scholarly journals Increased Pathogenicity of the Nematophagous Fungus Drechmeria coniospora Following Long-Term Laboratory Culture

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien Courtine ◽  
Xing Zhang ◽  
Jonathan J. Ewbank

Domestication provides a window into adaptive change. Over the course of 2 decades of laboratory culture, a strain of the nematode-specific fungus Drechmeria coniospora became more virulent during its infection of Caenorhabditis elegans. Through a close comparative examination of the genome sequences of the original strain and its more pathogenic derivative, we identified a small number of non-synonymous mutations in protein-coding genes. In one case, the mutation was predicted to affect a gene involved in hypoxia resistance and we provide direct corroborative evidence for such an effect. The mutated genes with functional annotation were all predicted to impact the general physiology of the fungus and this was reflected in an increased in vitro growth, even in the absence of C. elegans. While most cases involved single nucleotide substitutions predicted to lead to a loss of function, we also observed a predicted restoration of gene function through deletion of an extraneous tandem repeat. This latter change affected the regulatory subunit of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Remarkably, we also found a mutation in a gene for a second protein of the same, protein kinase A, pathway. Together, we predict that they result in a stronger repression of the pathway for given levels of ATP and adenylate cyclase activity. Finally, we also identified mutations in a few lineage-specific genes of unknown function that are candidates for factors that influence virulence in a more direct manner.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien Courtine ◽  
Xing Zhang ◽  
Jonathan J. Ewbank

AbstractDomestication provides a window into adaptive change. Over the course of 2 decades of laboratory culture, a strain of the nematode-specific fungus Drechmeria coniospora became more virulent during its infection of Caenorhabditis elegans. Through a close comparative examination of the genome sequences of the original strain and its more pathogenic derivative, we identified a small number of non-synonymous mutations in protein-coding genes. In one case, the mutation was predicted to affect a gene involved in hypoxia resistance and we provide direct corroborative evidence for such an effect. The mutated genes with functional annotation were all predicted to impact the general physiology of the fungus and this was reflected in an increased in vitro growth, even in the absence of C. elegans. While most cases involved single nucleotide substitutions predicted to lead to a loss of function, we also observed a predicted restoration of gene function through deletion of an extraneous tandem repeat. This latter change affected the regulatory subunit of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Remarkably, we also found a mutation in a gene for a second protein of the same, protein kinase A, pathway. Together, we predict that they result in a stronger repression of the pathway for given levels of ATP and adenylate cyclase activity. Finally, we also identified mutations in a few lineage-specific genes of unknown function that are candidates for factors that influence virulence in a more direct manner.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 2332-2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Komon-Zelazowska ◽  
Torsten Neuhof ◽  
Ralf Dieckmann ◽  
Hans von Döhren ◽  
Alfredo Herrera-Estrella ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Species of the mycoparasitic fungal genus Hypocrea/Trichoderma are prominent producers of peptaibols, a class of small linear peptides of fungal origin. Some of these peptaibols have been shown to act synergistically with cell-wall-degrading enzymes in the inhibition of the growth of other fungi in vitro and in vivo. Here we present the structure of the Hypocrea atroviridis peptaibol synthetase gene (pbs1), deduced from the genome sequence of H. atroviridis. It consists of 19 typical peptide synthetase modules with the required additional modifying domains at the N and C termini. Phylogenetic and similarity analyses of the individual amino acid-activating modules is consistent with its ability to synthesize atroviridins. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry of surface-grown cultures of H. atroviridis showed that no peptaibols were formed during vegetative growth, but a microheterogenous mixture of atroviridins accumulated when the colonies started to sporulate. This correlation between sporulation and atroviridin formation was shown to be independent of the pathway inducing sporulation (i.e., light, mechanical injury and carbon starvation, respectively). Atroviridin formation was dependent on the function of the two blue light regulators, BLR1 and BLR2, under some but not all conditions of sporulation and was repressed in a pkr1 (regulatory subunit of protein kinase A) antisense strain with constitutively active protein kinase A. Conversely, however, loss of function of the Gα-protein GNA3, which is a negative regulator of sporulation and leads to a hypersporulating phenotype, fully impairs atroviridin formation. Our data show that formation of atroviridin by H. atroviridis occurs in a sporulation-associated manner but is uncoupled from it at the stage of GNA3.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2870-2881 ◽  
Author(s):  
L C Robinson ◽  
M M Menold ◽  
S Garrett ◽  
M R Culbertson

Casein kinase I is an acidotropic protein kinase class that is widely distributed among eukaryotic cell types. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the casein kinase I isoform encoded by the gene pair YCK1 and YCK2 is a 60- to 62-kDa membrane-associated form. The Yck proteins perform functions essential for growth and division; either alone supports growth, but loss of function of both is lethal. We report here that casein kinase I-like activity is associated with a soluble Yck2-beta-galactosidase fusion protein in vitro and that thermolabile protein kinase activity is exhibited by a protein encoded by fusion of a temperature-sensitive yck2 allele with lacZ. Cells carrying the yck2-2ts allele arrest at restrictive temperature with multiple, elongated buds containing multiple nuclei. This phenotype suggests that the essential functions of the Yck proteins include roles in bud morphogenesis, possibly in control of cell growth polarity, and in cytokinesis or cell separation. Further, a genetic relationship between the yck2ts allele and deletion of CDC55 indicates that the function of Yck phosphorylation may be related to that of protein phosphatase 2A activity.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1371-1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Toda ◽  
S Cameron ◽  
P Sass ◽  
M Zoller ◽  
J D Scott ◽  
...  

We have cloned a gene (BCY1) from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that encodes a regulatory subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. The encoded protein has a structural organization similar to that of the RI and RII regulatory subunits of the mammalian cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Strains of S. cerevisiae with disrupted BCY1 genes do not display a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in vitro, fail to grow on many carbon sources, and are exquisitely sensitive to heat shock and starvation.


2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (21) ◽  
pp. 11850-11860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cahora Medina-Palazon ◽  
Henri Gruffat ◽  
Fabrice Mure ◽  
Odile Filhol ◽  
Valérie Vingtdeux-Didier ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) early protein EB2 (also called BMLF1, Mta, or SM) promotes the nuclear export of a subset of early and late viral mRNAs and is essential for the production of infectious virions. We show here that in vitro, protein kinase CK2α and -β subunits bind both individually and, more efficiently, as a complex to the EB2 N terminus and that the CK2β regulatory subunit also interacts with the EB2 C terminus. Immunoprecipitated EB2 has CK2 activity that phosphorylates several sites within the 80 N-terminal amino acids of EB2, including Ser-55, -56, and -57, which are localized next to the nuclear export signal. EB2S3E, the phosphorylation-mimicking mutant of EB2 at these three serines, but not the phosphorylation ablation mutant EB2S3A, efficiently rescued the production of infectious EBV particles by HEK293BMLF1-KO cells harboring an EB2-defective EBV genome. The defect of EB2S3A in transcomplementing 293BMLF1-KO cells was not due to impaired nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of the mutated protein but was associated with a decrease in the cytoplasmic accumulation of several late viral mRNAs. Thus, EB2-mediated production of infectious EBV virions is regulated by CK2 phosphorylation at one or more of the serine residues Ser-55, -56, and -57.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 77-77
Author(s):  
Daniel James Hart ◽  
Ameen Abdulla Salahudeen ◽  
Sean de la O ◽  
Kyuho Han ◽  
David Morgens ◽  
...  

77 Background: Genome scale sequencing efforts have identified chromosomal deletions and non-synonymous mutations as putative drivers of gastro-intestinal cancer. There is a need to rapidly validate these drivers in robust models. The culture of primary, non-transformed tissues in vitro as three-dimensional organoids that accurately recapitulate organ structure and physiology serves as an ideal model for such validation, and many other applications in biology. Methods: Mouse wild type and p53 flox/flox upper digestive tract tissue containing epithelial and mesenchymal components were cultured in an air-liquid interface and subjected to adenovirus expressing either a functional control or Cre recombinase. Resultant organoids were passaged at confluency until dysplasia was evident in histology. A lentiviral shRNA (loss-of-function) screen was then conducted, where proliferative activity was measured with barcode reads from the pooled library. Results: p53-null organoids showed histology consistent with human gastrointestinal cancer. These organoids were also able to form small tumors when injected subcutaneously into immune-deficient mice. The pooled lentiviral shRNA screen functionally validated candidate drivers. Conclusions: Gastrointestinal organoids are a suitable model for the introduction of oncogenic mutations in a tractable and replicable format. In future work we will validate loss-of function and gain-of-function screens with CRISPRi/a libraries, and replicate these screens in human gastrointestinal organoids.


1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (1) ◽  
pp. C147-C153 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. Snyder ◽  
T. D. Noland ◽  
M. D. Breyer

The role of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) in mediating the hydrosmotic effect of vasopressin in in vitro microperfused rabbit cortical collecting ducts (CCDs) was examined. We measured PKA substrate phosphorylation and water permeability [hydraulic conductivity (Lp) = 10(-7) cm.atm-1.s-1], stimulated by substituted cAMP analogues selective for a unique cAMP binding site (site A or B) on PKA regulatory subunit (R). Synergy between site A- and site B-selective analogues suggests involvement of PKA, because both sites must be occupied for R to dissociate from the catalytic subunit (C), allowing phosphorylation to proceed. As single agents, the site B-selective analogues 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP (8-CPT) and 8-thiomethyl-cAMP (8-SCH3) were at least two orders of magnitude more potent than the site A-selective analogues N6-monobutyryl-cAMP (N6-mono) or N6-benzoyl-cAMP (N6-benz). Combinations of subthreshold concentrations of two site A analogues (N6-mono+N6-benz) or two site B-selective analogues (8-CPT + 8-SCH3) failed to significantly increase protein phosphorylation or water permeability. In contrast, combination of a site A plus site B analogue synergistically stimulated both protein phosphorylation and Lp. Rp-cAMPS, an inhibitor of cAMP binding to PKA, reduced both vasopressin (41% inhibition)- and cAMP (56% inhibition)-stimulated water permeability. H-89 (50 microM), an inhibitor of PKA kinase activity, also blocked cAMP-stimulated water permeability (90% inhibition). These findings suggest that vasopressin-induced water permeability in the rabbit CCD is mediated by PKA.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2870-2881
Author(s):  
L C Robinson ◽  
M M Menold ◽  
S Garrett ◽  
M R Culbertson

Casein kinase I is an acidotropic protein kinase class that is widely distributed among eukaryotic cell types. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the casein kinase I isoform encoded by the gene pair YCK1 and YCK2 is a 60- to 62-kDa membrane-associated form. The Yck proteins perform functions essential for growth and division; either alone supports growth, but loss of function of both is lethal. We report here that casein kinase I-like activity is associated with a soluble Yck2-beta-galactosidase fusion protein in vitro and that thermolabile protein kinase activity is exhibited by a protein encoded by fusion of a temperature-sensitive yck2 allele with lacZ. Cells carrying the yck2-2ts allele arrest at restrictive temperature with multiple, elongated buds containing multiple nuclei. This phenotype suggests that the essential functions of the Yck proteins include roles in bud morphogenesis, possibly in control of cell growth polarity, and in cytokinesis or cell separation. Further, a genetic relationship between the yck2ts allele and deletion of CDC55 indicates that the function of Yck phosphorylation may be related to that of protein phosphatase 2A activity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (14) ◽  
pp. 3645-3653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Ioerger ◽  
Yicheng Feng ◽  
Krishna Ganesula ◽  
Xiaohua Chen ◽  
Karen M. Dobos ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The publication of the complete genome sequence for Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv in 1998 has had a great impact on the research community. Nonetheless, it is suspected that genetic differences have arisen in stocks of H37Rv that are maintained in different laboratories. In order to assess the consistency of the genome sequences among H37Rv strains in use and the extent to which they have diverged from the original strain sequenced, we carried out whole-genome sequencing on six strains of H37Rv from different laboratories. Polymorphisms at 73 sites were observed, which were shared among the lab strains, though 72 of these were also shared with H37Ra and are likely to be due to sequencing errors in the original H37Rv reference sequence. An updated H37Rv genome sequence should be valuable to the tuberculosis research community as well as the broader microbial research community. In addition, several polymorphisms unique to individual strains and several shared polymorphisms were identified and shown to be consistent with the known provenance of these strains. Aside from nucleotide substitutions and insertion/deletions, multiple IS6110 transposition events were observed, supporting the theory that they play a significant role in plasticity of the M. tuberculosis genome. This genome-wide catalog of genetic differences can help explain any phenotypic differences that might be found, including a frameshift mutation in the mycocerosic acid synthase gene which causes two of the strains to be deficient in biosynthesis of the surface glycolipid phthiocerol dimycocerosate (PDIM). The resequencing of these six lab strains represents a fortuitous “in vitro evolution” experiment that demonstrates how the M. tuberculosis genome continues to evolve even in a controlled environment.


1987 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Lucas ◽  
A. J. Thody ◽  
S. Shuster

ABSTRACT The role of protein kinase C in melanosome dispersion was examined using the melanophores of the lizard Anolis carolinensis and an in-vitro rate method of bioassay. The phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), which directly activates protein kinase C, was able to potentiate the melanophore response to α-MSH in a dose-dependent manner. Similarly, the stimulatory response to forskolin, which activates the adenylate cyclase catalytic subunit, was also potentiated by TPA. The response of the melanophore to cyclic AMP, however, remained unaltered by any dose of TPA. We thus propose that the potentiation of α-MSH potency by TPA is through an interaction of protein kinase C with adenylate cyclase and, more specifically, that this interaction may be at the level of the linkage of the nucleotide regulatory subunit Ns with the catalytic moiety C of adenylate cyclase. J. Endocr. (1987) 112, 283–287


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