scholarly journals Three-dimensional biofilm colony growth supports a mutualism involving matrix and nutrient sharing

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi A Arjes ◽  
Lisa Willis ◽  
Haiwen Gui ◽  
Yangbo Xiao ◽  
Jason Peters ◽  
...  

Life in a three-dimensional biofilm is typical for many bacteria, yet little is known about how strains interact in this context. Here, we created essential gene CRISPR interference knockdown libraries in biofilm-forming Bacillus subtilis and measured competitive fitness during colony co-culture with wild type. Partial knockdown of some translation-related genes reduced growth rates and led to out-competition. Media composition led some knockdowns to compete differentially as biofilm versus non-biofilm colonies. Cells depleted for the alanine racemase AlrA died in monoculture but survived in a biofilm colony co-culture via nutrient sharing. Rescue was enhanced in biofilm colony co-culture with a matrix-deficient parent due to a mutualism involving nutrient and matrix sharing. We identified several examples of mutualism involving matrix sharing that occurred in three-dimensional biofilm colonies but not when cultured in two dimensions. Thus, growth in a three-dimensional colony can promote genetic diversity through sharing of secreted factors and may drive evolution of mutualistic behavior.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi A. Arjes ◽  
Lisa Willis ◽  
Haiwen Gui ◽  
Yangbo Xiao ◽  
Jason Peters ◽  
...  

SummaryLife in a three-dimensional structure such as a biofilm is typical for many bacteria, yet little is known about how strains with different genotypes interact in this context. Here, to systematically explore gene knockdowns across various three-dimensional contexts, we created arrayed libraries of essential-gene CRISPRi knockdowns in the model biofilm-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis and measured competitive fitness during colony co-culture with a wild type-like parent on different media and at different knockdown levels. Partial knockdown led to a wide range of fitness phenotypes, with targeting of translation-related genes often leading to lower growth rates and rapid out-competition by the parent. Several knockdowns competed differentially in biofilms versus non-biofilm colonies, in some cases due to lack of a particular nutrient in one medium. Cells depleted for the alanine racemase AlrA died in monoculture, but co-cultures survived via nutrient sharing in a biofilm but not in liquid. This rescue was enhanced in biofilm co-culture with a parent unable to produce extracellular matrix, due to a mutualism involving nutrient and matrix sharing. Including alrA, we identified several examples of mutualism involving matrix sharing that occurred in a three-dimensional biofilm colony but not when growth was constrained to two dimensions. These findings demonstrate that growth in a three-dimensional biofilm can promote genetic diversity through sharing of secreted factors, and illustrate the role of matrix production in determining trajectories for biofilm evolution that may be relevant to pathogens and other environmental bacteria.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Qi ◽  
Teresa Knifley ◽  
Min Chen ◽  
Kathleen L. O'Connor

Integrin α6β4 binds plectin to associate with vimentin; however, the biological function remains unclear. Here, we utilized various integrin β4 mutants and CRISPR-Cas9 editing to investigate this association. Upon laminin binding, integrin α6β4 distinctly distributed peripherally, and centrally proximal to the nucleus. Upon fibronectin addition, integrin α6β4 was centrally recruited to large focal adhesions (FAs) and enhanced Fak phosphorylation. Integrin β4 plectin-binding mutants or genetic deletion of plectin inhibited β4 recruitment to FAs and integrin α6β4-enhanced cell spreading, migration and three-dimensional invasive growth. Loss of the β4 signaling domain (but retains plectin binding) blocked migration and invasiveness but not cell spreading, recruitment to FAs or colony growth. Immunostaining revealed that integrin α6β4 redistributed vimentin perinuclearly where it colocalized with plectin and FAs. Depletion of vimentin completely blocked integrin β4-enhanced invasive growth, Fak phosphorylation and proliferation in three-dimensions but not two-dimensions. In summary, we demonstrate the essential roles of plectin and vimentin in promoting an invasive phenotype downstream of integrin α6β4.


Author(s):  
J. Holy ◽  
G. Schatten

One of the classic limitations of light microscopy has been the fact that three dimensional biological events could only be visualized in two dimensions. Recently, this shortcoming has been overcome by combining the technologies of laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and computer processing of microscopical data by volume rendering methods. We have employed these techniques to examine morphogenetic events characterizing early development of sea urchin embryos. Specifically, the fourth cleavage division was examined because it is at this point that the first morphological signs of cell differentiation appear, manifested in the production of macromeres and micromeres by unequally dividing vegetal blastomeres.The mitotic spindle within vegetal blastomeres undergoing unequal cleavage are highly polarized and develop specialized, flattened asters toward the micromere pole. In order to reconstruct the three-dimensional features of these spindles, both isolated spindles and intact, extracted embryos were fluorescently labeled with antibodies directed against either centrosomes or tubulin.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nima Afkhami-Jeddi ◽  
Henry Cohn ◽  
Thomas Hartman ◽  
Amirhossein Tajdini

Abstract We study the torus partition functions of free bosonic CFTs in two dimensions. Integrating over Narain moduli defines an ensemble-averaged free CFT. We calculate the averaged partition function and show that it can be reinterpreted as a sum over topologies in three dimensions. This result leads us to conjecture that an averaged free CFT in two dimensions is holographically dual to an exotic theory of three-dimensional gravity with U(1)c×U(1)c symmetry and a composite boundary graviton. Additionally, for small central charge c, we obtain general constraints on the spectral gap of free CFTs using the spinning modular bootstrap, construct examples of Narain compactifications with a large gap, and find an analytic bootstrap functional corresponding to a single self-dual boson.


2012 ◽  
Vol 696 ◽  
pp. 228-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kourmatzis ◽  
J. S. Shrimpton

AbstractThe fundamental mechanisms responsible for the creation of electrohydrodynamically driven roll structures in free electroconvection between two plates are analysed with reference to traditional Rayleigh–Bénard convection (RBC). Previously available knowledge limited to two dimensions is extended to three-dimensions, and a wide range of electric Reynolds numbers is analysed, extending into a fully inherently three-dimensional turbulent regime. Results reveal that structures appearing in three-dimensional electrohydrodynamics (EHD) are similar to those observed for RBC, and while two-dimensional EHD results bear some similarities with the three-dimensional results there are distinct differences. Analysis of two-point correlations and integral length scales show that full three-dimensional electroconvection is more chaotic than in two dimensions and this is also noted by qualitatively observing the roll structures that arise for both low (${\mathit{Re}}_{E} = 1$) and high electric Reynolds numbers (up to ${\mathit{Re}}_{E} = 120$). Furthermore, calculations of mean profiles and second-order moments along with energy budgets and spectra have examined the validity of neglecting the fluctuating electric field ${ E}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } $ in the Reynolds-averaged EHD equations and provide insight into the generation and transport mechanisms of turbulent EHD. Spectral and spatial data clearly indicate how fluctuating energy is transferred from electrical to hydrodynamic forms, on moving through the domain away from the charging electrode. It is shown that ${ E}_{i}^{\ensuremath{\prime} } $ is not negligible close to the walls and terms acting as sources and sinks in the turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent scalar flux and turbulent scalar variance equations are examined. Profiles of hydrodynamic terms in the budgets resemble those in the literature for RBC; however there are terms specific to EHD that are significant, indicating that the transfer of energy in EHD is also attributed to further electrodynamic terms and a strong coupling exists between the charge flux and variance, due to the ionic drift term.


2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Schmidt-Rohr

A simple numerical approach for calculating theq-dependence of the scattering intensity in small-angle X-ray or neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS) is discussed. For a user-defined scattering density on a lattice, the scattering intensityI(q) (qis the modulus of the scattering vector) is calculated by three-dimensional (or two-dimensional) numerical Fourier transformation and spherical summation inqspace, with a simple smoothing algorithm. An exact and simple correction for continuous rather than discrete (lattice-point) scattering density is described. Applications to relatively densely packed particles in solids (e.g.nanocomposites) are shown, where correlation effects make single-particle (pure form-factor) calculations invalid. The algorithm can be applied to particles of any shape that can be defined on the chosen cubic lattice and with any size distribution, while those features pose difficulties to a traditional treatment in terms of form and structure factors. For particles of identical but potentially complex shapes, numerical calculation of the form factor is described. Long parallel rods and platelets of various cross-section shapes are particularly convenient to treat, since the calculation is reduced to two dimensions. The method is used to demonstrate that the scattering intensity from `randomly' parallel-packed long cylinders is not described by simple 1/qand 1/q4power laws, but at cylinder volume fractions of more than ∼25% includes a correlation peak. The simulations highlight that the traditional evaluation of the peak position overestimates the cylinder thickness by a factor of ∼1.5. It is also shown that a mix of various relatively densely packed long boards can produceI(q) ≃ 1/q, usually observed for rod-shaped particles, without a correlation peak.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 399
Author(s):  
Ambuj Srivastava ◽  
Dhanusha Yesudhas ◽  
Shandar Ahmad ◽  
M. Michael Gromiha

tRNA methyltransferase 5 (Trm5) enzyme is an S-adenosyl methionine (AdoMet)-dependent methyltransferase which methylates the G37 nucleotide at the N1 atom of the tRNA. The free form of Trm5 enzyme has three intrinsically disordered regions, which are highly flexible and lack stable three-dimensional structures. These regions gain ordered structures upon the complex formation with tRNA, also called disorder-to-order transition (DOT) regions. In this study, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of archaeal Trm5 in free and complex forms and observed that the DOT residues are highly flexible in free proteins and become stable in complex structures. The energetic contributions show that DOT residues are important for stabilising the complex. The DOT1 and DOT2 are mainly observed to be important for stabilising the complex, while DOT3 is present near the active site to coordinate the interactions between methyl-donating ligands and G37 nucleotides. In addition, mutational studies on the Trm5 complex showed that the wild type is more stable than the G37A tRNA mutant complex. The loss of productive interactions upon G37A mutation drives the AdoMet ligand away from the 37th nucleotide, and Arg145 in DOT3 plays a crucial role in stabilising the ligand, as well as the G37 nucleotide, in the wild-type complex. Further, the overall energetic contribution calculated using MMPBSA corroborates that the wild-type complex has a better affinity between Trm5 and tRNA. Overall, our study reveals that targeting DOT regions for binding could improve the inhibition of Trm5.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Masaki Kumondai ◽  
Akio Ito ◽  
Evelyn Marie Gutiérrez Rico ◽  
Eiji Hishinuma ◽  
Akiko Ueda ◽  
...  

Cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) is an important drug-metabolizing enzyme that contributes to the metabolism of approximately 15% of clinically used drugs, including warfarin, which is known for its narrow therapeutic window. Interindividual differences in CYP2C9 enzymatic activity caused by CYP2C9 genetic polymorphisms lead to inconsistent treatment responses in patients. Thus, in this study, we characterized the functional differences in CYP2C9 wild-type (CYP2C9.1), CYP2C9.2, CYP2C9.3, and 12 rare novel variants identified in 4773 Japanese individuals. These CYP2C9 variants were heterologously expressed in 293FT cells, and the kinetic parameters (Km, kcat, Vmax, catalytic efficiency, and CLint) of (S)-warfarin 7-hydroxylation and tolbutamide 4-hydroxylation were estimated. From this analysis, almost all novel CYP2C9 variants showed significantly reduced or null enzymatic activity compared with that of the CYP2C9 wild-type. A strong correlation was found in catalytic efficiencies between (S)-warfarin 7-hydroxylation and tolbutamide 4-hydroxylation among all studied CYP2C9 variants. The causes of the observed perturbation in enzyme activity were evaluated by three-dimensional structural modeling. Our findings could clarify a part of discrepancies among genotype–phenotype associations based on the novel CYP2C9 rare allelic variants and could, therefore, improve personalized medicine, including the selection of the appropriate warfarin dose.


Genetics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Fackenthal ◽  
J A Hutchens ◽  
F R Turner ◽  
E C Raff

Abstract We have determined the lesions in a number of mutant alleles of beta Tub85D, the gene that encodes the testis-specific beta 2-tubulin isoform in Drosophila melanogaster. Mutations responsible for different classes of functional phenotypes are distributed throughout the beta 2-tubulin molecule. There is a telling correlation between the degree of phylogenetic conservation of the altered residues and the number of different microtubule categories disrupted by the lesions. The majority of lesions occur at positions that are evolutionarily highly conserved in all beta-tubulins; these lesions disrupt general functions common to multiple classes of microtubules. However, a single allele B2t6 contains an amino acid substitution within an internal cluster of variable amino acids that has been identified as an isotype-defining domain in vertebrate beta-tubulins. Correspondingly, B2t6 disrupts only a subset of microtubule functions, resulting in misspecification of the morphology of the doublet microtubules of the sperm tail axoneme. We previously demonstrated that beta 3, a developmentally regulated Drosophila beta-tubulin isoform, confers the same restricted morphological phenotype in a dominant way when it is coexpressed in the testis with wild-type beta 2-tubulin. We show here by complementation analysis that beta 3 and the B2t6 product disrupt a common aspect of microtubule assembly. We therefore conclude that the amino acid sequence of the beta 2-tubulin internal variable region is required for generation of correct axoneme morphology but not for general microtubule functions. As we have previously reported, the beta 2-tubulin carboxy terminal isotype-defining domain is required for suprastructural organization of the axoneme. We demonstrate here that the beta 2 variant lacking the carboxy terminus and the B2t6 variant complement each other for mild-to-moderate meiotic defects but do not complement for proper axonemal morphology. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis drawn from comparisons of vertebrate beta-tubulins that the two isotype-defining domains interact in a three-dimensional structure in wild-type beta-tubulins. We propose that the integrity of this structure in the Drosophila testis beta 2-tubulin isoform is required for proper axoneme assembly but not necessarily for general microtubule functions. On the basis of our observations we present a model for regulation of axoneme microtubule morphology as a function of tubulin assembly kinetics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomofumi Mochizuki ◽  
Rie Ohara ◽  
Marilyn J. Roossinck

ABSTRACTThe effect of large-scale synonymous substitutions in a small icosahedral, single-stranded RNA viral genome on virulence, viral titer, and protein evolution were analyzed. The coat protein (CP) gene of the Fny stain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was modified. We created four CP mutants in which all the codons of nine amino acids in the 5′ or 3′ half of the CP gene were replaced by either the most frequently or the least frequently used synonymous codons in monocot plants. When the dicot host (Nicotiana benthamiana) was inoculated with these four CP mutants, viral RNA titers in uninoculated symptomatic leaves decreased, while all mutants eventually showed mosaic symptoms similar to those for the wild type. The codon adaptation index of these four CP mutants against dicot genes was similar to those of the wild-type CP gene, indicating that the reduction of viral RNA titer was due to deleterious changes of the secondary structure of RNAs 3 and 4. When two 5′ mutants were serially passaged inN. benthamiana, viral RNA titers were rapidly restored but competitive fitness remained decreased. Although no nucleic acid changes were observed in the passaged wild-type CMV, one to three amino acid changes were observed in the synonymously mutated CP of each passaged virus, which were involved in recovery of viral RNA titer of 5′ mutants. Thus, we demonstrated that deleterious effects of the large-scale synonymous substitutions in the RNA viral genome facilitated the rapid amino acid mutation(s) in the CP to restore the viral RNA titer.IMPORTANCERecently, it has been known that synonymous substitutions in RNA virus genes affect viral pathogenicity and competitive fitness by alteration of global or local RNA secondary structure of the viral genome. We confirmed that large-scale synonymous substitutions in the CP gene of CMV resulted in decreased viral RNA titer. Importantly, when viral evolution was stimulated by serial-passage inoculation, viral RNA titer was rapidly restored, concurrent with a few amino acid changes in the CP. This novel finding indicates that the deleterious effects of large-scale nucleic acid mutations on viral RNA secondary structure are readily tolerated by structural changes in the CP, demonstrating a novel part of the adaptive evolution of an RNA viral genome. In addition, our experimental system for serial inoculation of large-scale synonymous mutants could uncover a role for new amino acid residues in the viral protein that have not been observed in the wild-type virus strains.


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