colocalize with the OmpR-regulated gene ompF, which is strongly expressed under our growth conditions. When we increased OmpR-YFP phosphorylation by stimulating the EnvZ/OmpR system with procaine, we observed a small increase in OmpR-YFP fluorescence at ompF and a significant increase at the OmpR-regulated gene ompC. This supports a model of hierarchical binding of OmpR to the ompF and ompC promoters. Our results explain the inhomogeneous distribution of OmpR-YFP fluorescence in cells and further demonstrate that for a transcription factor expressed at wild-type levels, binding to native sites in the chromosome can be imaged and quantified by fluorescence microscopy.

scholarly journals Arabidopsis sucrose synthase localization indicates a primary role in sucrose translocation in phloem

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1858-1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danyu Yao ◽  
Eliana Gonzales-Vigil ◽  
Shawn D Mansfield
Keyword(s):  
Sucrose Synthase ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Hypoxic Conditions ◽  
Companion Cells ◽  
Related Transcription Factor ◽  
Xylem Tissue ◽  
Enzyme Families

Abstract Sucrose synthase (SuSy) is one of two enzyme families capable of catalyzing the first degradative step in sucrose utilization. Several earlier studies examining SuSy mutants in Arabidopsis failed to identify obvious phenotypic abnormalities compared with wild-type plants in normal growth environments, and as such a functional role for SuSy in the previously proposed cellulose biosynthetic process remains unclear. Our study systematically evaluated the precise subcellular localization of all six isoforms of Arabidopsis SuSy via live-cell imaging. We showed that yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-labeled SuSy1 and SuSy4 were expressed exclusively in phloem companion cells, and the sus1/sus4 double mutant accumulated sucrose under hypoxic conditions. SuSy5 and SuSy6 were found to be parietally localized in sieve elements and restricted only to the cytoplasm. SuSy2 was present in the endosperm and embryo of developing seeds, and SuSy3 was localized to the embryo and leaf stomata. No single isoform of SuSy was detected in developing xylem tissue of elongating stem, the primary site of cellulose deposition in plants. SuSy1 and SuSy4 were also undetectable in the protoxylem tracheary elements, which were induced by the vascular-related transcription factor VND7 during secondary cell wall formation. These findings implicate SuSy in the biological events related to sucrose translocation in phloem.

scholarly journals Hypocrates is a genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor for (pseudo)hypohalous acids and their derivatives

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander I. Kostyuk ◽  
Maria-Armineh Tossounian ◽  
Anastasiya S. Panova ◽  
Marion Thauvin ◽  
Roman I. Raevskii ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Live Cells ◽  
Redox Probe ◽  
Fluorescent Biosensor ◽  
Hypohalous Acids ◽  
Injury Model ◽  
Inflammatory Processes

AbstractThe lack of tools to monitor the dynamics of (pseudo)hypohalous acids in live cells and tissues hinders a better understanding of inflammatory processes. Here we present a fluorescent genetically encoded biosensor, Hypocrates, for the visualization of (pseudo)hypohalous acids and their derivatives. Hypocrates consists of a circularly permuted yellow fluorescent protein integrated into the structure of the transcription repressor NemR from Escherichia coli. We show that Hypocrates is ratiometric, reversible, and responds to its analytes in the 106 M−1s−1 range. Solving the Hypocrates X-ray structure provided insights into its sensing mechanism, allowing determination of the spatial organization in this circularly permuted fluorescent protein-based redox probe. We exemplify its applicability by imaging hypohalous stress in bacteria phagocytosed by primary neutrophils. Finally, we demonstrate that Hypocrates can be utilized in combination with HyPerRed for the simultaneous visualization of (pseudo)hypohalous acids and hydrogen peroxide dynamics in a zebrafish tail fin injury model.

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