scholarly journals Mini-Tn7Insertion in an ArtificialattTn7Site Enables Depletion of the Essential Master Regulator CtrA in the Phytopathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (16) ◽  
pp. 5015-5025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanda Figueroa-Cuilan ◽  
Jeremy J. Daniel ◽  
Matthew Howell ◽  
Aliyah Sulaiman ◽  
Pamela J. B. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Agrobacterium Tumefaciens ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Essential Gene ◽  
Essential Genes ◽  
Master Regulator ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inducible Promoters ◽  
Bacterial Plant Pathogen

ABSTRACTMechanistic studies of many processes inAgrobacterium tumefacienshave been hampered by a lack of genetic tools for characterization of essential genes. In this study, we used a Tn7-based method for inducible control of transcription from an engineered site on the chromosome. We demonstrate that this method enables tighter control of inducible promoters than plasmid-based systems and can be used for depletion studies. The method enables the construction of depletion strains to characterize the roles of essential genes inA. tumefaciens. Here, we used the strategy to deplete the alphaproteobacterial master regulator CtrA and found that depletion of this essential gene results in dramatic rounding of cells, which become nonviable.IMPORTANCEAgrobacterium tumefaciensis a bacterial plant pathogen and natural genetic engineer. Thus, studies of essential processes, including cell cycle progression, DNA replication and segregation, cell growth, and division, may provide insights for limiting disease or improving biotechnology applications.

scholarly journals Regulation of Cell Division in Bacteria by Monitoring Genome Integrity and DNA Replication Status

2019 ◽  
Vol 202 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Burby ◽  
Lyle A. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Damage ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Dna Replication ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Genome Instability ◽  
Sos Response ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACT All organisms regulate cell cycle progression by coordinating cell division with DNA replication status. In eukaryotes, DNA damage or problems with replication fork progression induce the DNA damage response (DDR), causing cyclin-dependent kinases to remain active, preventing further cell cycle progression until replication and repair are complete. In bacteria, cell division is coordinated with chromosome segregation, preventing cell division ring formation over the nucleoid in a process termed nucleoid occlusion. In addition to nucleoid occlusion, bacteria induce the SOS response after replication forks encounter DNA damage or impediments that slow or block their progression. During SOS induction, Escherichia coli expresses a cytoplasmic protein, SulA, that inhibits cell division by directly binding FtsZ. After the SOS response is turned off, SulA is degraded by Lon protease, allowing for cell division to resume. Recently, it has become clear that SulA is restricted to bacteria closely related to E. coli and that most bacteria enforce the DNA damage checkpoint by expressing a small integral membrane protein. Resumption of cell division is then mediated by membrane-bound proteases that cleave the cell division inhibitor. Further, many bacterial cells have mechanisms to inhibit cell division that are regulated independently from the canonical LexA-mediated SOS response. In this review, we discuss several pathways used by bacteria to prevent cell division from occurring when genome instability is detected or before the chromosome has been fully replicated and segregated.

scholarly journals Analysis of Cell Cycle and Replication of Mouse Macrophages afterIn VivoandIn VitroCryptococcus neoformans Infection Using Laser Scanning Cytometry

2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 1467-1478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Coelho ◽  
Lydia Tesfa ◽  
Jinghang Zhang ◽  
Johanna Rivera ◽  
Teresa Gonçalves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Cytotoxic Effect ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cycle Arrest ◽  
Laser Scanning Cytometry

ABSTRACTWe investigated the outcome of the interaction ofCryptococcus neoformanswith murine macrophages using laser scanning cytometry (LSC). Previous results in our lab had shown that phagocytosis ofC. neoformanspromoted cell cycle progression. LSC allowed us to simultaneously measure the phagocytic index, macrophage DNA content, and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation such that it was possible to study host cell division as a function of phagocytosis. LSC proved to be a robust, reliable, and high-throughput method for quantifying phagocytosis. Phagocytosis ofC. neoformanspromoted cell cycle progression, but infected macrophages were significantly less likely to complete mitosis. Hence, we report a new cytotoxic effect associated with intracellularC. neoformansresidence that manifested itself in impaired cell cycle completion as a consequence of a block in the G2/M stage of the mitotic cell cycle. Cell cycle arrest was not due to increased cell membrane permeability or DNA damage. We investigated alveolar macrophage replicationin vivoand demonstrated that these cells are capable of low levels of cell division in the presence or absence ofC. neoformansinfection. In summary, we simultaneously studied phagocytosis, the cell cycle state of the host cell and pathogen-mediated cytotoxicity, and our results demonstrate a new cytotoxic effect ofC. neoformansinfection on murine macrophages: fungus-induced cell cycle arrest. Finally, we provide evidence for alveolar macrophage proliferationin vivo.

scholarly journals Acidocalcisomes and Polyphosphate Granules Are Different Subcellular Structures in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Celina Frank ◽  
Dieter Jendrossek
Keyword(s):  
Agrobacterium Tumefaciens ◽  
Fluorescent Dyes ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Ralstonia Eutropha ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Enhanced Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Polyphosphate Granules

ABSTRACT Acidocalcisomes are membrane-enclosed, polyphosphate-containing acidic organelles in lower Eukaryota but have also been described for Agrobacterium tumefaciens (M. Seufferheld, M. Vieira, A. Ruiz, C. O. Rodrigues, S. Moreno, and R. Docampo, J Biol Chem 278:29971–29978, 2003, https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M304548200). This study aimed at the characterization of polyphosphate-containing acidocalcisomes in this alphaproteobacterium. Unexpectedly, fluorescence microscopic investigation of A. tumefaciens cells using fluorescent dyes and localization of constructed fusions of polyphosphate kinases (PPKs) and of vacuolar H+-translocating pyrophosphatase (HppA) with enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP) suggested that acidocalcisomes and polyphosphate are different subcellular structures. Acidocalcisomes and polyphosphate granules were frequently located close together, near the cell poles. However, they never shared the same position. Mutant strains of A. tumefaciens with deletions of both ppk genes (Δppk1 Δppk2) were unable to form polyphosphate but still showed cell pole-located eYFP-HppA foci and could be stained with MitoTracker. In conclusion, A. tumefaciens forms polyP granules that are free of a surrounding membrane and thus resemble polyP granules of Ralstonia eutropha and other bacteria. The composition, contents, and function of the subcellular structures that are stainable with MitoTracker and harbor eYFP-HppA remain unclear. IMPORTANCE The uptake of alphaproteobacterium-like cells by ancestors of eukaryotic cells and subsequent conversion of these alphaproteobacterium-like cells to mitochondria are thought to be key steps in the evolution of the first eukaryotic cells. The identification of acidocalcisomes in two alphaproteobacterial species some years ago and the presence of homologs of the vacuolar proton-translocating pyrophosphatase HppA, a marker protein of the acidocalcisome membrane in eukaryotes, in virtually all species within the alphaproteobacteria suggest that eukaryotic acidocalcisomes might also originate from related structures in ancestors of alphaproteobacterial species. Accordingly, alphaproteobacterial acidocalcisomes and eukaryotic acidocalcisomes should have similar features. Since hardly any information is available on bacterial acidocalcisomes, this study aimed at the characterization of organelle-like structures in alphaproteobacterial cells, with A. tumefaciens as an example.

scholarly journals A Survey of Essential Gene Function in the Yeast Cell Division Cycle

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 4736-4747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Yu ◽  
Lourdes Peña Castillo ◽  
Sanie Mnaimneh ◽  
Timothy R. Hughes ◽  
Grant W. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Replication ◽  
Yeast Cell ◽  
Dna Content ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Essential Gene ◽  
Nucleotide Metabolism ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
New Genes ◽  
Yeast Genes

Mutations impacting specific stages of cell growth and division have provided a foundation for dissecting mechanisms that underlie cell cycle progression. We have undertaken an objective examination of the yeast cell cycle through flow cytometric analysis of DNA content in TetO7promoter mutant strains representing 75% of all essential yeast genes. More than 65% of the strains displayed specific alterations in DNA content, suggesting that reduced function of an essential gene in most cases impairs progression through a specific stage of the cell cycle. Because of the large number of essential genes required for protein biosynthesis, G1 accumulation was the most common phenotype observed in our analysis. In contrast, relatively few mutants displayed S-phase delay, and most of these were defective in genes required for DNA replication or nucleotide metabolism. G2 accumulation appeared to arise from a variety of defects. In addition to providing a global view of the diversity of essential cellular processes that influence cell cycle progression, these data also provided predictions regarding the functions of individual genes: we identified four new genes involved in protein trafficking (NUS1, PHS1, PGA2, PGA3), and we found that CSE1 and SMC4 are important for DNA replication.

scholarly journals Capsule Growth in Cryptococcus neoformans Is Coordinated with Cell Cycle Progression

mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío García-Rodas ◽  
Radames J. B. Cordero ◽  
Nuria Trevijano-Contador ◽  
Guilhem Janbon ◽  
Frédérique Moyrand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Pathogenic Yeast ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Polysaccharide Capsule

ABSTRACT The fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans has several virulence factors, among which the most important is a polysaccharide capsule. The size of the capsule is variable and can increase significantly during infection. In this work, we investigated the relationship between capsular enlargement and the cell cycle. Capsule growth occurred primarily during the G1 phase. Real-time visualization of capsule growth demonstrated that this process occurred before the appearance of the bud and that capsule growth arrested during budding. Benomyl, which arrests the cells in G2/M, inhibited capsule growth, while sirolimus (rapamycin) addition, which induces G1 arrest, resulted in cells with larger capsule. Furthermore, we have characterized a mutant strain that lacks a putative G1/S cyclin. This mutant showed an increased capacity to enlarge the capsule, both in vivo (using Galleria mellonella as the host model) and in vitro. In the absence of Cln1, there was a significant increase in the production of extracellular vesicles. Proteomic assays suggest that in the cln1 mutant strain, there is an upregulation of the glyoxylate acid cycle. Besides, this cyclin mutant is avirulent at 37°C, which correlates with growth defects at this temperature in rich medium. In addition, the cln1 mutant showed lower intracellular replication rates in murine macrophages. We conclude that cell cycle regulatory elements are involved in the modulation of the expression of the main virulence factor in C. neoformans. IMPORTANCE Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic fungus that has significant incidence worldwide. Its main virulence factor is a polysaccharide capsule that can increase in size during infection. In this work, we demonstrate that this process occurs in a specific phase of the cell cycle, in particular, in G1. In agreement, mutants that have an abnormal longer G1 phase show larger capsule sizes. We believe that our findings are relevant because they provide a link between capsule growth, cell cycle progression, and virulence in C. neoformans that reveals new aspects about the pathogenicity of this fungus. Moreover, our findings indicate that cell cycle elements could be used as antifungal targets in C. neoformans by affecting both the growth of the cells and the expression of the main virulence factor of this pathogenic yeast.

scholarly journals Silencing of Essential Genes within a Highly Coordinated Operon in Escherichia coli

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (16) ◽  
pp. 5650-5659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Goh ◽  
Angela Hohmeier ◽  
Timothy C. Stone ◽  
Victoria Offord ◽  
Francisco Sarabia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Essential Gene ◽  
Transcript Level ◽  
Essential Genes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Knockout Mutants ◽  
Bacterial Genes ◽  
Relationship Of

ABSTRACTEssential bacterial genes located within operons are particularly challenging to study independently because of coordinated gene expression and the nonviability of knockout mutants. Essentiality scores for many operon genes remain uncertain. Antisense RNA (asRNA) silencing or in-frame gene disruption of genes may help establish essentiality but can lead to polar effects on genes downstream or upstream of the target gene. Here, theEscherichia coliribF-ileS-lspA-fkpB-ispHoperon was used to evaluate the possibility of independently studying an essential gene using expressed asRNA and target gene overexpression to deregulate coupled expression. The gene requirement for growth in conditional silencing strains was determined by the relationship of target mRNA reduction with growth inhibition as the minimum transcript level required for 50% growth (MTL50). Mupirocin and globomycin, the protein inhibitors of IleS and LspA, respectively, were used in sensitization assays of strains containing both asRNA-expressing and open reading frame-expressing plasmids to examine deregulation of the overlappingileS-lspAgenes. We found upstream and downstream polar silencing effects when eitherileSorlspAwas silenced, indicating coupled expression. Weighted MTL50values (means and standard deviations) ofribF,ileS, andlspAwere 0.65 ± 0.18, 0.64 ± 0.06, and 0.76 ± 0.10, respectively. However, they were not significantly different (P= 0.71 by weighted one-way analysis of variance). The gene requirement forispHcould not be determined due to insufficient growth reduction. Mupirocin and globomycin sensitization experiments indicated thatileS-lspAexpression could not be decoupled. The results highlight the inherent challenges associated with genetic analyses of operons; however, coupling of essential genes may provide opportunities to improve RNA-silencing antimicrobials.

scholarly journals Abf1 Is an Essential Protein That Participates in Cell Cycle Progression and Subtelomeric Silencing in Candida glabrata

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 1005
Author(s):  
Grecia Hernández-Hernández ◽  
Laura A. Vera-Salazar ◽  
Leonardo Castanedo ◽  
Eunice López-Fuentes ◽  
Guadalupe Gutiérrez-Escobedo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Dna Replication ◽  
Cell Viability ◽  
Candida Glabrata ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Essential Gene ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Regulation Of Transcription ◽  
Autonomously Replicating Sequence ◽  
Cycle Progression

Accurate DNA replication and segregation is key to reproduction and cell viability in all organisms. Autonomously replicating sequence-binding factor 1 (Abf1) is a multifunctional protein that has essential roles in replication, transcription, and regional silencing in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the opportunistic pathogenic fungus Candida glabrata, which is closely related to S. cerevisiae, these processes are important for survival within the host, for example, the regulation of transcription of virulence-related genes like those involved in adherence. Here, we describe that CgABF1 is an essential gene required for cell viability and silencing near the telomeres, where many adhesin-encoding genes reside. CgAbf1 mediated subtelomeric silencing depends on the 43 C-terminal amino acids. We also found that abnormal expression, depletion, or overexpression of Abf1, results in defects in nuclear morphology, nuclear segregation, and transit through the cell cycle. In the absence of ABF1, cells are arrested in G2 but start cycling again after 9 h, coinciding with the loss of cell viability and the appearance of cells with higher DNA content. Overexpression of CgABF1 causes defects in nuclear segregation and cell cycle progression. We suggest that these effects could be due to the deregulation of DNA replication.

scholarly journals Day/Night Separation of Oxygenic Energy Metabolism and Nuclear DNA Replication in the Unicellular Red AlgaCyanidioschyzon merolae

mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ya Miyagishima ◽  
Atsuko Era ◽  
Tomohisa Hasunuma ◽  
Mami Matsuda ◽  
Shunsuke Hirooka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Dna Replication ◽  
Energy Metabolism ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
S Phase ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACTThe transition from G1to S phase and subsequent nuclear DNA replication in the cells of many species of eukaryotic algae occur predominantly during the evening and night in the absence of photosynthesis; however, little is known about how day/night changes in energy metabolism and cell cycle progression are coordinated and about the advantage conferred by the restriction of S phase to the night. Using a synchronous culture of the unicellular red algaCyanidioschyzon merolae, we found that the levels of photosynthetic and respiratory activities peak during the morning and then decrease toward the evening and night, whereas the pathways for anaerobic consumption of pyruvate, produced by glycolysis, are upregulated during the evening and night as reported recently in the green algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii. Inhibition of photosynthesis by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) largely reduced respiratory activity and the amplitude of the day/night rhythm of respiration, suggesting that the respiratory rhythm depends largely on photosynthetic activity. Even when the timing of G1/S-phase transition was uncoupled from the day/night rhythm by depletion of retinoblastoma-related (RBR) protein, the same patterns of photosynthesis and respiration were observed, suggesting that cell cycle progression and energy metabolism are regulated independently. Progression of the S phase under conditions of photosynthesis elevated the frequency of nuclear DNA double-strand breaks (DSB). These results suggest that the temporal separation of oxygenic energy metabolism, which causes oxidative stress, from nuclear DNA replication reduces the risk of DSB during cell proliferation inC. merolae.IMPORTANCEEukaryotes acquired chloroplasts through an endosymbiotic event in which a cyanobacterium or a unicellular eukaryotic alga was integrated into a previously nonphotosynthetic eukaryotic cell. Photosynthesis by chloroplasts enabled algae to expand their habitats and led to further evolution of land plants. However, photosynthesis causes greater oxidative stress than mitochondrion-based respiration. In seed plants, cell division is restricted to nonphotosynthetic meristematic tissues and populations of photosynthetic cells expand without cell division. Thus, seemingly, photosynthesis is spatially sequestrated from cell proliferation. In contrast, eukaryotic algae possess photosynthetic chloroplasts throughout their life cycle. Here we show that oxygenic energy conversion (daytime) and nuclear DNA replication (night time) are temporally sequestrated inC. merolae. This sequestration enables “safe” proliferation of cells and allows coexistence of chloroplasts and the eukaryotic host cell, as shown in yeast, where mitochondrial respiration and nuclear DNA replication are temporally sequestrated to reduce the mutation rate.

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