scholarly journals Both galactosaminogalactan and α-1,3-glucan contribute to aggregation of Aspergillus oryzae hyphae in liquid culture

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Miyazawa ◽  
Akira Yoshimi ◽  
Motoaki Sano ◽  
Fuka Tabata ◽  
Asumi Sugahara ◽  
...  

AbstractFilamentous fungi generally form aggregated hyphal pellets in liquid culture. We previously reported that α-1,3-glucan-deficient mutants of Aspergillus nidulans did not form hyphal pellets and their hyphae were fully dispersed, and we suggested that α-1,3-glucan functions in hyphal aggregation. Yet, Aspergillus oryzae α-1,3-glucan-deficient (AGΔ) mutants still form small pellets; therefore, we hypothesized that another factor responsible for forming hyphal pellets remains in these mutants. Here, we identified an extracellular matrix polysaccharide galactosaminogalactan (GAG) as such a factor. To produce a double mutant of A. oryzae (AG-GAGΔ), we disrupted the genes required for GAG biosynthesis in an AGΔ mutant. Hyphae of the double mutant were fully dispersed in liquid culture, suggesting that GAG is involved in hyphal aggregation in A. oryzae. Addition of partially purified GAG fraction to the hyphae of the AG-GAGΔ strain resulted in formation of mycelial pellets. Acetylation of the amino group in galactosamine of GAG weakened GAG aggregation, suggesting that hydrogen bond formation by this group is important for aggregation. Genome sequences suggest that α-1,3-glucan, GAG, or both are present in many filamentous fungi and thus may function in hyphal aggregation in these fungi. We also demonstrated that production of a recombinant polyesterase, CutL1, was higher in the AG-GAGΔ strain than in the wild-type and AGΔ strains. Thus, controlling hyphal aggregation factors of filamentous fungi may increase productivity in the fermentation industry.ImportanceProduction using filamentous fungi is an important part of the fermentation industry, but hyphal aggregation in these fungi in liquid culture limits productivity compared with that of yeast or bacterial cells. We found that galactosaminogalactan and α-1,3-glucan both function in hyphal aggregation in Aspergillus oryzae, and that the hyphae of a double mutant deficient in both polysaccharides become fully dispersed in liquid culture. We also revealed the relative contribution of α-1,3-glucan and galactosaminogalactan to hyphal aggregation. Recombinant protein production was higher in the double mutant than in the wild-type strain. Our research provides a potential technical innovation for the fermentation industry that uses filamentous fungi, as regulation of the growth characteristics of A. oryzae in liquid culture may increase productivity.

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1475-1485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanyanuch Kriangkripipat ◽  
Michelle Momany

ABSTRACT Protein O-mannosyltransferases (Pmts) initiate O-mannosyl glycan biosynthesis from Ser and Thr residues of target proteins. Fungal Pmts are divided into three subfamilies, Pmt1, -2, and -4. Aspergillus nidulans possesses a single representative of each Pmt subfamily, pmtA (subfamily 2), pmtB (subfamily 1), and pmtC (subfamily 4). In this work, we show that single Δpmt mutants are viable and have unique phenotypes and that the ΔpmtA ΔpmtB double mutant is the only viable double mutant. This makes A. nidulans the first fungus in which all members of individual Pmt subfamilies can be deleted without loss of viability. At elevated temperatures, all A. nidulans Δpmt mutants show cell wall-associated defects and increased sensitivity to cell wall-perturbing agents. The Δpmt mutants also show defects in developmental patterning. Germ tube emergence is early in ΔpmtA and more frequent in ΔpmtC mutants than in the wild type. In ΔpmtB mutants, intrahyphal hyphae develop. All Δpmt mutants show distinct conidiophore defects. The ΔpmtA strain has swollen vesicles and conidiogenous cells, the ΔpmtB strain has swollen conidiophore stalks, and the ΔpmtC strain has dramatically elongated conidiophore stalks. We also show that AN5660, an ortholog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Wsc1p, is modified by PmtA and PmtC. The Δpmt phenotypes at elevated temperatures, increased sensitivity to cell wall-perturbing agents and restoration to wild-type growth with osmoticum suggest that A. nidulans Pmts modify proteins in the cell wall integrity pathway. The altered developmental patterns in Δpmt mutants suggest that A. nidulans Pmts modify proteins that serve as spatial cues.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 1820-1828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Yoshimi ◽  
Kaihei Kojima ◽  
Yoshitaka Takano ◽  
Chihiro Tanaka

ABSTRACT We previously reported that the group III histidine kinase Dic1p in the maize pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus is involved in resistance to dicarboximide and phenylpyrrole fungicides and in osmotic adaptation. In addition, exposure to the phenylpyrrole fungicide fludioxonil led to improper activation of Hog1-type mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in some phytopathogenic fungi, including C. heterostrophus. Here we report, for the first time, the relationship between the group III histidine kinase and Hog1-related MAPK: group III histidine kinase is a positive regulator of Hog1-related MAPK in filamentous fungi. The phosphorylation pattern of C. heterostrophus BmHog1p (Hog1-type MAPK) was analyzed in wild-type and dic1-deficient strains by Western blotting. In the wild-type strain, phosphorylated BmHog1p was detected after exposure to both iprodione and fludioxonil at a concentration of 1 μg/ml. In the dic1-deficient strains, phosphorylated BmHog1p was not detected after exposure to 10 μg/ml of the fungicides. In response to osmotic stress (0.4 M KCl), a trace of phosphorylated BmHog1p was found in the dic1-deficient strains, whereas the band representing active BmHog1p was clearly detected in the wild-type strain. Similar results were obtained for Neurospora crassa Os-2p MAPK phosphorylation in the mutant of the group III histidine kinase gene os-1. These results indicate that group III histidine kinase positively regulates the activation of Hog1-type MAPKs in filamentous fungi. Notably, the Hog1-type MAPKs were activated at high fungicide (100 μg/ml) and osmotic stress (0.8 M KCl) levels in the histidine kinase mutants of both fungi, suggesting that another signaling pathway activates Hog1-type MAPKs in these conditions.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (8) ◽  
pp. 2394-2402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Ito ◽  
Arthur A. Guffanti ◽  
Bauke Oudega ◽  
Terry A. Krulwich

ABSTRACT A 5.9-kb region of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome is transcribed as a single transcript that is predicted to encode seven membrane-spanning proteins. Homologues of the first gene of this operon, for which the designation mrp (multiple resistance and pH adaptation) is proposed here, have been suggested to encode an Na+/H+ antiporter or a K+/H+ antiporter. In the present studies of theB. subtilis mrp operon, both polar and nonpolar mutations in mrpA were generated. Growth of these mutants was completely inhibited by concentrations of added Na+ as low as 0.3 M at pH 7.0 and 0.03 M at pH 8.3; there was no comparable inhibition by added K+. A null mutant that was constructed by full replacement of the mrp operon was even more Na+ sensitive. A double mutant with mutations in both mrpA and the multifunctional antiporter-encodingtetA(L) gene was no more sensitive than themrpA mutants to Na+, consistent with a major role for mrpA in Na+ resistance. Expression of mrpA from an inducible promoter, upon insertion into the amyE locus, restored significant Na+ resistance in both the polar and nonpolarmrpA mutants but did not restore resistance in the null mutant. The mrpA disruption also resulted in an impairment of cytoplasmic pH regulation upon a sudden shift in external pH from 7.5 to 8.5 in the presence of Na+ and, to some extent, K+ in the range from 10 to 25 mM. By contrast, themrpA tetA(L) double mutant, like the tetA(L) single mutant, completely lost its capacity for both Na+- and K+-dependent cytoplasmic pH regulation upon this kind of shift at cation concentrations ranging from 10 to 100 mM; thus, tetA(L) has a more pronounced involvement thanmrpA in pH regulation. Measurements of Na+efflux from the wild-type strain, the nonpolar mrpA mutant, and the complemented mutant indicated that inducible expression ofmrpA increased the rate of protonophore- and cyanide-sensitive Na+ efflux over that in the wild-type in cells preloaded with 5 mM Na+. The mrpA and null mutants showed no such efflux in that concentration range. This is consistent with MrpA encoding a secondary, proton motive force-energized Na+/H+ antiporter. Studies of a polar mutant that leads to loss of mrpFG and its complementation in trans by mrpF ormrpFG support a role for MrpF as an efflux system for Na+ and cholate. Part of the Na+ efflux capacity of the whole mrp operon products is attributable to mrpF. Neither mrpF nor mrpFGexpression in trans enhanced the cholate or Na+resistance of the null mutant. Thus, one or more other mrpgene products must be present, but not at stoichiometric levels, for stability, assembly, or function of both MrpF and MrpA expressed intrans. Also, phenotypic differences among themrp mutants suggest that functions in addition to Na+ and cholate resistance and pH homeostasis will be found among the remaining mrp genes.


Genetics ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-250
Author(s):  
R F Matagne ◽  
R Loppes

ABSTRACT In the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardi, removal of inorganic phosphate from the culture medium results in the increase of phosphatase activity (derepression) in the wild-type (WT) strain as well as in a double mutant (P2Pa) lacking the two main constitutive acid phosphatases. Following treatment of WT and P2Pa with N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), mutants were recovered which display very low phosphatase activities when grown in the absence of phosphate; as shown by electrophoresis, they lack one non-migrating phosphatase (PD mutants). This enzyme is active over a wide range of pH with an optimum at pH 7.5. The comparison of electropherograms from WT and mutants grown on media with or without phosphate allowed us to provide a tentative definition of the pool of derepressible phosphatases in Chlamydomonas : in addition to the neutral phosphatase lacking in PD mutants, Chlamydomonas produces two electrophoretic forms of alkaline phosphatase showing an optimal activity at pH 9.5.


2010 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 2089-2098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merit Melin ◽  
Emmanuel Di Paolo ◽  
Leena Tikkanen ◽  
Hanna Jarva ◽  
Cecile Neyt ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The pneumococcal histidine triad (Pht) proteins PhtA, PhtB, PhtD, and PhtE form a group of conserved pneumococcal surface proteins. Humans produce antibodies to Pht proteins upon exposure to pneumococcus, and immunization of mice has provided protective immunity against sepsis and pneumonia and reduced nasopharyngeal colonization. Pht proteins are candidates for inclusion in multicomponent pneumococcal protein vaccines. Their biological function in pneumococcal infections is not clear, but a role in complement inhibition has been suggested. We measured complement deposition on wild-type and Pht mutant strains in four genetic backgrounds: Streptococcus pneumoniae D39 (serotype 2) and R36A (unencapsulated derivative of D39) and strains of serotypes 3, 4, and 19F. PspA and PspC single and double mutants were compared to the wild-type and Pht-deficient D39 strains. Factor H binding was measured to bacterial cells, lysates, and protein antigens. Deletion of all four Pht proteins (Pht−) resulted in increased C3 deposition on the serotype 4 strain but not on the other strains. Pht antigens did not bind factor H, and deletion of Pht proteins did not affect factor H binding by bacterial lysates. The Pht− mutant serotype 4 strain bound slightly less factor H than the wild-type strain when binding was measured by flow cytometry. Pht proteins may play a role in immune evasion, but the mechanism of function is unlikely to be mediated by factor H binding. The relative contribution of Pht proteins to the inhibition of complement deposition is likely to be affected by the presence of other pneumococcal proteins and to depend on the genetic background.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (27) ◽  
pp. 8487-8492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Wang ◽  
Juan Armando Casas-Mollano ◽  
Jianping Xu ◽  
Jean-Jack M. Riethoven ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
...  

Histone phosphorylation plays key roles in stress-induced transcriptional reprogramming in metazoans but its function(s) in land plants has remained relatively unexplored. Here we report that an Arabidopsis mutant defective in At3g03940 and At5g18190, encoding closely related Ser/Thr protein kinases, shows pleiotropic phenotypes including dwarfism and hypersensitivity to osmotic/salt stress. The double mutant has reduced global levels of phosphorylated histone H3 threonine 3 (H3T3ph), which are not enhanced, unlike the response in the wild type, by drought-like treatments. Genome-wide analyses revealed increased H3T3ph, slight enhancement in trimethylated histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3), and a modest decrease in histone H3 occupancy in pericentromeric/knob regions of wild-type plants under osmotic stress. However, despite these changes in heterochromatin, transposons and repeats remained transcriptionally repressed. In contrast, this reorganization of heterochromatin was mostly absent in the double mutant, which exhibited lower H3T3ph levels in pericentromeric regions even under normal environmental conditions. Interestingly, within actively transcribed protein-coding genes, H3T3ph density was minimal in 5′ genic regions, coincidental with a peak of H3K4me3 accumulation. This pattern was not affected in the double mutant, implying the existence of additional H3T3 protein kinases in Arabidopsis. Our results suggest that At3g03940 and At5g18190 are involved in the phosphorylation of H3T3 in pericentromeric/knob regions and that this repressive epigenetic mark may be important for maintaining proper heterochromatic organization and, possibly, chromosome function(s).


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 884-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukio Murata ◽  
Naoyuki Tamura ◽  
Kazuhiro Nakaho ◽  
Takafumi Mukaihara

The Ralstonia solanacearum hrpB-regulated gene lrpE (hpx5/brg24) encodes a PopC-like leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein that carries 11 tandem LRR in the central region. Defects in the lrpE gene slightly reduced the virulence of R. solanacearum on host plants and changed the bacterial morphology leading to the formation of large aggregates in a minimal medium. The aggregation in the ΔlrpE background required the presence of a functional Hrp type III secretion system. In wild-type R. solanacearum, Hrp pili disappeared from the bacterial surface at the end of the exponential growth phase, when the pili form into long bundles. However, even in the late growth phase, bundled Hrp pili were still observed on the cell surface of the ΔlrpE mutant. Such bundles were entangled and anchored the mutant cells in the aggregates. In contrast to PopC, LrpE accumulated in bacterial cells and did not translocate into plant cells as an effector protein. The expression levels of hrp genes increased three- to fivefold in the ΔlrpE background compared with those in the wild type. We propose that LrpE may negatively regulate the production of Hrp pili on the cell surface of R. solanacearum to disperse bacterial cells from aggregates. In turn, dispersal may contribute to the movement of the pathogen in the plant vascular system and, as a consequence, the pathogenicity of R. solanacearum.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (4) ◽  
pp. 1161-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Franke ◽  
Armin Resch ◽  
Tobias Daßler ◽  
Thomas Maier ◽  
August Böck

ABSTRACT yfiK was discovered as a gene augmenting cysteine production when it was overexpressed in an industrial Escherichia coli production strain. The gene product is an integral membrane protein with about six predicted transmembrane helices; it belongs to the RhtB family of export proteins. YfiK overproduction from a plasmid leads to drastic and parallel secretion of O-acetylserine and cysteine into the medium but only when the organism possesses a serine transacetylase that is feedback insensitive to cysteine. Externally provided O-acetylserine obviated this requirement for cysteine secretion both in the yfiK-carrying transformant and in the wild type. A ΔyfiK mutant did not show any phenotype, and it exported O-acetylserine and cysteine when transformed with a plasmid carrying ydeD, a previously characterized, alternate O-acetylserine/cysteine exporter. Since a ydeD-yfiK double mutant showed the same pattern, it appears that YfiK and YdeD act independently. The necessity for the cell to regulate the size of the internal pool of O-acetylserine via synthesis of exporter proteins could be connected to the fact that this compound (when supplied externally) inhibits growth. Overexpression of either ydeD or yfiK leads to alleviation of this inhibition paralled by increased resistance to azaserine, which is an analog of O-acetylserine.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (15) ◽  
pp. 4648-4651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michihiro Hata ◽  
Mitsuo Ogura ◽  
Teruo Tanaka

ABSTRACT Expression of Bacillus subtilis aprE, encoding an extracellular alkaline protease, is positively regulated by phosphorylated DegU, the regulator of a two-component regulatory system, DegS-DegU. We found that the expression of anaprE′-′lacZ fusion was greatly reduced in a disruption mutant with a mutation of relA, which encodes the stringent factor RelA. The level of DegU in the relA mutant was similar to that in the wild-type cell. A relA degU double mutation did not result in a further decrease of theaprE′-′lacZ level found in a degU single mutant. The expression of the aprE′-′lacZ fusion in therelA mutant was stimulated by multicopy degR or the degU32(Hy) and degS200(Hy) mutations that cause the stabilization of phosphorylated DegU. Furthermore, the expression of sacB′-′lacZ, which is also dependent on phosphorylated DegU, was stimulated by the relA mutation, and this stimulation was not seen in the relA degU double mutant. These results show that RelA (or its product guanosine-3′,5′-bisdiphosphate [pp Gpp]) does not affect the phosphorylation of DegU and suggest that it participates in the expression of aprE and sacB through the regulation of DegU-dependent transcription.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (4) ◽  
pp. H1191-H1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdi A. Van Dorsten ◽  
Marcel G. J. Nederhoff ◽  
Klaas Nicolay ◽  
Cees J. A. Van Echteld

Hearts of wild-type and cytosolic muscle creatine kinase (M-CK)-knockout mice were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing 10 mM glucose and 5 mM pyruvate and studied during pacing at 400 and 600 beats/min and during K+ arrest. Phosphocreatine (PCr) and ATP concentrations in M-CK-deficient hearts were not significantly different from those in wild-type hearts. With the use of31P NMR saturation transfer, the flux mediated predominantly by mitochondrial creatine kinase (Mi-CK) was clearly detected in M-CK-deficient hearts. Mi-CK flux was 4.8 ± 0.6 and 4.5 ± 0.6 mM/s during pacing at 400 and 600 beats/min, respectively, and was 3.5 ± 0.4 mM/s during cardiac arrest. In control hearts total CK flux was 7.8 ± 1.1 and 6.6 ± 1.3 mM/s during pacing at 400 and 600 beats/min, respectively, and decreased to 3.8 ± 0.5 mM/s during arrest. It is suggested that the relative contribution of Mi-CK to the total NMR-measured CK flux in the wild-type heart is higher than that of the homodimeric M-CK isoform (MM-CK).


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