A sea urchin homologue of the chordate Brachyury (T) gene is expressed in the secondary mesenchyme founder cells

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 2747-2754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Harada ◽  
H. Yasuo ◽  
N. Satoh

Chordates are thought to have emerged from some common ancestor of deuterostomes by organizing shared anatomical and embryological features including a notochord, a dorsal nerve cord and pharyngeal gill slits. Because the notochord is the most prominent feature of chordates and because the Brachyury (T) gene is essential for notochord formation, the T gene is a key molecular probe with which to explore the origin and evolution of chordates. We investigated whether the sea urchin (echinoderm) conserves the T gene and, if so, where the sea urchin T gene is expressed. A cDNA clone for the sea urchin T (HpTa) gene contained a long open reading frame that encodes a polypeptide of 434 amino acids. Although the overall degree of amino acid identity was not very high (52%, sea urchin/mouse), in the T domain of the N terminus the amino acid identity was 73% (sea urchin/mouse). The HpTa gene is present as a single copy per haploid genome. As with the chordate T gene, the expression of HpTa is transient, being first detected in the swimming blastula, maximally transcribed in the gastrula, decreasing at the prism larval stage and barely detectable at the pluteus larval stage. HpTa transcripts were found in the secondary mesenchyme founder cells, vegetal plate of the mesenchyme blastula, extending tip of the invaginating archenteron and, finally, the secondary mesenchyme cells at the late-gastrula stage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

1999 ◽  
Vol 345 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno HAGENBUCH ◽  
Ilse-Dore ADLER ◽  
Thomas E. SCHMID

We have cloned a murine member of the organic-anion-transporting polypeptide (Oatp) family of membrane-transport proteins from mouse liver. The cloned cDNA insert of 2783 bp with an open reading frame of 2011 bp codes for a 12-transmembrane 670-amino-acid protein with highest amino acid identity with the rat Oatp1. When expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, the mouse Oatp exhibited the same substrate specificity as the rat Oatp1. Besides the common Oatp substrates bromosulphophthalein, taurocholate, oestrone 3-sulphate and ouabain, the new mouse Oatp also mediates transport of the Oatp1-specific magnetic-resonance-imaging agent gadoxetate. The Oatp2-specific cardiac glycoside digoxin, however, is not transported. Kinetic analyses performed for taurocholate and oestrone 3-sulphate revealed apparent Km values of 12 μM and 5 μM respectively. Northern-blot analysis demonstrated a predominant expression in the liver with an additional moderate expression in the kidney. Taken together, the amino acid identity, the functional characteristics and the tissue distribution suggest that we have isolated the murine orthologue of the rat Oatp1, and consequently the identified protein will be called Oatp1. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, the murine Oatp1 gene was mapped to chromosome XA3-A5.


2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 3444-3446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libera M. Dalla Costa ◽  
Peter E. Reynolds ◽  
Helena A. P. H. M. Souza ◽  
Dilair C. Souza ◽  
Marie-France I. Palepou ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Enterococcus faecium 10/96A from Brazil was resistant to vancomycin (MIC, 256 μg/ml) but gave no amplification products with primers specific for known van genotypes. A 2,368-bp fragment of a van cluster contained one open reading frame encoding a peptide with 83% amino acid identity to VanHD, and a second encoding a d-alanine-d-lactate ligase with 83 to 85% identity to VanD. The divergent glycopeptide resistance phenotype was designated VanD4.


2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (8) ◽  
pp. 2263-2270 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. de Miranda ◽  
M. Drebot ◽  
S. Tyler ◽  
M. Shen ◽  
C. E. Cameron ◽  
...  

The complete nucleotide sequence of a novel virus is presented here together with serological evidence that it belongs to Kashmir bee virus (KBV). Analysis reveals that KBV is a cricket paralysis-like virus (family Dicistroviridae: genus Cripavirus), with a non-structural polyprotein open reading frame in the 5′ portion of the genome separated by an intergenic region from a structural polyprotein open reading frame in the 3′ part of the genome. The genome also has a polyadenylated tail at the 3′ terminus. KBV is one of several related viruses that also includes acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV). Although KBV and ABPV are about 70 % identical over the entire genome, there are considerable differences between them in significant areas of the genome, such as the 5′ non-translated region (42 % nucleotide identity), between the helicase and 3C-protease domains of the non-structural polyprotein (57 % amino acid identity) and in a 90 aa stretch of the structural polyprotein (33 % amino acid identity). Phylogenetic analyses show that KBV and ABPV isolates fall into clearly separated clades with moderate evolutionary distance between them. Whether these genomic and evolutionary differences are sufficient to classify KBV and ABPV as separate species remains to be determined.


2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 3028-3034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Bellais ◽  
Laurent Poirel ◽  
Sophie Leotard ◽  
Thierry Naas ◽  
Patrice Nordmann

ABSTRACT The class B carbapenem-hydrolyzing β-lactamase IND-1 has been characterized for Chryseobacterium indologenes strain 001. With internal primers for the bla gene for IND-1 (bla IND-1) and an internalbla IND-1 probe, PCR amplifications failed, while hybridization results were positive when DNA from anotherC. indologenes isolate, strain CIP101026, was used as a template. Thus, a bla IND-related gene was cloned from this C. indologenes reference strain. Sequencing of the insert of a recombinant plasmid conferring resistance to carbapenems revealed an open reading frame with a G + C content of 39.9% and coding for a 243-amino-acid preprotein named IND-2. IND-2 shared 80% amino acid identity with IND-1 and had a similar broad-spectrum resistance profile, including resistance to carbapenems. It was classified in functional subgroup 3a of class B carbapenem-hydrolyzing β-lactamases. IND-1 and IND-2, despite their genetic diversity, possessed similar kinetic parameters, except that ceftazidime was hydrolyzed less by IND-2. To obtain the entirebla IND-related gene sequences of eight otherC. indologenes isolates, PCR was performed using internal and external primers, followed by inverse PCR techniques. The likely chromosome-mediated metallo-β-lactamases of the 10 C. indologenes isolates were divided into several groups and subgroups. IND-1, IND-2, IND-2a, IND-3, and IND-4 shared 77 to 99% amino acid identity.


1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 326-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Farinha ◽  
Robin Mockett ◽  
Catherine J. Went ◽  
Stephanie Jardine ◽  
Lina M. Naczynski ◽  
...  

Using a series of oligonucleotides synthesized on the basis of conserved nucleotide or amino acid motifs in heat-shock genes/proteins, we have physically mapped the dnaK, lon, and hptG genes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Hybridization data suggest that there is a single copy of the mopBA (GroES/GroEL) operon but several additional copies of mopA. In addition, the map coordinates for the rpoD, rpoS, and rpoH genes were determined. The mopA gene from the mopBA operon was cloned and sequenced. The protein product of this gene showed 79% amino acid identity to the Escherichia coli GroEL and 98% identity to the GroEL sequence from P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853. A number of discrepancies were found with the latter sequence.Key words: Pseudomonas, heat shock, GroEL, DnaK, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 832-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick C. Y. Woo ◽  
Patricia K. L. Leung ◽  
Samson S. Y. Wong ◽  
Pak-Leung Ho ◽  
Kwok-Yung Yuen

ABSTRACT No recombinant protein is available for serodiagnosis of melioidosis. In this study, we report the cloning of thegroEL gene, which encodes an immunogenic protein ofBurkholderia pseudomallei. Bidirectional DNA sequencing ofgroEL revealed that the gene contained a single open reading frame encoding 546 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 57.1 kDa. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool analysis showed that the putative protein encoded by groEL is homologous to the chaperonins encoded by the groEL genes of other bacteria. It has 98% amino acid identity with the GroEL ofBurkholderia cepacia, 98% amino acid identity with the GroEL of Burkholderia vietnamiensis, and 82% amino acid identity with the GroEL of Bordetella pertussis. Furthermore, it was observed that patients with melioidosis develop a strong antibody response against GroEL, suggesting that the recombinant protein and its monoclonal antibody may be useful for serodiagnosis in patients with melioidosis and that the protein may represent a good cell surface target for host humoral immunity. Further studies in these directions would be warranted.


1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 1018-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Stinear ◽  
Bruce C. Ross ◽  
John K. Davies ◽  
Lui Marino ◽  
Roy M. Robins-Browne ◽  
...  

Molecular analysis of Mycobacterium ulcerans has revealed two new insertion sequences (ISs), IS2404 and IS2606. IS2404 was identified by complete sequencing of a previously described repetitive DNA segment fromM. ulcerans. This element is 1,274 bp long, contains 12-bp inverted repeats and a single open reading frame (ORF) potentially encoding a protein of 327 amino acids (aa), and apparently generates 7-bp direct repeats upon transposition. Amino acid similarity was found between the putative transposase and those encoded by ISs in other bacterial sequences from Aeromonas salmonicida(AsIs1), Escherichia coli (H repeat element), Vibrio cholerae (VcIS1), and Porphyromonas gingivalis(PGIS2). The second IS, IS2606, was discovered by sequence analysis of a HaeIII fragment of M. ulcerans genomic DNA containing a repetitive sequence. This element is 1,404 bp long, with 12-bp inverted repeats and a single ORF potentially encoding a protein of 445 aa. Database searches revealed a high degree of amino acid identity (70%) with the putative transposase of IS1554from M. tuberculosis. Significant amino acid identity (40%) was also observed with transposases from several other microorganisms, including Rhizobium meliloti(ISRm3), Burkholderia cepacia(IS1356), Corynebacterium diphtheriae, andYersinia pestis. PCR screening of DNA from 45 other species of mycobacteria with primers for IS2404 confirm that this element is found only in M. ulcerans. However, by PCR, IS2606 was also found in Mycobacterium lentiflavum, another slow-growing member of the genusMycobacterium that is apparently genetically distinct fromM. ulcerans. Testing the sensitivity of PCR based on IS2404 and IS2606 primers demonstrated the ability to detect 0.1 and 1 M. ulcerans genome equivalents, respectively. The ability to detect small numbers of cells by using two gene targets will be particularly useful for analyzing environmental samples, where there may be low concentrations ofM. ulcerans among large numbers of other environmental mycobacteria.


2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 2337-2343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Haroche ◽  
Jeanine Allignet ◽  
Névine El Solh

ABSTRACT We characterized a new transposon, Tn5406 (5,467 bp), in a clinical isolate of Staphylococcus aureus (BM3327). It carries a variant of vgaA, which encodes a putative ABC protein conferring resistance to streptogramin A but not to mixtures of streptogramins A and B. It also carries three putative genes, the products of which exhibit significant similarities (61 to 73% amino acid identity) to the three transposases of the staphylococcal transposon Tn554. Like Tn554, Tn5406 failed to generate target repeats. In BM3327, the single copy of Tn5406 was inserted into the chromosomal att554 site, which is the preferential insertion site of Tn554. In three other independent S. aureus clinical isolates, Tn5406 was either present as a single plasmid copy (BM3318), as two chromosomal copies (BM3252), or both in the chromosome and on a plasmid (BM3385). The Tn5406-carrying plasmids also contain two other genes, vgaB and vatB. The insertion sites of Tn5406 in BM3252 were studied: one copy was in att554, and one copy was in the additional SCCmec element. Amplification experiments revealed circular forms of Tn5406, indicating that this transposon might be active. To our knowledge, a transposon conferring resistance to streptogramin A and related compounds has not been previously described.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Torresi ◽  
F Granberg ◽  
L Bertolotti ◽  
A Oggiano ◽  
B Colitti ◽  
...  

Abstract In order to assess the molecular epidemiology of African swine fever (ASF) in Sardinia, we analyzed a wide range of isolates from wild and domestic pigs over a 31-year period (1978–2009) by genotyping sequence data from the genes encoding the p54 and the p72 proteins and the CVR. On this basis, the analysis of the B602L gene revealed a minor difference, placing the Sardinian isolates into two clusters according to their temporal distribution. As an extension of this study, in order to achieve a higher level of discrimination, three further variable genome regions, namely p30, CD2v, and I73R/I329L, of a large number of isolates collected from outbreaks in the years 2002–14 have been investigated. Sequence analysis of the CD2v region revealed a temporal subdivision of the viruses into two subgroups. These data, together with those from the B602L gene analysis, demonstrated that the viruses circulating in Sardinia belong to p72/genotype I, but since 1990 have undergone minor genetic variations in respect to its ancestor, thus making it impossible to trace isolates, enabling a more accurate assessment of the origin of outbreaks, and extending knowledge of virus evolution. To solve this problem, we have sequenced and annotated the complete genome of nine ASF isolates collected in Sardinia between 1978 and 2012. This was achieved using sequence data determined by next-generation sequencing. The results showed a very high identity with range of nucleotide similarity among isolates of 99.5 per cent to 99.9 per cent. The ASF virus (ASFV) genomes were composed of terminal inverted repeats and conserved and non-conserved ORFs. Among the conserved ORFs, B385R, H339R, and O61R-p12 showed 100 per cent amino acid identity. The same was true for the hypervariable ORFs, with regard to X69R, DP96R, DP60R, EP153R, B407L, I10L, and L60L genes. The EP402R and B602L genes showed, as expected, an amino acid identity range of 98.5 per cent to 100 per cent and 91 per cent to 100 per cent, respectively. In addition, all of the isolates displayed variable intergenic sequences. As a whole, the results from our studies confirmed a remarkable genetic stability of the ASFV/p72 genotype I viruses circulating in Sardinia.


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