scholarly journals Functional Characterization of Calcineurin-Responsive Transcription Factors Fg01341 and Fg01350 in Fusarium graminearum

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangxiang Zhang ◽  
Shulin Cao ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Haiyan Sun ◽  
Yuanyu Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Deletion Mutant ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Hyphal Growth ◽  
Basic Medium ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Sexual Production

Ca2 +/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase calcineurin is one of the important regulators of intracellular calcium homeostasis and has been investigated extensively in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, only a few reports have explored the function of the Crz1 homolog in filamentous fungi, especially in Fusarium graminearum. In this study, we identified Fg01341 as a potential ortholog of yeast Crz1. Fg01341 could interact with calcineurin and initiate nuclear transport in a calcineurin-dependent manner. The ΔFg01341 mutant exhibited normal hyphal growth on basic medium and conidia formation, but sexual reproduction was partially blocked. Pathogenicity assays showed that the virulence of the ΔFg01341 mutant in flowering wheat heads and corn silks dramatically decreased and was thus consistent with the reduction in deoxynivalenol production. Unexpectedly, the sensitivity to osmotic stress of the deletion mutant and that of the wild-type strain did not present any differences. The deletion mutant showed higher sensitivity to tebuconazole than the wild-type strain. Results also showed that the transcription factor Fg01350 might be the calcineurin target and was independent of Crz1. Furthermore, ΔFg01350 showed defects in hyphal growth, sexual production, virulence, and deoxynivalenol production. Collectively, the results indicate that these two proteins functionally redundant and that the calcineurin–Crz1-independent pathway is particularly important in F. graminearum.

scholarly journals SdiA Aids Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Carriage by Cattle Fed a Forage or Grain Diet

2013 ◽  
Vol 81 (9) ◽  
pp. 3472-3478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiqing Sheng ◽  
Y. N. Nguyen ◽  
Carolyn J. Hovde ◽  
Vanessa Sperandio
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Deletion Mutant ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Rumen Fluid ◽  
Acid Resistance ◽  
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Bacterial Survival ◽  
Wild Type

ABSTRACTEnterohemorrhagicEscherichia coli(EHEC) causes hemorrhagic colitis and life-threatening complications. The main reservoirs for EHEC are healthy ruminants. We reported that SdiA senses acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) in the bovine rumen to activate expression of the glutamate acid resistance (gad) genes priming EHEC's acid resistance before they pass into the acidic abomasum. Conversely, SdiA represses expression of the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) genes, whose expression is not required for bacterial survival in the rumen but is necessary for efficient colonization at the rectoanal junction (RAJ) mucosa. Our previous studies show that SdiA-dependent regulation was necessary for efficient EHEC colonization of cattle fed a grain diet. Here, we compared the SdiA role in EHEC colonization of cattle fed a forage hay diet. We detected AHLs in the rumen of cattle fed a hay diet, and these AHLs activatedgadgene expression in an SdiA-dependent manner. The rumen fluid and fecal samples from hay-fed cattle were near neutrality, while the same digesta samples from grain-fed animals were acidic. Cattle fed either grain or hay and challenged with EHEC orally carried the bacteria similarly. EHEC was cleared from the rumen within days and from the RAJ mucosa after approximately one month. In competition trials, where animals were challenged with both wild-type and SdiA deletion mutant bacteria, diet did not affect the outcome that the wild-type strain was better able to persist and colonize. However, the wild-type strain had a greater advantage over the SdiA deletion mutant at the RAJ mucosa among cattle fed the grain diet.

scholarly journals Sphingolipid C-9 Methyltransferases Are Important for Growth and Virulence but Not for Sensitivity to Antifungal Plant Defensins in Fusarium graminearum

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vellaisamy Ramamoorthy ◽  
Edgar B. Cahoon ◽  
Mercy Thokala ◽  
Jagdeep Kaur ◽  
Jia Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Fungal Growth ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Knockout Mutant ◽  
Double Knockout ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
Plant Defensins ◽  
Antifungal Action

ABSTRACT The C-9-methylated glucosylceramides (GlcCers) are sphingolipids unique to fungi. They play important roles in fungal growth and pathogenesis, and they act as receptors for some antifungal plant defensins. We have identified two genes, FgMT1 and FgMT2, that each encode a putative sphingolipid C-9 methyltransferase (C-9-MT) in the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum and complement a Pichia pastoris C-9-MT-null mutant. The ΔFgmt1 mutant produced C-9-methylated GlcCer like the wild-type strain, PH-1, whereas the ΔFgmt2 mutant produced 65 to 75% nonmethylated and 25 to 35% methylated GlcCer. No ΔFgmt1ΔFgmt2 double-knockout mutant producing only nonmethylated GlcCer could be recovered, suggesting that perhaps C-9-MTs are essential in this pathogen. This is in contrast to the nonessential nature of this enzyme in the unicellular fungus P. pastoris. The ΔFgmt2 mutant exhibited severe growth defects and produced abnormal conidia, while the ΔFgmt1 mutant grew like the wild-type strain, PH-1, under the conditions tested. The ΔFgmt2 mutant also exhibited drastically reduced disease symptoms in wheat and much-delayed disease symptoms in Arabidopsis thaliana. Surprisingly, the ΔFgmt2 mutant was less virulent on different host plants tested than the previously characterized ΔFggcs1 mutant, which lacks GlcCer synthase activity and produces no GlcCer at all. Moreover, the ΔFgmt1 and ΔFgmt2 mutants, as well as the P. pastoris strain in which the C-9-MT gene was deleted, retained sensitivity to the antifungal plant defensins MsDef1 and RsAFP2, indicating that the C-9 methyl group is not a critical structural feature of the GlcCer receptor required for the antifungal action of plant defensins.

scholarly journals A Natural Mutation Involving both Pathogenicity and Perithecium Formation in the Fusarium graminearum Species Complex

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 3883-3892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruhisha Suga ◽  
Koji Kageyama ◽  
Masafumi Shimizu ◽  
Misturo Hyakumachi
Keyword(s):  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Genetic Locus ◽  
Chromosome 2 ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Head Blight ◽  
Fusarium Graminearum Species Complex

Abstract Members of the Fusarium graminearum species complex (Fg complex or FGSC) are the primary pathogens causing Fusarium head blight in wheat and barley worldwide. A natural pathogenicity mutant (strain 0225022) was found in a sample of the Fg complex collected in Japan. The mutant strain did not induce symptoms in wheat spikes beyond the point of inoculation, and did not form perithecia. No segregation of phenotypic deficiencies occurred in the progenies of a cross between the mutant and a fully pathogenic wild-type strain, which suggested that a single genetic locus controlled both traits. The locus was mapped to chromosome 2 by using sequence-tagged markers; and a deletion of ∼3 kb was detected in the mapped region of the mutant strain. The wild-type strain contains the FGSG_02810 gene, encoding a putative glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor protein, in this region. The contribution of FGSG_02810 to pathogenicity and perithecium formation was confirmed by complementation in the mutant strain using gene transfer, and by gene disruption in the wild-type strain.

scholarly journals C-5(6) Sterol Desaturase from Tetrahymena thermophila: Gene Identification and Knockout, Sequence Analysis, and Comparison to Other C-5(6) Sterol Desaturases

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1287-1297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro D. Nusblat ◽  
Sebastián R. Najle ◽  
Mariela L. Tomazic ◽  
Antonio D. Uttaro ◽  
Clara B. Nudel
Keyword(s):  
Type Strain ◽  
Deletion Mutant ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽  
Gene Replacement ◽  
Gene Identification ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Gene Coding ◽  
Transmembrane Regions

ABSTRACT The gene coding for a C-5(6) sterol desaturase in Tetrahymena thermophila, DES5A, has been identified by the knockout of the TTHERM_01194720 sequence. Macronucleus transformation was achieved by biolistic bombardment and gene replacement through phenotypic assortment, using paromomycin as the selective agent. A knockout cell line (KO270) showed a phenotype consistent with that of the DES5A deletion mutant. KO270 converted only 6% of the added sterol into the C-5 unsaturated derivative, while the wild type accumulated 10-fold larger amounts under similar conditions. The decreased desaturation activity is specific for the C-5(6) position of lathosterol and cholestanol; other desaturations, namely C-7(8) and C-22(23), were not affected. Analysis by reverse transcription-PCR reveals that DES5A is transcribed both in the presence and absence of cholestanol in wild-type cells, whereas the transcribed gene was not detected in KO270. The growth of KO270 was undistinguishable from that of the wild-type strain. Des5Ap resembles known C-5(6) sterol desaturases, displaying the three typical histidine motifs, four hydrophobic transmembrane regions, and two other highly conserved domains of unknown function. A phylogenetic analysis placed T. thermophila's enzyme and Paramecium orthologues in a cluster together with functionally characterized C-5 sterol desaturases from vertebrates, fungi, and plants, although in a different branch.

scholarly journals Identification and Gene Disruption of Small Noncoding RNAs in Streptomyces griseus

2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (15) ◽  
pp. 4896-4904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeaki Tezuka ◽  
Hirofumi Hara ◽  
Yasuo Ohnishi ◽  
Sueharu Horinouchi
Keyword(s):  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Streptomyces Griseus ◽  
Streptomyces Avermitilis ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Srna Candidate ◽  
Small Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Nuclease Mapping

ABSTRACT Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) have been shown to control diverse cellular processes in prokaryotes. To identify and characterize novel bacterial sRNAs, a gram-positive, soil-inhabiting, filamentous bacterium, Streptomyces griseus, was examined, on the assumption that Streptomyces should express sRNAs as important regulators of morphological and physiological differentiation. By bioinformatics investigation, 54 sRNA candidates, which were encoded on intergenic regions of the S. griseus chromosome and were highly conserved in those of both Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces avermitilis, were selected. Of these 54 sRNA candidates, 17 transcripts were detected by Northern blot analysis of the total RNAs isolated from cells grown on solid medium. Then, the direction of transcription of each sRNA candidate gene was determined by S1 nuclease mapping, followed by exclusion of four sRNA candidates that were considered riboswitches of their downstream open reading frames (ORFs). Finally, a further sRNA candidate was excluded because it was cotranscribed with the upstream ORF determined by reverse transcription-PCR. Thus, 12 sRNAs ranging in size from 40 to 300 nucleotides were identified in S. griseus. Seven of them were apparently transcribed in a growth phase-dependent manner. Furthermore, of the 12 sRNAs, the expression profiles of 7 were significantly influenced by a mutation of adpA, which encodes the central transcriptional regulator of the A-factor regulatory cascade involved in both morphological differentiation and secondary metabolism in S. griseus. However, disruption of all 12 sRNA genes showed no detectable phenotypic changes; all the disruptants grew and formed aerial mycelium and spores with the same time course as the wild-type strain on various media and produced streptomycin similarly to the wild-type strain.

scholarly journals A sterol C-14 reductase encoded by FgERG24B is responsible for the intrinsic resistance of Fusarium graminearum to amine fungicides

Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (6) ◽  
pp. 1665-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Liu ◽  
Jing Fu ◽  
Yingzi Yun ◽  
Yanni Yin ◽  
Zhonghua Ma
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Ergosterol Biosynthesis ◽  
Deletion Mutants ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Head Blight ◽  
Intrinsic Resistance ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Increased Sensitivity

Fusarium graminearum, the causal agent of wheat head blight, shows intrinsic resistance to amine fungicides. It is commonly accepted that the amines target sterol C-14 reductase and sterol Δ8–Δ7 isomerase of ergosterol biosynthesis, encoded by the genes ERG24 and ERG2, respectively. Analysis of the genome sequence of F. graminearum revealed that the fungus contains two paralogous FgERG24 genes (FgERG24A and FgERG24B), which are homologous to the ERG24 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this study, we disrupted FgERG24A and FgERG24B in F. graminearum. Compared to the wild-type strain HN9-1, FgERG24A and FgERG24B deletion mutants did not show recognizable phenotypic changes in mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar or in virulence on wheat heads. HPLC analysis showed that the amount of ergosterol in FgERG24A or FgERG24B deletion mutants was not significantly different from that in the wild-type strain. These results indicate that neither of the two genes is essential for growth, pathogenicity or ergosterol biosynthesis in F. graminearum. FgERG24B deletion mutants exhibited significantly increased sensitivity to amine fungicides, including tridemorph, fenpropidin and spiroxamine, but not to non-amine fungicides. In contrast, FgERG24A deletion mutants did not show changed sensitivity to any amine tested. The resistance of the FgERG24B deletion mutant to amines was restored by genetic complementation of the mutant with wild-type FgERG24B. These results indicate that FgERG24B controls the intrinsic resistance of F. graminearum to amines. The finding of this study provides new insights into amine resistance in filamentous fungi.

Peptides’ involvement in Pseudomonas putida biofilm formation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riho Teras ◽  
Hanna Ainelo ◽  
Marge Puhm
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Putida ◽  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Deletion Mutant ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Proteinase K ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Positively Charged

<p>Pseudomonas putida rapidly forms a biofilm, after which its biomass usually disperses to half its initial amount. We have observed different biofilm dynamics of P. putida in a complex medium LB and a minimal medium M9+glc+CAA and inquired about the importance of extracellular factors for the formation of P. putida biofilm.</p> <p>The proteinaceous component of LB increases the biomass of P. putida biofilm. Supplementation of M9 with tryptone but not CAA increased the biofilm biomass. Proteinase K treatment of LB medium reduced the biomass of P. putida biofilm. At the same time, growth rate or maximum OD of planktic bacteria in used media did not correlate with biofilm biomass of the same media. Thus, peptides appeared to have a positive effect on the biofilm as an extracellular factor and not as a source of C and N.</p> <p>We replaced tryptone in M9 medium with positively charged poly-L-lysine (MW. 1000-5000 Da), negatively charged poly-L-glutaminic acid (MW. 1500-5500 Da) or neutral poly-LD-alanine (MW. 3000-7000). Poly-lysine and poly-glutamic acid had a slight positive effect on the biomass of P. putida wild type strain PSm biofilm and poly-alanine did not affect the biofilm.</p> <p>We have previously shown that overexpression of fis in P. putida strain F15 increases biofilm biomass by increasing the lapA expression, the main adhesin gene of biofilm. Using media similar to that used for the wild-type strain for strain F15, we ascertained that only poly-lysine out of these three polypeptides restored the positive effect of fis-overexpression on the biofilm biomass. At the same time, the positive impact of fis-overexpression was absent in lapA deletion mutant strain, but not in lapF deletion mutant strain.</p> <p>In conclusion, the formation of P. putida biofilm depends on polypeptides in the environment. The enhancing effect of positively charged polypeptides appears to be evident in the presence of LapA, a key factor for P. putida biofilm.</p>

scholarly journals Complementation of the yeast deletion mutant DeltaNCE103 by members of the beta class of carbonic anhydrases is dependent on carbonic anhydrase activity rather than on antioxidant activity

2004 ◽  
Vol 379 (3) ◽  
pp. 609-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel CLARK ◽  
Roger S. ROWLETT ◽  
John R. COLEMAN ◽  
Daniel F. KLESSIG
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Activity ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Deletion Mutant ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Carbonic Anhydrase Activity ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Carbonic Anhydrases ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tobacco Chloroplast ◽  
Low Levels

In recent years, members of the β class of CAs (carbonic anhydrases) have been shown to complement ΔNCE103, a yeast strain unable to grow under aerobic conditions. The activity required for complementation of ΔNCE103 by tobacco chloroplast CA was studied by site-directed mutagenesis. E196A (Glu196→Ala), a mutated tobacco CA with low levels of CA activity, complemented ΔNCE103. To determine whether restoration of ΔNCE103 was due to residual levels of CA activity or whether it was related to previously proposed antioxidant activity of CAs [Götz, Gnann and Zimmermann (1999) Yeast 15, 855–864], additional complementation analysis was performed using human CAII, an α CA structurally unrelated to the β class of CAs to which the tobacco protein belongs. Human CAII complemented ΔNCE103, strongly arguing that CA activity is responsible for the complementation of ΔNCE103. Consistent with this conclusion, recombinant NCE103 synthesized in Escherichia coli shows CA activity, and ΔNCE103 expressing the tobacco chloroplast CA exhibits the same sensitivity to H2O2 as the wild-type strain.

scholarly journals Shigella flexneri IpaH7.8 Facilitates Escape of Virulent Bacteria from the Endocytic Vacuoles of Mouse and Human Macrophages

2000 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 3608-3619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen M. Fernandez-Prada ◽  
David L. Hoover ◽  
Ben D. Tall ◽  
Antoinette B. Hartman ◽  
June Kopelowitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Type Strain ◽  
Deletion Mutant ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Shigella Flexneri ◽  
Human Monocyte ◽  
Avirulent Strain ◽  
Human Monocytes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Distribution Profile ◽  
J774 Cells

ABSTRACT The behavior of Shigella flexneri ipaH mutants was studied in human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDM), in 1-day-old human monocytes, and in J774 mouse macrophage cell line. In HMDM, strain pWR700, an ipaH 7.8 deletion mutant ofS. flexneri 2a strain 2457T, behaved like the wild-type strain 2457T. This strain caused rapid host cell death by oncosis, and few bacterial CFU were recovered after incubation in the presence of gentamicin as previously described for 2457T-infected HMDM. However, analysis of bacterial compartmentalization within endocytic vacuoles with gentamicin and chloroquine indicated that more pWR700 than 2457T was present within the endocytic vacuoles of HMDM, suggesting thatipaH 7.8 deletion mutant transited more slowly from the vacuoles to the cytoplasm. In contrast to findings with HMDM, CFU recovered from pWR700-infected mouse J774 cells were 2 to 3 logs higher than CFU from 2457T-infected J774 cells. These values exceeded CFU recovered after infection of J774 cells with plasmid-cured avirulent strain M4243A1. Incubation with gentamicin and chloroquine clearly showed that pWR700 within J774 cells was mostly present within the endocytic vacuoles. This distribution pattern was similar to that seen with M4243A1 and contrasted with the pattern seen with 2457T. Complementation of pWR700 with a recombinant clone expressingipaH 7.8 restored the intracellular distribution of bacteria to that seen with the wild-type strain. Strains with deletions in ipaH 4.5 oripaH 9.8, however, behaved like 2457T in both HMDM and J774 cells. The distribution profile of pWR700 in 1-day-old monocytes was similar to that seen in J774 cells. Like infected J774 cells, 1-day-old human monocytes demonstrated apoptosis upon infection with virulent Shigella. These results suggest that a role of the ipaH 7.8 gene product is to facilitate the escape of the virulent bacteria from the phagocytic vacuole of monocytes and macrophages.

scholarly journals Bacillus subtilis Phosphorylated PhoP: Direct Activation of the EσA- and Repression of the EσE-Responsive phoB-PS+V Promoters during Pho Response

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (15) ◽  
pp. 5166-5178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wael R. Abdel-Fattah ◽  
Yinghua Chen ◽  
Amr Eldakak ◽  
F. Marion Hulett
Keyword(s):  
Alkaline Phosphatase ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Pho Regulon ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Phosphate Deprivation

ABSTRACT The phoB gene of Bacillus subtilis encodes an alkaline phosphatase (PhoB, formerly alkaline phosphatase III) that is expressed from separate promoters during phosphate deprivation in a PhoP-PhoR-dependent manner and at stage two of sporulation under phosphate-sufficient conditions independent of PhoP-PhoR. Isogenic strains containing either the complete phoB promoter or individual phoB promoter fusions were used to assess expression from each promoter under both induction conditions. The phoB promoter responsible for expression during sporulation, phoB-PS, was expressed in a wild-type strain during phosphate deprivation, but induction occurred >3 h later than induction of Pho regulon genes and the levels were approximately 50-fold lower than that observed for the PhoPR-dependent promoter, phoB-PV. EσE was necessary and sufficient for PS expression in vitro. PS expression in a phoPR mutant strain was delayed 2 to 3 h compared to the expression in a wild-type strain, suggesting that expression or activation of σE is delayed in a phoPR mutant under phosphate-deficient conditions, an observation consistent with a role for PhoPR in spore development under these conditions. Phosphorylated PhoP (PhoP∼P) repressed PS in vitro via direct binding to the promoter, the first example of an EσE-responsive promoter that is repressed by PhoP∼P. Whereas either PhoP or PhoP∼P in the presence of EσA was sufficient to stimulate transcription from the phoB-PV promoter in vitro, roughly 10- and 17-fold-higher concentrations of PhoP than of PhoP∼P were required for PV promoter activation and maximal promoter activity, respectively. The promoter for a second gene in the Pho regulon, ykoL, was also activated by elevated concentrations of unphosphorylated PhoP in vitro. However, because no Pho regulon gene expression was observed in vivo during Pi -replete growth and PhoP concentrations increased only threefold in vivo during phoPR autoinduction, a role for unphosphorylated PhoP in Pho regulon activation in vivo is not likely.

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