Parasporal crystals produced by oligosporogenous mutants of Bacillus thuringiensis (Spo− Cr+)

1980 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donovan E. Johnson ◽  
Debra M. Niezgodski ◽  
George M. Twaddle
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Thuringiensis ◽  
Inclusion Bodies ◽  
Insect Cells ◽  
Crystalline Inclusion ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
In Vitro Technique ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Embedded Particles ◽  
Parasporal Crystals

Six oligosporogenic (Spo−) mutant strains of Bacillus thuringiensis were selected from survivors of treatment with N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Each strain was blocked at or before stage II of spore development, but all produced typical bipyramidal-shaped crystalline inclusion bodies. Toxicity of the parasporal endotoxin isolated from the mutant strains was assayed by an in vitro technique using cultured insect cells, and was comparable with that of normal wild-type parasporal protein. Multiple parasporal inclusion bodies per cell were often produced, and smaller embedded particles were numerous and distinct.

scholarly journals Proteolytic processing of Semliki Forest virus-specific non-structural polyprotein by nsP2 protease

2001 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Merits ◽  
Lidia Vasiljeva ◽  
Tero Ahola ◽  
Leevi Kääriäinen ◽  
Petri Auvinen
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Active Sites ◽  
Insect Cells ◽  
Semliki Forest Virus ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Proteolytic Processing ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
In Trans ◽  
Polyprotein Precursor

The RNA replicase proteins of Semliki Forest virus (SFV) are translated as a P1234 polyprotein precursor that contains two putative autoproteases. Point mutations introduced into the predicted active sites of both proteases nsP2 (P2) and nsP4 (P4), separately or in combination, completely abolished virus replication in mammalian cells. The effects of these mutations on polyprotein processing were studied by in vitro translation and by expression of wild-type polyproteins P1234, P123, P23, P34 and their mutated counterparts in insect cells using recombinant baculoviruses. A mutation in the catalytic site of the P2 protease, C478A, (P2CA) completely abolished the processing of P12CA34, P12CA3 and P2CA3. Co-expression of P23 and P12CA34 in insect cells resulted in in trans cleavages at the P2/3 and P3/4 sites. Co-expression of P23 and P34 resulted in cleavage at the P3/4 site. In contrast, a construct with a mutation in the active site of the putative P4 protease, D6A, (P1234DA) was processed like the wild-type protein. P34 or its truncated forms were not processed when expressed alone. In insect cells, P4 was rapidly destroyed unless an inhibitor of proteosomal degradation was used. It is concluded that P2 is the only protease needed for the processing of SFV polyprotein P1234. Analysis of the cleavage products revealed that P23 or P2 could not cleave the P1/2 site in trans.

Calreticulin Mediates Anesthetic Sensitivity in Drosophila melanogaster 

2003 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 867-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumiko Gamo ◽  
Junya Tomida ◽  
Katsuyuki Dodo ◽  
Dai Keyakidani ◽  
Hitoshi Matakatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Double Mutant ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Northern Blotting ◽  
General Anesthetics ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Low Expression

Background Various species, e.g., Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and mice, have been used to explore the mechanisms of action of general anesthetics in vivo. The authors isolated a Drosophila mutant, ethas311, that was hypersensitive to diethylether and characterized the calreticulin (crc) gene as a candidate of altered anesthetic sensitivity. Methods Molecular analysis of crc included cloning and sequencing of the cDNA, Northern blotting, and in situ hybridization to accomplish the function of the gene and its mutation. For anesthetic phenotype assay, the 50% anesthetizing concentrations were determined for ethas311, revertants, and double-mutant strains (wild-type crc transgene plus ethas311). Results Expression of the crc 1.4-kb transcript was lower in the mutant ethas311 than in the wild type at all developmental stages. The highest expression at 19 h after pupation was observed in the brain of the wild type but was still low in the mutant at that stage. The mutant showed resistance to isoflurane as well as hypersensitivity to diethylether, whereas it showed the wild phenotype to halothane. Both mutant phenotypes were restored to the wild type in the revertants and double-mutant strains. Conclusion ethas311 is a mutation of low expression of the Drosophila calreticulin gene. The authors demonstrated that hypersensitivity to diethylether and resistance to isoflurane are associated with low expression of the gene. In Drosophila, calreticulin seems to mediate these anesthetic sensitivities, and it is a possible target for diethylether and isoflurane, although the predicted anesthetic targets based on many studies in vitro and in vivo are the membrane proteins, such as ion channels and receptors.

THE PRODUCTION BY BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS BERLINER OF A HEAT-STABLE SUBSTANCE TOXIC FOR INSECTS

1959 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellicott McConnell ◽  
A. Glenn Richards
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Thuringiensis ◽  
Inclusion Bodies ◽  
Galleria Mellonella ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Broth Culture ◽  
Toxic Principle ◽  
Heat Stable

Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner produces in vitro a heat-stable, dialyzable substance which is toxic for insects when injected. The same or a similar substance is produced in vivo. The toxic principle is of unknown composition. It is heat-stable, water-soluble, dialyzable, and resistant to low temperatures. It is probably neither a protein nor a lipid. Clearly it is distinct from the heat-labile inclusion bodies and from lecithinase. Growth-curve studies showed that the heat-stable toxin appeared in liver broth cultures during the active growth phase, prior to the formation of spores or inclusion bodies. An attempt to produce the toxic principle from culture media in the absence of bacteria was unsuccessful from sterile inocula both from in vivo and in vitro sources. The LD50 for larvae of Galleria mellonella injected with autoclaved supernatant from a 10-day-old liver broth culture of B. thuringiensis was determined to be 0.00036 ml per larva or 0.002 ml per gram of larvae. Approximately the same level of toxicity was found for another caterpillar, a fly larva, and cockroaches. After larvae of Galleria or Pyrausla have been dead for more than 2 days from infection with B. thuringiensis the bacillus could no longer be recovered. A sublethal amount of the heat-stable toxin injected into old larvae of Galleria delayed emergence of the adults by 30 to 40%. The non-pathogenic Bacillus cereus was found to produce a similar-acting, heat-stable toxin under the same conditions that one is produced by B. thuringiensis.

scholarly journals Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis Pathogenicity Island 1 Is Not Essential for but Facilitates Rapid Systemic Spread in Chickens

2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 2866-2875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taseen S. Desin ◽  
Po-King S. Lam ◽  
Birgit Koch ◽  
Claudia Mickael ◽  
Emil Berberov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Systemic Infection ◽  
Poultry Meat ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Secretion Systems ◽  
Salmonella Enterica Serovar Enteritidis ◽  
Systemic Spread ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Vitro Analysis

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Enteritidis is a leading cause of human food-borne illness that is mainly associated with the consumption of contaminated poultry meat and eggs. To cause infection, S. Enteritidis is known to use two type III secretion systems, which are encoded on two salmonella pathogenicity islands, SPI-1 and SPI-2, the first of which is thought to play a major role in invasion and bacterial uptake. In order to study the role of SPI-1 in the colonization of chicken, we constructed deletion mutants affecting the complete SPI-1 region (40 kb) and the invG gene. Both ΔSPI-1 and ΔinvG mutant strains were impaired in the secretion of SipD, a SPI-1 effector protein. In vitro analysis using polarized human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) revealed that both mutant strains were less invasive than the wild-type strain. A similar observation was made when chicken cecal and small intestinal explants were coinfected with the wild-type and ΔSPI-1 mutant strains. Oral challenge of 1-week-old chicken with the wild-type or ΔSPI-1 strains demonstrated that there was no difference in chicken cecal colonization. However, systemic infection of the liver and spleen was delayed in birds that were challenged with the ΔSPI-1 strain. These data demonstrate that SPI-1 facilitates systemic infection but is not essential for invasion and systemic spread of the organism in chickens.

scholarly journals Construction and Characterization of Transposon Insertion Mutations in Corynebacterium diphtheriae That Affect Expression of the Diphtheria Toxin Repressor (DtxR)

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (20) ◽  
pp. 5723-5732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Marra Oram ◽  
Ana Avdalovic ◽  
Randall K. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Diphtheria Toxin ◽  
Corynebacterium Diphtheriae ◽  
Insertion Mutant ◽  
Toxin Gene ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Transposon Insertion ◽  
Diphtheria Toxin Repressor ◽  
Mutant Strains

ABSTRACT Transcription of the bacteriophage-borne diphtheria toxin gene tox is negatively regulated, in response to intracellular Fe2+ concentration, by the chromosomally encoded diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR). Due to a scarcity of tools, genetic analysis of Corynebacterium diphtheriae has primarily relied on analysis of chemically induced and spontaneously occurring mutants and on the results of experiments with C. diphtheriae genes cloned in Escherichia coli or analyzed in vitro. We modified a Tn5-based mutagenesis technique for use with C. diphtheriae, and we used it to construct the first transposon insertion libraries in the chromosome of this gram-positive pathogen. We isolated two insertions that affected expression of DtxR, one 121 bp upstream of dtxR and the other within an essential region of the dtxR coding sequence, indicating for the first time that dtxR is a dispensable gene in C. diphtheriae. Both mutant strains secrete diphtheria toxin when grown in medium containing sufficient iron to repress secretion of diphtheria toxin by wild-type C. diphtheriae. The upstream insertion mutant still produces DtxR in decreased amounts and regulates siderophore secretion in response to iron in a manner similar to its wild-type parent. The mutant containing the transposon insertion within dtxR does not produce DtxR and overproduces siderophore in the presence of iron. Differences in the ability of the two mutant strains to survive oxidative stress also indicated that the upstream insertion retained slight DtxR activity, whereas the insertion within dtxR abolished DtxR activity. This is the first evidence that DtxR plays a role in protecting the cell from oxidative stress.

scholarly journals Increased Pho Regulon Activation Correlates with Decreased Virulence of an Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli O78 Strain

2010 ◽  
Vol 78 (12) ◽  
pp. 5324-5331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Bertrand ◽  
Sébastien Houle ◽  
Guillaume LeBihan ◽  
Édith Poirier ◽  
Charles M. Dozois ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Rabbit Serum ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Pho Regulon ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Pst System

ABSTRACT Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains are associated with respiratory infections, septicemia, cellulitis, peritonitis, and other conditions, since colibacillosis manifests in many ways. The Pho regulon is jointly controlled by the two-component regulatory system PhoBR and by the phosphate-specific transport (Pst) system. To determine the specific roles of the PhoBR regulon and the Pst system in the pathogenesis of the APEC O78 strain χ7122, different phoBR and pst mutant strains were tested in vivo in chickens and in vitro for virulence traits. Mutations resulting in constitutive activation of the Pho regulon rendered strains more sensitive than the wild type to hydrogen peroxide and to the bactericidal effects of rabbit serum. In addition, production of type 1 fimbriae was also impaired in these strains. Using a chicken competitive infection model, all PhoB constitutive mutants were outcompeted by the wild-type parent, including strains containing a functional Pst system. Cumulative inactivation of the Pst system and the PhoB regulator resulted in a restoration of virulence. In addition, loss of the PhoB regulator alone did not affect virulence in the chicken infection model. Interestingly, the level of attenuation of the mutant strains correlated directly with the level of activation of the Pho regulon. Overall, results indicate that activation of the Pho regulon rather than phosphate transport by the Pst system plays a major role in the attenuation of the APEC O78 strain χ7122.

scholarly journals Effect of Glycine on Helicobacter pylori In Vitro

2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 3782-3788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaaki Minami ◽  
Takafumi Ando ◽  
Shin-nosuke Hashikawa ◽  
Keizo Torii ◽  
Tadao Hasegawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Eradication Therapy ◽  
Resistant Mutant ◽  
Synergistic Activity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
The Difference ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
Isogenic Mutants

ABSTRACT Glycine is the simplest amino acid and is used as a metabolic product in some bacteria. However, an excess of glycine inhibits the growth of many bacteria, and it is used as a nonspecific antiseptic agent due to its low level of toxicity in animals. The effect of glycine on Helicobacter pylori is not precisely known. The present study was conducted to investigate (i) the effect of glycine on clarithromycin (CLR)-resistant and -susceptible strains of H. pylori, (ii) the effect of glycine in combination with amoxicillin (AMX), and (iii) the postantibiotic effect (PAE). The MIC at which 90% of strains are inhibited for glycine was almost 2.5 mg/ml for 31 strains of H. pylori, including CLR-resistant strains. We constructed isogenic CLR-resistant mutant strains by natural transformation and investigated the difference between clinical wild-type strains and isogenic mutants. There were no differences in the MICs between CLR-resistant and -susceptible strains or between clinical wild-type and mutant strains. The combination of AMX and glycine showed synergistic activity, with the minimum bactericidal concentration of AMX with glycine decreasing to 1/10 that of AMX alone. Glycine showed no PAE against H. pylori. These results suggest that glycine may be a useful antimicrobial agent against H. pylori not only alone but also in combination with antibacterial drugs for the treatment of H. pylori-associated diseases. Glycine may represent a component of a new type of eradication therapy for CLR-resistant H. pylori.

scholarly journals Contributions of the 8-Methoxy Group of Gatifloxacin to Resistance Selectivity, Target Preference, and Antibacterial Activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae

2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1649-1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideyuki Fukuda ◽  
Ryuta Kishii ◽  
Masaya Takei ◽  
Masaki Hosaka
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Methoxy Group ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Dna Gyrase ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Topoisomerase Iv ◽  
Mutant Strains

ABSTRACT Gatifloxacin (8-methoxy, 7-piperazinyl-3′-methyl) at the MIC selected mutant strains that possessed gyrA mutations at a low frequency (3.7 × 10−9) from wild-type strainStreptococcus pneumoniae IID553. AM-1147 (8-methoxy, 7-piperazinyl-3′-H) at the MIC or higher concentrations selected no mutant strains. On the other hand, the respective 8-H counterparts of these two compounds, AM-1121 (8-H, 7-piperazinyl-3′-methyl) and ciprofloxacin (8-H, 7-piperazinyl-3′-H), at one and two times the MIC selected mutant strains that possessed parC mutations at a high frequency (>2.4 × 10−6). The MIC of AM-1147 increased for the gyrA mutant strains but not for theparC mutant strains compared with that for the wild-type strain. These results suggest that fluoroquinolones that harbor 8-methoxy groups select mutant strains less frequently and prefer DNA gyrase, as distinct from their 8-H counterparts. The in vitro activities of gatifloxacin and AM-1147 are twofold higher against the wild-type strain, eight- and twofold higher against the first-stepparC and gyrA mutant strains, respectively, and two- to eightfold higher against the second-step gyrA andparC double mutant strains than those of their 8-H counterparts. These results indicate that the 8-methoxy group contributes to enhancement of antibacterial activity against target-altered mutant strains as well as the wild-type strain. It is hypothesized that the 8-methoxy group of gatifloxacin increases the level of target inhibition, especially against DNA gyrase, so that it is nearly the same as that for topoisomerase IV inhibition in the bacterial cell, leading to potent antibacterial activity and a low level of resistance selectivity.

scholarly journals Salmonella typhimurium LT2 Catabolizes Propionate via the 2-Methylcitric Acid Cycle

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (18) ◽  
pp. 5615-5623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander R. Horswill ◽  
Jorge C. Escalante-Semerena
Keyword(s):  
Salmonella Typhimurium ◽  
Negative Ion ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Ionization Mass ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Acid Cycle ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Methylcitrate Synthase

ABSTRACT We previously identified the prpBCDE operon, which encodes catabolic functions required for propionate catabolism inSalmonella typhimurium. Results from13C-labeling experiments have identified the route of propionate breakdown and determined the biochemical role of each Prp enzyme in this pathway. The identification of catabolites accumulating in wild-type and mutant strains was consistent with propionate breakdown through the 2-methylcitric acid cycle. Our experiments demonstrate that the α-carbon of propionate is oxidized to yield pyruvate. The reactions are catalyzed by propionyl coenzyme A (propionyl-CoA) synthetase (PrpE), 2-methylcitrate synthase (PrpC), 2-methylcitrate dehydratase (probably PrpD), 2-methylisocitrate hydratase (probably PrpD), and 2-methylisocitrate lyase (PrpB). In support of this conclusion, the PrpC enzyme was purified to homogeneity and shown to have 2-methylcitrate synthase activity in vitro.1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry identified 2-methylcitrate as the product of the PrpC reaction. Although PrpC could use acetyl-CoA as a substrate to synthesize citrate, kinetic analysis demonstrated that propionyl-CoA is the preferred substrate.

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