Reversion of the MR variant of Candida albicans

1969 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1051-1054
Author(s):  
Rosalee Ireland ◽  
A. Sarachek

Previous studies have indicated that the minute-rough (MR) colonial variant of Candida albicans arises through mutation of an extrachromosomal hereditary determinant. The MR variant's high rate of reversion to the wild-type condition suggests either that (a) the determinant undergoes frequent spontaneous repair or that (b) variant cells bear both normal and mutant determinants which segregate at cell division. Analyses presented here of the effects of growth rate, nutrition, incubation temperature, and metabolic antagonists upon reversion favor the view that reversion is due to repair of mutant determinants.

1984 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. LaJean Chaffin

The mean size and percentage of budded and unbudded cells of Candida albicans grown in batch culture over a wide range of doubling times have been measured. Cell volume decreased with increased doubling time and a nonlinear approach to an asymptotic minimum was observed. When cells were separated by age according to bud scars, each age showed a similar decrease. During each cell division cycle, size increased slowly during both budded and unbudded periods so that each generation was significantly larger than the preceeding. There was no difference in size between the parent portion of budded cells and unbudded cells of the same age. Time-lapse photomicroscopy of cells growing on solid medium showed that cells divide asymmetrically with larger parents having a shorter subsequent cycle time than the smaller daughter, although the time utilized for bud formation was similar. When cells were shifted from a medium supporting a low growth rate and small size to a medium supporting a faster growth rate and larger size, both budded and unbudded cells increased significantly in size. As the doubling time increased, both the budded and unbudded portions of parental and daughter cycles increased.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee N. Uyehara ◽  
Angel R. Del Valle-Echevarria ◽  
Charles T. Hunter ◽  
Hilde Nelissen ◽  
Kirin Demuynck ◽  
...  

AbstractGrowth of plant organs results from the combined activity of cell division and cell expansion. The coordination of these two processes depends on the interplay between multiple hormones that determine final organ size. Using the semidominant Hairy Sheath Frayed1 (Hsf1) maize mutant, that hypersignals the perception of cytokinin (CK), we show that CK can reduce leaf size and growth rate by decreasing cell division. Linked to CK hypersignaling, the Hsf1 mutant has increased jasmonic acid (JA) content, a hormone that can inhibit cell division. Treatment of wild type seedlings with exogenous JA reduces maize leaf size and growth rate, while JA deficient maize mutants have increased leaf size and growth rate. Expression analysis revealed increased transcript accumulation of several JA pathway genes in the Hsf1 leaf growth zone. A transient treatment of growing wild type maize shoots with exogenous CK also induced JA pathway gene expression, although this effect was blocked by co-treatment with cycloheximide. Together our results suggest that CK can promote JA accumulation possibly through increased expression of specific JA pathway genes.One sentence summaryCytokinin-signaling upregulates the jasmonate biosynthesis pathway, resulting in jasmonate accumulation and influences on maize leaf growth.


2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arpan De ◽  
Sumei Liao ◽  
Jacob P. Bitoun ◽  
Randy Roth ◽  
Wandy L. Beatty ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTStreptococcus mutansis known to possess rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide (RGP), a major cell wall antigen.S. mutansstrains deficient inrgpG, encoding the first enzyme of the RGP biosynthesis pathway, were constructed by allelic exchange. ThergpGdeficiency had no effect on growth rate but caused major defects in cell division and altered cell morphology. Unlike the coccoid wild type, thergpGmutant existed primarily in chains of swollen, “squarish” dividing cells. Deficiency ofrgpGalso causes significant reduction in biofilm formation (P< 0.01). Double and triple mutants with deficiency inbrpAand/orpsr, genes coding for the LytR-CpsA-Psr family proteins BrpA and Psr, which were previously shown to play important roles in cell envelope biogenesis, were constructed using thergpGmutant. There were no major differences in growth rates between the wild-type strain and thergpG brpAandrgpG psrdouble mutants, but the growth rate of thergpG brpA psrtriple mutant was reduced drastically (P< 0.001). Under transmission electron microscopy, both double mutants resembled thergpGmutant, while the triple mutant existed as giant cells with multiple asymmetric septa. When analyzed by immunoblotting, thergpGmutant displayed major reductions in cell wall antigens compared to the wild type, while little or no signal was detected with the double and triple mutants and thebrpAandpsrsingle mutants. These results suggest that RgpG inS. mutansplays a critical role in cell division and biofilm formation and that BrpA and Psr may be responsible for attachment of cell wall antigens to the cell envelope.IMPORTANCEStreptococcus mutans, a major etiological agent of human dental caries, produces rhamnose-glucose polysaccharide (RGP) as the major cell wall antigen. This study provides direct evidence that deficiency of RgpG, the first enzyme of the RGP biosynthesis pathway, caused major defects in cell division and morphology and reduced biofilm formation byS. mutans, indicative of a significant role of RGP in cell division and biofilm formation inS. mutans. These results are novel not only inS. mutans, but also other streptococci that produce RGP. This study also shows that the LytR-CpsA-Psr family proteins BrpA and Psr inS. mutansare involved in attachment of RGP and probably other cell wall glycopolymers to the peptidoglycan. In addition, the results also suggest that BrpA and Psr may play a direct role in cell division and biofilm formation inS. mutans. This study reveals new potential targets to develop anticaries therapeutics.


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 272-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Liptáková ◽  
Ľ. Valík ◽  
A. Lauková ◽  
V. Strompfová

The combined effect of initial amount of 18 h <i>L. rhamnosus</i> VT1 inoculum and incubation temperature on the growth of <i>Candida maltosa</i> YP1, an oxidative food spoilage yeast strain, was primarily modelled and studied by standard response surface methodology. This study resulted in the following linear regression equations characterising lag time and growth rate of <i>C. maltosa</i> YP1 in milk in competition with the potentially protective lactobacillus strain. Lag-phase of <i>C. maltosa</i> was strongly influenced by the amount of lactobacillus inoculum (<i>V</i><sub>0</sub>) and incubation temperature (1/<i>T</i>). The synergic effect of both these factors was also evident as results from the equation lag = –33.50 + 186.38 × <i>V</i><sub>0</sub> × 1/<i>T</i> + 512.27 × 1/<i>T</i> – 5.511 × <i>V</i><sub>0</sub> (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup><sub>(λ)</sub> = 0.849). The growth rate was sufficiently described by the linear relation: <i>Gr</i><sub>Cm</sub> = –0.00046 + 0.0033 × <i>T</i> – 0.0016 × <i>V</i><sub>0 (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup><sub>(Gr)</sub> = 0.847). On the basis of these equations, the mutual microbial interactions and the potential application of the lactobacillus strains to food protection are discussed.


AMB Express ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Ma ◽  
Xueying Wang ◽  
Ting Zhou ◽  
Rui Hu ◽  
Huawei Zou ◽  
...  

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the effects of cofD gene knock-out on the synthesis of coenzyme F420 and production of methane in Methanobrevibacter ruminantium (M. ruminantium). The experiment successfully constructed a cofD gene knock-out M. ruminantium via homologous recombination technology. The results showed that the logarithmic phase of mutant M. ruminantium (12 h) was lower than the wild-type (24 h). The maximum biomass and specific growth rate of mutant M. ruminantium were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those of wild-type, and the maximum biomass of mutant M. ruminantium was approximately half of the wild-type; meanwhile, the proliferation was reduced. The synthesis amount of coenzyme F420 of M. ruminantium was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) after the cofD gene knock-out. Moreover, the maximum amount of H2 consumed and CH4 produced by mutant were 14 and 2% of wild-type M. ruminantium respectively. In conclusion, cofD gene knock-out induced the decreased growth rate and reproductive ability of M. ruminantium. Subsequently, the synthesis of coenzyme F420 was decreased. Ultimately, the production capacity of CH4 in M. ruminantium was reduced. Our research provides evidence that cofD gene plays an indispensable role in the regulation of coenzyme F420 synthesis and CH4 production in M. ruminantium.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 382
Author(s):  
Vuvi G. Tran ◽  
Na N. Z. Nguyen ◽  
Byungsuk Kwon

Invasive fungal infections by Candida albicans frequently cause mortality in immunocompromised patients. Neutrophils are particularly important for fungal clearance during systemic C. albican infection, yet little has been known regarding which surface receptor controls neutrophils’ antifungal activities. CD137, which is encoded by Tnfrsf9, belongs to the tumor necrosis receptor superfamily and has been shown to regulate neutrophils in Gram-positive bacterial infection. Here, we used genetic and immunological tools to probe the involvement of neutrophil CD137 signaling in innate defense mechanisms against systemic C. albicans infection. We first found that Tnfrsf9−/− mice were susceptible to C. albicans infection, whereas injection of anti-CD137 agonistic antibody protected the host from infection, suggesting that CD137 signaling is indispensable for innate immunity against C. albicans infection. Priming of isolated neutrophils with anti-CD137 antibody promoted their phagocytic and fungicidal activities through phospholipase C. In addition, injection of anti-CD137 antibody significantly augmented restriction of fungal growth in Tnfrsf9−/− mice that received wild-type (WT) neutrophils. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that CD137 signaling contributes to defense mechanisms against systemic C. albicans infection by promoting rapid fungal clearance.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (23) ◽  
pp. 10315-10328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukinori Minoshima ◽  
Tetsuya Hori ◽  
Masahiro Okada ◽  
Hiroshi Kimura ◽  
Tokuko Haraguchi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We identified CENP-50 as a novel kinetochore component. We found that CENP-50 is a constitutive component of the centromere that colocalizes with CENP-A and CENP-H throughout the cell cycle in vertebrate cells. To determine the precise role of CENP-50, we examined its role in centromere function by generating a loss-of-function mutant in the chicken DT40 cell line. The CENP-50 knockout was not lethal; however, the growth rate of cells with this mutation was slower than that of wild-type cells. We observed that the time for CENP-50-deficient cells to complete mitosis was longer than that for wild-type cells. Centromeric localization of CENP-50 was abolished in both CENP-H- and CENP-I-deficient cells. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed that CENP-50 interacted with the CENP-H/CENP-I complex in chicken DT40 cells. We also observed severe mitotic defects in CENP-50-deficient cells with apparent premature sister chromatid separation when the mitotic checkpoint was activated, indicating that CENP-50 is required for recovery from spindle damage.


2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 4505-4512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Geun Chen ◽  
Yun-Liang Yang ◽  
Hsin-I Shih ◽  
Chia-Li Su ◽  
Hsiu-Jung Lo

ABSTRACT Overexpression of CDR1, an efflux pump, is one of the major mechanisms contributing to drug resistance in Candida albicans. CDR1 p-lacZ was constructed and transformed into a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain so that the lacZ gene could be used as the reporter to monitor the activity of the CDR1 promoter. Overexpression of CaNDT80, the C. albicans homolog of S. cerevisiae NDT80, increases the β-galactosidase activity of the CDR1 p-lacZ construct in S. cerevisiae. Furthermore, mutations in CaNDT80 abolish the induction of CDR1 expression by antifungal agents in C. albicans. Consistently, the Candt80/Candt80 mutant is also more susceptible to antifungal drugs than the wild-type strain. Thus, the gene for CaNdt80 may be the first gene among the regulatory factors involved in drug resistance in C. albicans whose function has been identified.


2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 1287-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Varcamonti ◽  
Maria R. Graziano ◽  
Romilde Pezzopane ◽  
Gino Naclerio ◽  
Slavica Arsenijevic ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT An insertional deoD mutant of Streptococcus thermophilus strain SFi39 had a reduced growth rate at 20°C and an enhanced survival capacity to heat shock compared to the wild type, indicating that the deoD product is involved in temperature shock adaptation. We report evidence that ppGpp is implicated in this dual response.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 1164-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Weber ◽  
Stephan K.-H. Prill ◽  
Joachim F. Ernst

ABSTRACT Sec20p is an essential endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane protein in yeasts, functioning as a tSNARE component in retrograde vesicle traffic. We show that Sec20p in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans is extensively O mannosylated by protein mannosyltransferases (Pmt proteins). Surprisingly, Sec20p occurs at wild-type levels in a pmt6 mutant but at very low levels in pmt1 and pmt4 mutants and also after replacement of specific Ser/Thr residues in the lumenal domain of Sec20p. Pulse-chase experiments revealed rapid degradation of unmodified Sec20p (38.6 kDa) following its biosynthesis, while the stable O-glycosylated form (50 kDa) was not formed in a pmt1 mutant. These results suggest a novel function of O mannosylation in eukaryotes, in that modification by specific Pmt proteins will prevent degradation of ER-resident membrane proteins via ER-associated degradation or a proteasome-independent pathway.


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