scholarly journals Developmental Gene Expression in Bacillus subtilis crsA47 Mutants Reveals Glucose-Activated Control of the Gene for the Minor Sigma Factor ςH

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (16) ◽  
pp. 4814-4822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie G. Dixon ◽  
Steve Seredick ◽  
Martin Richer ◽  
George B. Spiegelman

ABSTRACT The presence of excess glucose in growth media prevents normal sporulation of Bacillus subtilis. The crsA47mutation, located in the gene for the vegetative phase sigma factor (ςA) results in a glucose-resistant sporulation phenotype. As part of a study of the mechanisms whereby the mutation in ςA overcomes glucose repression of sporulation, we examined the expression of genes involved in sporulation initiation in the crsA47 background. The crsA47 mutation had a significant impact on a variety of genes. Changes to stage II gene expression could be linked to alterations in the expression of thesinI and sinR genes. In addition, there was a dramatic increase in the expression of genes dependent on the minor sigma factor ςH. This latter change was paralleled by the pattern of spo0H gene transcription in cells with thecrsA47 mutation. In vitro analysis of RNA polymerase containing ςA47 indicated that it did not have unusually high affinity for the spo0H gene promoter. The in vivo pattern of spo0H expression is not predicted by the known regulatory constraints on spo0H and suggests novel regulation mechanisms that are revealed in the crsA47background.

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 2044-2050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seok Hee Park ◽  
Sang Seok Koh ◽  
Jae Hwan Chun ◽  
Hye Jin Hwang ◽  
Hyen Sam Kang

ABSTRACT Expression of genes encoding starch-degrading enzymes is regulated by glucose repression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have identified a transcriptional repressor, Nrg1, in a genetic screen designed to reveal negative factors involved in the expression of STA1, which encodes a glucoamylase. TheNRG1 gene encodes a 25-kDa C2H2zinc finger protein which specifically binds to two regions in the upstream activation sequence of the STA1 gene, as judged by gel retardation and DNase I footprinting analyses. Disruption of theNRG1 gene causes a fivefold increase in the level of theSTA1 transcript in the presence of glucose. The expression of NRG1 itself is inhibited in the absence of glucose. DNA-bound LexA-Nrg1 represses transcription of a target gene 10.7-fold in a glucose-dependent manner, and this repression is abolished in bothssn6 and tup1 mutants. Two-hybrid and glutathione S-transferase pull-down experiments show an interaction of Nrg1 with Ssn6 both in vivo and in vitro. These findings indicate that Nrg1 acts as a DNA-binding repressor and mediates glucose repression of the STA1 gene expression by recruiting the Ssn6-Tup1 complex.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (13) ◽  
pp. 3905-3917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Serrano ◽  
Luísa Côrte ◽  
Jason Opdyke ◽  
Charles P. Moran, ◽  
Adriano O. Henriques

ABSTRACT During sporulation in Bacillus subtilis, the prespore-specific developmental program is initiated soon after asymmetric division of the sporangium by the compartment-specific activation of RNA polymerase sigma factor σF. σF directs transcription of spoIIIG, encoding the late forespore-specific regulator σG. Following synthesis, σG is initially kept in an inactive form, presumably because it is bound to the SpoIIAB anti-sigma factor. Activation of σG occurs only after the complete engulfment of the prespore by the mother cell. Mutations in spoIIIJ arrest sporulation soon after conclusion of the engulfment process and prevent activation of σG. Here we show that σG accumulates but is mostly inactive in a spoIIIJ mutant. We also show that expression of the spoIIIGE155K allele, encoding a form of σG that is not efficiently bound by SpoIIAB in vitro, restores σG-directed gene expression to a spoIIIJ mutant. Expression of spoIIIJ occurs during vegetative growth. However, we show that expression of spoIIIJ in the prespore is sufficient for σG activation and for sporulation. Mutations in the mother cell-specific spoIIIA locus are known to arrest sporulation just after completion of the engulfment process. Previous work has also shown that σG accumulates in an inactive form in spoIIIA mutants and that the need for spoIIIA expression for σG activation can be circumvented by the spoIIIGE155K allele. However, in contrast to the case for spoIIIJ, we show that expression of spoIIIA in the prespore does not support efficient sporulation. The results suggest that the activation of σG at the end of the engulfment process involves the action of spoIIIA from the mother cell and of spoIIIJ from the prespore.


2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Casper ◽  
Jennifer M. Timpe ◽  
John David Dignam ◽  
James P. Trempe

ABSTRACT Adeno-associated virus (AAV) and other parvoviruses inhibit proliferation of nonpermissive cells. The mechanism of this inhibition is not thoroughly understood. To learn how AAV interacts with host cells, we investigated AAV's interaction with adenovirus (Ad), AAV's most efficient helper virus. Coinfection with Ad and AAV results in an AAV-mediated inhibition of Ad5 gene expression and replication. The AAV replication proteins (Rep) activate and repress gene expression from AAV and heterologous transcription promoters. To investigate the role of Rep proteins in the suppression of Ad propagation, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses that demonstrated in vivo AAV Rep protein interaction with the Ad E2a gene promoter. In vitro binding of purified AAV Rep68 protein to the Ad E2a promoter was characterized by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (Kd = 200 ± 25 nM). A 38 bp, Rep68-protected region (5′-TAAGAGTCAGCGCGCAGTATTTACTGAAGAGAGCCT-3′) was identified by DNase I footprint analysis. The 38-bp protected region contains the weak E2a TATA box, sequence elements that resemble the Rep binding sites identified by random sequence oligonucleotide selection, and the transcription start site. These results suggest that Rep binding to the E2a promoter contributes to the inhibition of E2a gene expression from the Ad E2a promoter and may affect Ad replication.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (10) ◽  
pp. 3674-3681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke A. McDaniel ◽  
Frank J. Grundy ◽  
Vineeta P. Kurlekar ◽  
Jerneja Tomsic ◽  
Tina M. Henkin

ABSTRACT Genes in the S-box family are regulated by binding of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to the 5′ region of the mRNA of the regulated gene. SAM binding was previously shown to promote a rearrangement of the RNA structure that results in premature termination of transcription in vitro and repression of expression of the downstream coding sequence. The S-box RNA element therefore acts as a SAM-binding riboswitch in vitro. In an effort to identify factors other than SAM that could be involved in the S-box regulatory mechanism in vivo, we searched for trans-acting mutations in Bacillus subtilis that act to disrupt repression of S-box gene expression during growth under conditions where SAM pools are elevated. We identified a single mutant that proved to have one nucleotide substitution in the metK gene, encoding SAM synthetase. This mutation, designated metK10, resulted in a 15-fold decrease in SAM synthetase activity and a 4-fold decrease in SAM concentration in vivo. The metK10 mutation specifically affected S-box gene expression, and the increase in expression under repressing conditions was dependent on the presence of a functional transcriptional antiterminator element. The observation that the mutation identified in this search affects SAM production supports the model that the S-box RNAs directly monitor SAM in vivo, without a requirement for additional factors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xicen Zhang ◽  
Mei Ding ◽  
Yi Liu ◽  
Yongping Liu ◽  
Jiaxin Xing ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: In previous studies, we researched the association of the DRD2 gene promoter region SNP loci rs7116768, rs1047479195, rs1799732, rs1799978 and schizophrenia using Sanger sequencing. rs7116768 and rs1799978 were found to be slightly associated with schizophrenia. This study investigated the effects of haplotypes consisted of the four SNPs on protein expression level in vitro and identified the functional sequence in the 5’ regulatory region of DRD2 gene which has a potential link with schizophrenia.Methods: Recombinant plasmids with haplotypes, SNPs and 13 recombinant vectors containing deletion fragments from the DRD2 gene 5' regulatory region were transfected into HEK293 and SK-N-SH cell lines. Relative luciferase activity of the haplotypes, SNPs and different sequences was compared using a dual luciferase reporter assay system.Results: Haplotype H4(G-C-InsC-G) could significantly increase the gene expression in SK-N-SH cell lines. Allele C of rs7116768, allele A of rs1047479195 and allele del C of rs1799732 could up-regulate the gene expression. There were 5~7 functional regions in the promoter region of DRD2 gene that could affect the level of gene expression.Conclusion: We cannot rule out the possibility that different haplotypes may influence DRD2 gene expression in vivo. We observed that allele C of rs7116768, allele A of rs1047479195 and allele del C of rs1799732 could up-regulate gene expression. The truncation results confirmed the existence of functional regions in the promoter region of DRD2 gene that could affect the level of gene expression.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 550
Author(s):  
Carelle Kouasseu Jimdjio ◽  
Huali Xue ◽  
Yang Bi ◽  
Mina Nan ◽  
Lan Li ◽  
...  

Penicillium expansum is an important postharvest pathogen of pomaceous fruit and a causal agent of blue mold or soft rot. In this study, we investigated the effect of ambient pH on growth, ultrastructure alteration, and pathogenicity of P. expansum, as well as accumulation of patulin and expression of genes involved in patulin biosynthesis. Under different pH, the fungus was routinely cultured and collected for growth, pathogenicity, patulin production, and gene expression studies using transmission electron microscopy, apple inoculation, HPLC, and RT-qPCR methods. Different ambient pH had significant impact on expression of genes and growth factors involved in patulin biosynthesis. Under same range of pH, gene expression profile, growth factors, and patulin accumulation (in vivo and in vitro) all showed similar changing trends. A well-developed cell was observed in addition to upregulation of genes at pH between pH 5.0 and 7.0, while the opposite was observed when pH was too basic (8.5) or too acid (2.5). Additionally, ambient pH had direct or indirect influence on expression of PecreaA, PelaeA, and PepacC. These findings will help in understanding the effect of ambient pH on growth, pathogenicity, and patulin production and support the development of successful methods for combating P. expansum infection on apple fruits.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (17) ◽  
pp. 5193-5200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth A. Lazazzera ◽  
Iren G. Kurtser ◽  
Ryan S. McQuade ◽  
Alan D. Grossman

ABSTRACT The competence and sporulation factor (CSF) of Bacillus subtilis is an extracellular pentapeptide produced from the product of phrC. CSF has at least three activities: (i) at low concentrations, it stimulates expression of genes activated by the transcription factor ComA; at higher concentrations, it (ii) inhibits expression of those same genes and (iii) stimulates sporulation. Because the activities of CSF are concentration dependent, we measured the amount of extracellular CSF produced by cells. We found that by mid-exponential phase, CSF accumulated to concentrations (1 to 5 nM) that stimulate ComA-dependent gene expression. Upon entry into stationary phase, CSF reached 50 to 100 nM, concentrations that stimulate sporulation and inhibit ComA-dependent gene expression. Transcription of phrC was found to be controlled by two promoters: P1, which precedes rapC, the gene upstream ofphrC; and P2, which directs transcription ofphrC only. Both RapC and CSF were found to be part of autoregulatory loops that affect transcription from P1, which we show is activated by ComA∼P. RapC negatively regulates its own expression, presumably due to its ability to inhibit accumulation of ComA∼P. CSF positively regulates its own expression, presumably due to its ability to inhibit RapC activity. Transcription from P2, which is controlled by the alternate sigma factor ςH, increased as cells entered stationary phase, contributing to the increase in extracellular CSF at this time. In addition to controlling transcription ofphrC, ςH appears to control expression of at least one other gene required for production of CSF.


2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1740-1755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Tsz-On Lee ◽  
Kian-Cheng Tan-Un ◽  
Ronald Ting-Kai Pang ◽  
David Tai-Wai Lam ◽  
Billy Kwok-Chong Chow

Abstract To unravel the mechanisms that regulate the human secretin gene expression, in this study, we have used secretin-expressing (HuTu-80 cells, human duodenal adenocarcinoma) and non-secretin-expressing [PANC-1 (human pancreatic ductile carcinoma) and HepG2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma) cells] cell models for in vitro and in vivo analyses. By transient transfection assays, within the promoter region (−11 to −341 from ATG, relative to the ATG initiation codon), we have initially identified several functional motifs including an E-box and 2 GC-boxes. Results from gel mobility shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays confirmed further that NeuroD, E2A, Sp1, and Sp3 bind to these E- and GC-boxes in HuTu-80 cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas only high levels of Sp3 is observed to bind the promoter in HepG2 cells. In addition, overexpression of Sp3 resulted in a dose-dependent repression of the Sp1-mediated transactivation. Collectively, these data suggest that the Sp1/Sp3 ratio is instrumental to controlling secretin gene expression in secretin-producing and non-secretin-producing cells. The functions of GC-box and Sp proteins prompted us to investigate the possible involvement of DNA methylation in regulating this gene. Consistent with this idea, we found a putative CpG island (−336 to 262 from ATG) that overlaps with the human secretin gene promoter. By methylation-specific PCR, all the CpG dinucleo-tides (26 of them) within the CpG island in HuTu-80 cells are unmethylated, whereas all these sites are methylated in PANC-1 and HepG2 cells. The expressions of secretin in PANC-1 and HepG2 cells were subsequently found to be significantly activated by a demethylation agent, 5′-Aza-2′ deoxycytidine. Taken together, our data indicate that the human secretin gene is controlled by the in vivo Sp1/Sp3 ratio and the methylation status of the promoter.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soledad A. Camolotto ◽  
Veronika K. Belova ◽  
Luke Torre-Healy ◽  
Jeffery M. Vahrenkamp ◽  
Kristofer C. Berrett ◽  
...  

AbstractPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with a five-year survival of less than 5%. Transcriptomic analysis has identified two clinically relevant molecular subtypes of PDAC: Classical and Basal-like. The Classical subtype is characterized by a more favorable prognosis and better response to chemotherapy than the Basal-like subtype. The Classical subtype also expresses higher levels of lineage specifiers that regulate endodermal differentiation, including the nuclear receptor HNF4α. Using in vitro and in vivo PDAC models, we show that HNF4α restrains tumor growth and drives tumor cells toward an epithelial identity. Gene expression analysis from murine models and human tumors shows that HNF4α activates expression of genes associated with the Classical subtype. Although HNF4α loss is not sufficient for complete conversion to the Basal-like subtype gene expression profile, HNF4α directly represses SIX4 and SIX1, mesodermal lineage specifiers expressed in the Basal-like subtype. Finally, HNF4α-negative PDAC cells rely on expression of SIX4 and SIX1 for proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Overall, our data show that HNF4α regulates the growth and molecular subtype of PDAC by multiple mechanisms, including activation of the Classical gene expression program and repression of SIX4 and SIX1, which may represent novel dependencies of the Basal-like subtype.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (12) ◽  
pp. 4000-4013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Serrano ◽  
Alexandre Neves ◽  
Cláudio M. Soares ◽  
Charles P. Moran ◽  
Adriano O. Henriques

ABSTRACT RNA polymerase sigma factor σF initiates the prespore-specific program of gene expression during Bacillus subtilis sporulation. σF governs transcription of spoIIIG, encoding the late prespore-specific regulator σG. However, transcription of spoIIIG is delayed relative to other genes under the control of σF, and after synthesis, σG is initially kept in an inactive form. Activation of σG requires the complete engulfment of the prespore by the mother cell and expression of the spoIIIA and spoIIIJ loci. We screened for random mutations in spoIIIG that bypassed the requirement for spoIIIA for the activation of σG. We found a mutation (spoIIIGE156K) that resulted in an amino acid substitution at position 156, which is adjacent to the position of a mutation (E155K) previously shown to prevent interaction of SpoIIAB with σG. Comparative modelling techniques and in vivo studies suggested that the spoIIIGE156K mutation interferes with the interaction of SpoIIAB with σG. The σGE156K isoform restored σG-directed gene expression to spoIIIA mutant cells. However, expression of sspE-lacZ in the spoIIIA spoIIIGE156K double mutant was delayed relative to completion of the engulfment process and was not confined to the prespore. Rather, β-galactosidase accumulated throughout the entire cell at late times in development. This suggests that the activity of σGE156K is still regulated in the prespore of a spoIIIA mutant, but not by SpoIIAB. In agreement with this suggestion, we also found that expression of spoIIIGE156K from the promoter for the early prespore-specific gene spoIIQ still resulted in sspE-lacZ induction at the normal time during sporulation, coincidently with completion of the engulfment process. In contrast, transcription of spoIIIGE156K, but not of the wild-type spoIIIG gene, from the mother cell-specific spoIID promoter permitted the rapid induction of sspE-lacZ expression. Together, the results suggest that SpoIIAB is either redundant or has no role in the regulation of σG in the prespore.


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