scholarly journals Dissection of the Mechanisms of Growth Inhibition Resulting from Loss of the PII Protein in the CyanobacteriumSynechococcus elongatusPCC 7942

Author(s):  
Takayuki Sakamoto ◽  
Nobuyuki Takatani ◽  
Kintake Sonoike ◽  
Haruhiko Jimbo ◽  
Yoshitaka Nishiyama ◽  
...  

AbstractIn cyanobacteria, the PII protein (the glnB gene product) regulates a number of proteins involved in nitrogen assimilation including PipX, the coactivator of the global nitrogen regulator protein NtcA. In Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, construction of a PII-less mutant retaining the wild-type pipX gene is difficult because of the toxicity of uncontrolled action of PipX and the other defect(s) resulting from the loss of PII  per se, but the nature of the PipX toxicity and the PipX-independent defect(s) remains unclear. Characterization of a PipX-less glnB mutant (PD4) in this study showed that the loss of PII increases the sensitivity of PSII to ammonium. Ammonium was shown to stimulate the formation of reactive oxygen species in the mutant cells. The ammonium-sensitive growth phenotype of PD4 was rescued by the addition of an antioxidant α-tocopherol, confirming that photo-oxidative damage was the major cause of the growth defect. A targeted PII mutant retaining wild-type pipX was successfully constructed from the wild-type S. elongatus strain (SPc) in the presence of α-tocopherol. The resulting mutant (PD1X) showed an unusual chlorophyll fluorescence profile, indicating extremely slow reduction and re-oxidation of QA, which was not observed in mutants defective in both glnB and pipX. These results showed that the aberrant action of uncontrolled PipX resulted in an impairment of the electron transport reactions in both the reducing and oxidizing sides of QA.

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
Luther Davis ◽  
JoAnne Engebrecht

Abstract The DOM34 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is similar togenes found in diverse eukaryotes and archaebacteria. Analysis of dom34 strains shows that progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle is delayed, mutant cells enter meiosis aberrantly, and their ability to form pseudohyphae is significantly diminished. RPS30A, which encodes ribosomal protein S30, was identified in a screen for high-copy suppressors of the dom34Δ growth defect. dom34Δ mutants display an altered polyribosome profile that is rescued by expression of RPS30A. Taken together, these data indicate that Dom34p functions in protein translation to promote G1 progression and differentiation. A Drosophila homolog of Dom34p, pelota, is required for the proper coordination of meiosis and spermatogenesis. Heterologous expression of pelota in dom34Δ mutants restores wild-type growth and differentiation, suggesting conservation of function between the eukaryotic members of the gene family.


Nature ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 312 (5996) ◽  
pp. 779-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Miesfeld ◽  
Sam Okret ◽  
Ann-Charlotte Wikström ◽  
Örjan Wrange ◽  
Jan-Åke Gustafsson ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (24) ◽  
pp. 7076-7086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bavesh D. Kana ◽  
Edward A. Weinstein ◽  
David Avarbock ◽  
Stephanie S. Dawes ◽  
Harvey Rubin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The cydAB genes from Mycobacterium smegmatis have been cloned and characterized. ThecydA and cydB genes encode the two subunits of a cytochrome bd oxidase belonging to the widely distributed family of quinol oxidases found in prokaryotes. ThecydD and cydC genes located immediately downstream of cydB encode a putative ATP-binding cassette-type transporter. At room temperature, reduced minus oxidized difference spectra of membranes purified from wild-type M. smegmatis displayed spectral features that are characteristic of the γ-proteobacterial type cytochrome bd oxidase. Inactivation of cydA or cydB by insertion of a kanamycin resistance marker resulted in loss ofd-heme absorbance at 631 nm. The d-heme could be restored by transformation of the M. smegmatis cyd mutants with a replicating plasmid carrying the highly homologous cydABDC gene cluster fromMycobacterium tuberculosis. Inactivation ofcydA had no effect on the ability of M. smegmatis to exit from stationary phase at 37 or 42°C. The growth rate of the cydA mutant was tested under oxystatic conditions. Although no discernible growth defect was observed under moderately aerobic conditions (9.2 to 37.5 × 102 Pa of pO2 or 5 to 21% air saturation), the mutant displayed a significant growth disadvantage when cocultured with the wild type under extreme microaerophilia (0.8 to 1.7 × 102 Pa of pO2 or 0.5 to 1% air saturation). These observations were in accordance with the two- to threefold increase in cydAB gene expression observed upon reduction of the pO2 of the growth medium from 21 to 0.5% air saturation and with the concomitant increase ind-heme absorbance in spectra of membranes isolated from wild-type M. smegmatis cultured at 1% air saturation. Finally, the cydA mutant displayed a competitive growth disadvantage in the presence of the terminal oxidase inhibitor, cyanide, when cocultured with wild type at 21% air saturation in an oxystat. In conjunction with these findings, our results suggest that cytochrome bd is an important terminal oxidase inM. smegmatis.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (15) ◽  
pp. 4863-4869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Espinosa ◽  
Miguel Angel Castells ◽  
Karim Boumediene Laichoubi ◽  
Asunción Contreras

ABSTRACT The PII proteins are found in all three domains of life as key integrators of signals reflecting the balance of nitrogen and carbon. Genetic inactivation of PII proteins is typically associated with severe growth defects or death. However, the molecular basis of these defects depends on the specific functions of the proteins with which PII proteins interact to regulate nitrogen metabolism in different organisms. In Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, where PII forms complexes with the NtcA coactivator PipX, attempts to engineer PII-deficient strains failed in a wild-type background but were successful in pipX null mutants. Consistent with the idea that PII is essential to counteract the activity of PipX, four different spontaneous mutations in the pipX gene were found in cultures in which glnB had been genetically inactivated.


2022 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Ghenov ◽  
Edileusa Cristina Marques Gerhardt ◽  
Luciano Fernandes Huergo ◽  
Fabio Oliveira Pedrosa ◽  
Roseli Wassem ◽  
...  

Abstract Glutamine synthetase (GS), encoded by glnA, catalyzes the conversion of L-glutamate and ammonium to L-glutamine. This ATP hydrolysis driven process is the main nitrogen assimilation pathway in the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azospirillum brasilense. The A. brasilense strain HM053 has poor GS activity and leaks ammonium into the medium under nitrogen fixing conditions. In this work, the glnA genes of the wild type and HM053 strains were cloned into pET28a, sequenced and overexpressed in E. coli. The GS enzyme was purified by affinity chromatography and characterized. The GS of HM053 strain carries a P347L substitution, which results in low enzyme activity and rendered the enzyme insensitive to adenylylation by the adenilyltransferase GlnE.


2019 ◽  
Vol 201 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian T. Hill ◽  
Thomas Tallo ◽  
Matthew J. Dorman ◽  
Simon L. Dove

ABSTRACT Hfq is an RNA chaperone that serves as a master regulator of bacterial physiology. Here we show that in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the loss of Hfq can result in a dramatic reduction in growth in a manner that is dependent upon MexT, a transcription regulator that governs antibiotic resistance in this organism. Using a combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation with high-throughput sequencing and transposon insertion sequencing, we identify the MexT-activated genes responsible for mediating the growth defect of hfq mutant cells. These include a newly identified MexT-controlled gene that we call hilR. We demonstrate that hilR encodes a small protein that is acutely toxic to wild-type cells when produced ectopically. Furthermore, we show that hilR expression is negatively regulated by Hfq, offering a possible explanation for the growth defect of hfq mutant cells. Finally, we present evidence that the expression of MexT-activated genes is dependent upon GshA, an enzyme involved in the synthesis of glutathione. Our findings suggest that Hfq can influence the growth of P. aeruginosa by limiting the toxic effects of specific MexT-regulated genes. Moreover, our results identify glutathione to be a factor important for the in vivo activity of MexT. IMPORTANCE Here we show that the conserved RNA chaperone Hfq is important for the growth of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We found that the growth defect of hfq mutant cells is dependent upon the expression of genes that are under the control of the transcription regulator MexT. These include a gene that we refer to as hilR, which we show is negatively regulated by Hfq and encodes a small protein that can be toxic when ectopically produced in wild-type cells. Thus, Hfq can influence the growth of P. aeruginosa by limiting the toxic effects of MexT-regulated genes, including one encoding a previously unrecognized small protein. We also show that MexT activity depends on an enzyme that synthesizes glutathione.


1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 2065-2076 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Doring ◽  
F. Veretout ◽  
R. Albrecht ◽  
B. Muhlbauer ◽  
C. Schlatterer ◽  
...  

Dictyostelium discoideum cells harbor two annexin VII isoforms of 47 and 51 kDa which are present throughout development. In immunofluorescence and cell fractionation studies annexin VII was found in the cytoplasm and on the plasma membrane. In gene disruption mutants lacking both annexin VII isoforms growth, pinocytosis, phagocytosis, chemotaxis and motility were not significantly impaired under routine laboratory conditions, and the cells were able to complete the developmental cycle on bacterial plates. On non-nutrient agar plates development was delayed by three to four hours and a significant number of aggregates was no longer able to form fruiting bodies. Exocytosis as determined by measuring extracellular cAMP phosphodiesterase, alpha-fucosidase and alpha-mannosidase activity was unaltered, the total amounts of these enzymes were however lower in the mutant than in the wild type. The mutant cells were markedly impaired when they were exposed to low Ca2+ concentrations by adding EGTA to the nutrient medium. Under these conditions growth, motility and chemotaxis were severely affected. The Ca2+ concentrations were similar in mutant and wild-type cells both under normal and Ca2+ limiting conditions; however, the distribution was altered under low Ca2+ conditions in SYN-cells. The data suggest that annexin VII is not required for membrane fusion events but rather contributes to proper Ca2+ homeostasis in the cell.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document