scholarly journals Designer Sinorhizobium meliloti strains and multi-functional vectors for direct inter-kingdom transfer of high G+C content DNA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Brumwell ◽  
Michael R. MacLeod ◽  
Tony Huang ◽  
Ryan Cochrane ◽  
Rebecca S. Meaney ◽  
...  

AbstractStorage and manipulation of large DNA fragments is crucial for synthetic biology applications, yet DNA with high G+C content can be unstable in many host organisms. Here, we report the development of Sinorhizobium meliloti as a new universal host that can store DNA, including high G+C content, and mobilize DNA to Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the eukaryotic microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum. We deleted the S. meliloti hsdR restriction-system to enable DNA transformation with up to 1.4 x 105 efficiency. Multi-host and multi-functional shuttle vectors (MHS) were constructed and shown to stably replicate in S. meliloti, E. coli, S. cerevisiae, and P. tricornutum, with a copy-number inducible E. coli origin for isolating plasmid DNA. Crucially, we demonstrated that S. meliloti can act as a universal conjugative donor for MHS plasmids with a cargo of at least 62 kb of G+C rich DNA derived from Deinococcus radiodurans.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ganesh K Maurya ◽  
Hari S. Misra

AbstractThe Deinococcus radiodurans multipartite genome system (MGS) consists of chromosome I (ChrI) and secondary genome elements; Chr II and megaplasmid (MP). The sequences upstream to parAB operons in Chr II (cisII) and MP (cisMP) helped an E. coli plasmid maintenance in D. radiodurans and showed sequence specific interactions with DnaA and ParBs. The cells devoid of cisII (ΔcisII) or cisMP (ΔcisMP) showed reduced γ radiation resistance and copy number of Chr II and MP. Fluorescent Reporter-Operator System (FROS) developed for ChrI, ChrII and MP in ΔcisII or ΔcisMP mutants showed no change in wild type pattern of Chr I localization. However, the relative copy numbers of Chr II and MP had reduced while anucleate cells had increased in mutants. These results suggested that cisII and cisMP elements contain both ori and centromere-like functions, and like other MGS bacteria, the Chr I and secondary genome are maintained independently in D. radiodurans.


Microbiology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 150 (7) ◽  
pp. 2143-2151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Günter Harth ◽  
Saša Masleša-Galić ◽  
Marcus A. Horwitz

Recombinant mycobacteria expressing Mycobacterium tuberculosis extracellular proteins are leading candidates for new vaccines against tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases, and important tools both in antimycobacterial drug development and basic research in mycobacterial pathogenesis. Recombinant mycobacteria that stably overexpress and secrete major extracellular proteins of M. tuberculosis in native form on plasmids pSMT3 and pNBV1 were previously constructed by the authors. To enhance the versatility of this plasmid-based approach for mycobacterial protein expression, the Escherichia coli/mycobacteria shuttle plasmid pGB9 was modified to accommodate mycobacterial genes expressed from their endogenous promoters. Previous studies showed that the modified plasmid, designated pGB9.2, derived from the cryptic Mycobacterium fortuitum plasmid pMF1, was present at a low copy number in both E. coli and mycobacteria, and expression of recombinant M. tuberculosis proteins was found to be at levels paralleling its copy number, that is, approximating their endogenous levels. Plasmid pGB9.2 was compatible with the shuttle vectors pSMT3 and pNBV1 and in combination with them it simultaneously expressed the M. tuberculosis 30 kDa extracellular protein FbpB. Plasmid pGB9.2 was stably maintained in the absence of selective pressure in three mycobacterial species: Mycobacterium bovis BCG, M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis. Plasmid pGB9.2 was found to be self-transmissible between both fast- and slow-growing mycobacteria, but not from mycobacteria to E. coli or between E. coli strains. The combination of two compatible plasmids in one BCG strain allows expression of recombinant mycobacterial proteins at different levels, a potentially important factor in optimizing vaccine potency.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (12) ◽  
pp. 3467-3476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhijun Wang ◽  
Zhenghong Yuan ◽  
Li Xiang ◽  
Junjie Shao ◽  
Grzegorz Węgrzyn

Effects of tRNAAla(UGC) and its derivative devoid of the 3′-ACCA motif [tRNAAla(UGC)ΔACCA] on the cleavage of the ColE1-like plasmid-derived RNA I were analysed in vivo and in vitro. In an amino-acid-starved relA mutant, in which uncharged tRNAs occur in large amounts, three products of specific cleavage of RNA I were observed, in contrast to an otherwise isogenic relA + host. Overexpression of tRNAAla(UGC), which under such conditions occurs in Escherichia coli mostly in an uncharged form, induced RNA I cleavage and resulted in an increase in ColE1-like plasmid DNA copy number. Such effects were not observed during overexpression of the 3′-ACCA-truncated tRNAAla(UGC). Moreover, tRNAAla(UGC), but not tRNAAla(UGC)ΔACCA, caused RNA I cleavage in vitro in the presence of MgCl2. These results strongly suggest that tRNA-dependent RNA I cleavage occurs in ColE1-like plasmid-bearing E. coli, and demonstrate that tRNAAla(UGC) participates in specific degradation of RNA I in vivo and in vitro. This reaction is dependent on the presence of the 3′-ACCA motif of tRNAAla(UGC).


Genetics ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 166 (2) ◽  
pp. 661-668
Author(s):  
Mandy Kim ◽  
Erika Wolff ◽  
Tiffany Huang ◽  
Lilit Garibyan ◽  
Ashlee M Earl ◽  
...  

Abstract We have applied a genetic system for analyzing mutations in Escherichia coli to Deinococcus radiodurans, an extremeophile with an astonishingly high resistance to UV- and ionizing-radiation-induced mutagenesis. Taking advantage of the conservation of the β-subunit of RNA polymerase among most prokaryotes, we derived again in D. radiodurans the rpoB/Rif r system that we developed in E. coli to monitor base substitutions, defining 33 base change substitutions at 22 different base pairs. We sequenced >250 mutations leading to Rif r in D. radiodurans derived spontaneously in wild-type and uvrD (mismatch-repair-deficient) backgrounds and after treatment with N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) and 5-azacytidine (5AZ). The specificities of NTG and 5AZ in D. radiodurans are the same as those found for E. coli and other organisms. There are prominent base substitution hotspots in rpoB in both D. radiodurans and E. coli. In several cases these are at different points in each organism, even though the DNA sequences surrounding the hotspots and their corresponding sites are very similar in both D. radiodurans and E. coli. In one case the hotspots occur at the same site in both organisms.


Author(s):  
Daniella F Lato ◽  
G Brian Golding

Abstract Increasing evidence supports the notion that different regions of a genome have unique rates of molecular change. This variation is particularly evident in bacterial genomes where previous studies have reported gene expression and essentiality tend to decrease, while substitution rates usually increases with increasing distance from the origin of replication. Genomic reorganization such as rearrangements occur frequently in bacteria and allow for the introduction and restructuring of genetic content, creating gradients of molecular traits along genomes. Here, we explore the interplay of these phenomena by mapping substitutions to the genomes of Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Streptomyces, and Sinorhizobium meliloti, quantifying how many substitutions have occurred at each position in the genome. Preceding work indicates that substitution rate significantly increases with distance from the origin. Using a larger sample size and accounting for genome rearrangements through ancestral reconstruction, our analysis demonstrates that the correlation between the number of substitutions and distance from the origin of replication is often significant but small and inconsistent in direction. Some replicons had a significantly decreasing trend (E. coli and the chromosome of S. meliloti), while others showed the opposite significant trend (B. subtilis, Streptomyces, pSymA and pSymB in S. meliloti). dN, dS and ω were examined across all genes and there was no significant correlation between those values and distance from the origin. This study highlights the impact that genomic rearrangements and location have on molecular trends in some bacteria, illustrating the importance of considering spatial trends in molecular evolutionary analysis. Assuming that molecular trends are exclusively in one direction can be problematic.


2006 ◽  
Vol 400 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Di Luccio ◽  
Robert A. Elling ◽  
David K. Wilson

The AKRs (aldo-keto reductases) are a superfamily of enzymes which mainly rely on NADPH to reversibly reduce various carbonyl-containing compounds to the corresponding alcohols. A small number have been found with dual NADPH/NADH specificity, usually preferring NADPH, but none are exclusive for NADH. Crystal structures of the dual-specificity enzyme xylose reductase (AKR2B5) indicate that NAD+ is bound via a key interaction with a glutamate that is able to change conformations to accommodate the 2′-phosphate of NADP+. Sequence comparisons suggest that analogous glutamate or aspartate residues may function in other AKRs to allow NADH utilization. Based on this, nine putative enzymes with potential NADH specificity were identified and seven genes were successfully expressed and purified from Drosophila melanogaster, Escherichia coli, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Sulfolobus solfataricus, Sinorhizobium meliloti and Thermotoga maritima. Each was assayed for co-substrate dependence with conventional AKR substrates. Three were exclusive for NADPH (AKR2E3, AKR3F2 and AKR3F3), two were dual-specific (AKR3C2 and AKR3F1) and one was specific for NADH (AKR11B2), the first such activity in an AKR. Fluorescence measurements of the seventh protein indicated that it bound both NADPH and NADH but had no activity. Mutation of the aspartate into an alanine residue or a more mobile glutamate in the NADH-specific E. coli protein converted it into an enzyme with dual specificity. These results show that the presence of this carboxylate is an indication of NADH dependence. This should allow improved prediction of co-substrate specificity and provide a basis for engineering enzymes with altered co-substrate utilization for this class of enzymes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Chia Chen ◽  
Chi-Hung Huang ◽  
Chia Shin Yang ◽  
Tzong-Der Way ◽  
Ming-Chung Chang ◽  
...  

RecQ DNA helicases are key enzymes in the maintenance of genome integrity, and they have functions in DNA replication, recombination, and repair. In contrast to most RecQs, RecQ fromDeinococcus radiodurans(DrRecQ) possesses an unusual domain architecture that is crucial for its remarkable ability to repair DNA. Here, we determined the crystal structures of the DrRecQ helicase catalytic core and its ADP-bound form, revealing interdomain flexibility in its first RecA-like and winged-helix (WH) domains. Additionally, the WH domain of DrRecQ is positioned in a different orientation from that of theE. coliRecQ (EcRecQ). These results suggest that the orientation of the protein during DNA-binding is significantly different when comparing DrRecQ and EcRecQ.


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