A mutation in the alpha 1-tubulin gene of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii confers resistance to anti-microtubule herbicides

1993 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.W. James ◽  
C.D. Silflow ◽  
P. Stroom ◽  
P.A. Lefebvre

A mutation in the alpha 1-tubulin gene of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was isolated by using the amiprophos-methyl-resistant mutation apm1-18 as a background to select new mutants that showed increased resistance to the drug. The upA12 mutation caused twofold resistance to amiprophos-methyl and oryzalin, and twofold hypersensitivity to the microtubule-stabilizing drug taxol, suggesting that the mutation enhanced microtubule stability. The resistance mutation was semi-dominant and mapped to the same interval on linkage group III as the alpha 1-tubulin gene. Two-dimensional gel immunoblots of proteins in the mutant cells revealed two electrophoretically altered alpha-tubulin isoforms, one of which was acetylated and incorporated into microtubules in the axoneme. The mutant isoforms co-segregated with the drug-resistance phenotypes when mutant upA12 was backcrossed to wild-type cells. Two-dimensional gel analysis of in vitro translation products showed that the non-acetylated variant alpha-tubulin was a primary gene product. DNA sequence analysis of the alpha 1-tubulin genes from mutant and wild-type cells revealed a single missense mutation, which predicted a change in codon 24 from tyrosine in wild type to histidine in mutant upA12. This alteration in the predicted amino acid sequence corroborated the approximately +1 basic charge shift observed for the variant alpha-tubulins. The mutant allele of the alpha 1-tubulin gene was designated tua1-1.

1983 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 1852-1859 ◽  
Author(s):  
T G Burland ◽  
K Gull ◽  
T Schedl ◽  
R S Boston ◽  
W F Dove

Three alpha-tubulins and two beta-tubulins have been resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of whole cell lysates of Physarum myxamoebae or plasmodia. Criteria used to identify the tubulins included migration on two-dimensional gels with myxamoebal tubulins purified by self-assembly into microtubules in vitro, peptide mapping with Staphylococcus V8 protease and with chymotrypsin, immunoprecipitation with a monoclonal antibody specific for beta-tubulin, and, finally, hybrid selection of specific mRNA by cloned tubulin DNA sequences, followed by translation in vitro. Differential expression of the Physarum tubulins was observed. The alpha 1- and beta 1-tubulins were detected in both myxamoebae and plasmodia; alpha 2 and beta 2 were detected only in plasmodia, alpha 3 was detected only in the myxamoebal phase, and may be specific to the flagellate. Observation of more tubulin species in plasmodia than in myxamoebae was remarkable; the only microtubules detected in plasmodia are those of the mitotoic spindle, whereas myxamoebae display cytoplasmic, centriolar, flagellar, and mitotic-spindle microtubules. In vitro translation of myxamoebal and plasmodial RNAs indicated that there are distinct mRNAs, and therefore probably separate genes, for the alpha 1-, alpha 2-, beta 1-, and beta 2-tubulins. Thus, the different patterns of tubulin expression in myxamoebae and plasmodia reflect differential expression of tubulin genes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 301 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Oda ◽  
J Cheng ◽  
T Saku ◽  
N Takami ◽  
M Sohda ◽  
...  

Placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) is initially synthesized as a precursor (proPLAP) with a C-terminal extension. We constructed a recombinant cDNA which encodes a chimeric protein (alpha GL-PLAP) comprising rat alpha 2u-globulin (alpha GL) and the C-terminal extension of PLAP. Two molecular species (25 kDa and 22 kDa) were expressed in the COS-1 cell transfected with the cDNA for alpha GL-PLAP. Only the 22 kDa form was labelled with both [3H]stearic acid and [3H]ethanolamine. Upon digestion with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C the 22 kDa form was released into the medium, indicating that this form is anchored on the cell surface via glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). A specific IgG raised against a C-terminal nonapeptide of proPLAP precipitated the 25 kDa form but not the 22 kDa form, suggesting that the 25 kDa form is a precursor retaining the C-terminal propeptide. When a mutant alpha GL-PLAP, in which the aspartic acid residue is replaced with tryptophan at a putative cleavage/attachment site, was expressed in COS-1 cells, the 25 kDa precursor was the only form found inside the cell and retained in the endoplasmic reticulum, as judged by immunofluorescence microscopy. In vitro translation programmed with mRNAs coding for the wild-type and mutant forms of alpha GL-PLAP demonstrated that the C-terminal propeptide was cleaved from the wild-type chimeric protein, but not from the mutant one. This gave rise to the 22 kDa form attached with a GPI anchor, suggesting that GPI is covalently linked to the aspartic acid residue (Asp159) of alpha GL-PLAP. Taken together, these results indicate that the C-terminal propeptide of PLAP functions as a signal to render alpha GL a GPI-linked membrane protein in vitro and in vivo in cultured cells, and that the chimeric protein constructed in this study may be useful for elucidating the mechanism underlying the cleavage of the propeptide and attachment of GPI, which occur in the endoplasmic reticulum.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
D G Russell ◽  
D Miller ◽  
K Gull

The interphase cell of Crithidia fasciculata has three discrete tubulin populations: the subpellicular microtubules, the axonemal microtubules, and the nonpolymerized cytoplasmic pool protein. These three tubulin populations were independently and selectively purified, yielding, in each case, microtubule protein capable of self-assembly. All three preparations polymerized to form ribbons and sheets rather than the more usual microtubular structures. Analyses of the tubulin by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, and peptide mapping indicated that the beta-tubulin complex remained constant regardless of source but that some heterogeneity was present in the alpha subunit. Cytoplasmic pool alpha tubulins (alpha 1/alpha 2) were the only alpha isotypes in the cytoplasm and also formed most of the alpha tubulin species in the pellicular fraction. Flagellar alpha tubulin (alpha 3) was the sole alpha isotype in the flagella; it appeared in small amounts in the pellicular fraction but was completely absent from the cytoplasm. In vitro translation products from polyadenylated RNA from C. fasciculata were also examined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and possessed a protein corresponding to alpha 1/alpha 2 tubulin but lacked any alpha 3 tubulin. The alpha 3 polypeptide arose from a post-translational modification of a precursor polypeptide not identifiable by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as alpha 3. Peptide mapping data indicated that cytoplasmic alpha tubulin is the most likely precursor. These results demonstrate alpha-tubulin heterogeneity in this organism and also how close the relationship between flagellar and cytoskeletal tubulins can be among lower eucaryotes.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4478-4485 ◽  
Author(s):  
A T Garber ◽  
J Segall

The SPS4 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a sporulation-specific gene identified previously in a differential hybridization screen of a genomic yeast DNA library, has been characterized further. The protein encoded by this gene was inferred from its nucleotide sequence to be 38,600 daltons with an isoelectric pH of 8.2. Consistent with this, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the in vitro translation products of RNA purified by hybridization with the cloned SPS4 DNA indicated that the SPS4 gene product is a 39-kilodalton, basic protein. This protein was found to be identical in size and charge to a major, sporulation-specific protein identified in a two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic comparison of the in vitro translation products of total RNA from sporulating MATa/MAT alpha cells and asporogenous MAT alpha/MAT alpha cells. A MATa/MAT alpha strain homozygous for a partial deletion of the SPS4 gene appeared, however, to be unaffected in its ability to form viable ascospores.


1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (5) ◽  
pp. 2323-2335 ◽  
Author(s):  
D A Peattie ◽  
R A Alonso ◽  
A Hein ◽  
J P Caulfield

The giardins are a group of 29-38-kD proteins in the ventral disk of the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia. The disk attaches the parasite to the host's intestinal epithelium and is composed of parallel, coiled microtubules that are adjacent to the ventral plasma membrane and from which processes called microribbons extend into the cytoplasm; the microribbons are connected by crossbridges. G. lamblia cytoskeletons, consisting of disks and attached flagella, were isolated and used to show that the 29-38-kD proteins separate into five bands by one-dimensional electrophoresis and into 23 species by two-dimensional analysis. Rabbit antibodies raised against a 33-kD protein band, purified by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis and shown to contain three proteins by two-dimensional electrophoresis, recognized 17 proteins by two-dimensional immunoblot analysis. By immunofluorescence these antibodies reacted with the ventral disk but not with the flagella in isolated cytoskeletons. Electron microscopy revealed that the anti-giardin antibodies bound to the edges of the microribbons but not to the microtubules, crossbridges, or other, nondisk structures. Antibodies to tubulin reacted with both the disk and flagella in isolated cytoskeletons but bound only to the microtubules in these structures. The amino-terminal sequence of the 33-kD immunogen was determined and used to construct a DNA oligomer, and the oligomer was used to isolate the alpha giardin gene. The gene was used to hybrid select RNA, and the in vitro translation product from this RNA was precipitated by the antibodies against the 33-kD immunogen. The gene sequence was a single open reading frame of 885 nucleotides that predicted a protein of 33.8 kD. The protein sequence is unique, having no significant homology to two other giardin sequences or to any sequences within the Protein Identification Resource. It is predicted to be 82% alpha helical. The downstream sequence of the gene indicates that the sequence AGT-PuAA is located six to nine nucleotides beyond the stop codon in all protein-encoding genes of G. lamblia that have been sequenced and reported to date.


1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Yu ◽  
C V Nicchitta ◽  
J Kumar ◽  
M Becker ◽  
I Toyoshima ◽  
...  

Kinectin is a kinesin-binding protein (Toyoshima et al., 1992) that is required for kinesin-based motility (Kumar et al., 1995). A kinectin cDNA clone containing a 4.7-kilobase insert was isolated from an embryonic chick brain cDNA library by immunoscreening with a panel of monoclonal antibodies. The cDNA contained an open reading frame of 1364 amino acids encoding a protein of 156 kDa. A bacterially expressed product of the full length cDNA bound purified kinesin. Transient expression in CV-1 cells gave an endoplasmic reticulum distribution that depended upon the N-terminal domain. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence indicated a highly hydrophobic near N-terminal stretch of 28 amino acids and a large portion (326-1248) of predicted alpha helical coiled coils. The 30-kDa fragment containing the N-terminal hydrophobic region was produced by cell-free in vitro translation and found to assemble with canine pancreas rough microsomes. Cleavage of the N terminus was not observed confirming its role as a potential transmembrane domain. Thus, the kinectin cDNA encodes a cytoplasmic-oriented integral membrane protein that binds kinesin and is likely to be a coiled-coil dimer.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (23) ◽  
pp. 13007-13018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Cornell ◽  
Jo Ellen Brunner ◽  
Bert L. Semler

ABSTRACT We have previously described the RNA replication properties of poliovirus transcripts harboring chimeric RNA polymerase sequences representing suballelic exchanges between poliovirus type 1 (PV1) and coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) utilizing an in vitro translation and RNA replication assay (C. Cornell, R. Perera, J. E. Brunner, and B. L. Semler, J. Virol. 78:4397-4407, 2004). We showed that three of the seven chimeras were capable of RNA replication in vitro, although replication levels were greatly reduced compared to that of wild-type transcripts. Interestingly, one of the replication-competent transcripts displayed a strand-specific RNA synthesis defect suggesting (i) a differential replication complex assembly mechanism involving 3D and/or precursor molecules (i.e., 3CD) required for negative- versus positive-strand RNA synthesis or (ii) effect(s) on the ability of the 3D polymerase to form higher-ordered structures required for positive-strand RNA synthesis. In this study, we have attempted to rescue defective RNA replication in vitro by cotranslating nonstructural proteins from a transcript encoding a large precursor polyprotein (P3) to complement 3D polymerase and/or precursor polypeptide functions altered in each of the chimeric constructs. Utilization of a wild-type P3 construct revealed that all transcripts containing chimeric PV1/CVB3 polymerase sequences can be complemented in trans for both negative- and positive-strand RNA synthesis. Furthermore, data from experiments utilizing genetically modified forms of the P3 polyprotein, containing mutations within 3C or 3D sequences, strongly suggest the existence of different protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions required for positive- versus negative-strand RNA synthesis. These results, combined with data from in vitro RNA elongation assays, indicate that the delivery of active 3D RNA polymerase to replication complexes requires a series of macromolecular interactions that rely on the presence of specific 3D amino acid sequences.


Author(s):  
Daniel H. Goldhill ◽  
Ada Yan ◽  
Rebecca Frise ◽  
Jie Zhou ◽  
Jennifer Shelley ◽  
...  

AbstractFavipiravir is a nucleoside analogue which has been licensed to treat influenza in the event of a new pandemic. We previously described a favipiravir resistant influenza A virus generated by in vitro passage in presence of drug with two mutations: K229R in PB1, which conferred resistance at a cost to polymerase activity, and P653L in PA, which compensated for the cost of polymerase activity. However, the clinical relevance of these mutations is unclear as the mutations have not been found in natural isolates and it is unknown whether viruses harbouring these mutations would replicate or transmit in vivo. Here, we infected ferrets with a mix of wild type p(H1N1) 2009 and corresponding favipiravir-resistant virus and tested for replication and transmission in the absence of drug. Favipiravir-resistant virus successfully infected ferrets and was transmitted by both contact transmission and respiratory droplet routes. However, sequencing revealed the mutation that conferred resistance, K229R, decreased in frequency over time within ferrets. Modelling revealed that due to a fitness advantage for the PA P653L mutant, reassortment with the wild-type virus to gain wild-type PB1 segment in vivo resulted in the loss of the PB1 resistance mutation K229R. We demonstrated that this fitness advantage of PA P653L in the background of our starting virus A/England/195/2009 was due to a maladapted PA in first wave isolates from the 2009 pandemic. We show there is no fitness advantage of P653L in more recent pH1N1 influenza A viruses. Therefore, whilst favipiravir-resistant virus can transmit in vivo, the likelihood that the resistance mutation is retained in the absence of drug pressure may vary depending on the genetic background of the starting viral strain.Author SummaryIn the event of a new influenza pandemic, drugs will be our first line of defence against the virus. However, drug resistance has proven to be particularly problematic to drugs against influenza. Favipiravir is a novel drug which might be used against influenza virus in the event of a new pandemic. Is resistance likely to be a problem for the use of favipiravir? Our previous work has shown that resistance to favipiravir can be generated in cell culture but we don’t know whether there will be a cost preventing the spread of resistance in whole organisms. Here, we used a mix of wild-type and resistant influenza viruses from early in the 2009 pandemic to test whether viruses resistant to favipiravir could transmit between ferrets. We found that the resistant viruses could transmit but that the resistance mutation was selected against within some ferrets. Using modelling and in vitro experiments, we found that the resistant mutation was selected against in the influenza strain from our experiment but not in more recently evolved strains. Our results show that favipiravir resistant viruses could spread if resistance is generated but the probability will depend on the genetic background of the virus.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-790
Author(s):  
D G Russell ◽  
D Miller ◽  
K Gull

The interphase cell of Crithidia fasciculata has three discrete tubulin populations: the subpellicular microtubules, the axonemal microtubules, and the nonpolymerized cytoplasmic pool protein. These three tubulin populations were independently and selectively purified, yielding, in each case, microtubule protein capable of self-assembly. All three preparations polymerized to form ribbons and sheets rather than the more usual microtubular structures. Analyses of the tubulin by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, and peptide mapping indicated that the beta-tubulin complex remained constant regardless of source but that some heterogeneity was present in the alpha subunit. Cytoplasmic pool alpha tubulins (alpha 1/alpha 2) were the only alpha isotypes in the cytoplasm and also formed most of the alpha tubulin species in the pellicular fraction. Flagellar alpha tubulin (alpha 3) was the sole alpha isotype in the flagella; it appeared in small amounts in the pellicular fraction but was completely absent from the cytoplasm. In vitro translation products from polyadenylated RNA from C. fasciculata were also examined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and possessed a protein corresponding to alpha 1/alpha 2 tubulin but lacked any alpha 3 tubulin. The alpha 3 polypeptide arose from a post-translational modification of a precursor polypeptide not identifiable by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as alpha 3. Peptide mapping data indicated that cytoplasmic alpha tubulin is the most likely precursor. These results demonstrate alpha-tubulin heterogeneity in this organism and also how close the relationship between flagellar and cytoskeletal tubulins can be among lower eucaryotes.


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