scholarly journals Sexual Differentiation Is Coordinately Regulated by Cryptococcus neoformans CRK1 and GAT1

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 669
Author(s):  
Kuang-Hung Liu ◽  
Wei-Chiang Shen

The heterothallic basidiomycetous fungus Cryptococcus neoformans has two mating types, MATa and MATα. Morphological progression of bisexual reproduction in C. neoformans is as follows: yeast to hyphal transition, filament extension, basidium formation, meiosis, and sporulation. C. neoformans Cdk-related kinase 1 (CRK1) is a negative regulator of bisexual mating. In this study, we characterized the morphological features of mating structures in the crk1 mutant and determined the genetic interaction of CRK1 in the regulatory networks of sexual differentiation. In the bilateral crk1 mutant cross, despite shorter length of filaments than in the wild-type cross, dikaryotic filaments and other structures still remained intact during bisexual mating, but the timing of basidium formation was approximately 18 h earlier than in the cross between wild type strains. Furthermore, gene expression analyses revealed that CRK1 modulated the expression of genes involved in the progression of hyphal elongation, basidium formation, karyogamy and meiosis. Phenotypic results showed that, although deletion of C. neoformans CRK1 gene increased the efficiency of bisexual mating, filamentation in the crk1 mutant was blocked by MAT2 or ZNF2 mutation. A bioinformatics survey predicted the C. neoformans GATA transcriptional factor Gat1 as a potential substrate of Crk1 kinase. Our genetic and phenotypic findings revealed that C. neoformans GAT1 and CRK1 formed a regulatory circuit to negatively regulate MAT2 to control filamentation progression and transition during bisexual mating.

Microbiology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 156 (5) ◽  
pp. 1303-1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay K. Sharma ◽  
Shawn M. D. Bearson ◽  
Bradley L. Bearson

Quorum-sensing (QS) signalling pathways are important regulatory networks for controlling the expression of genes promoting adherence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 : H7 to epithelial cells. A recent study has shown that EHEC O157 : H7 encodes a luxR homologue, called sdiA, which upon overexpression reduces the expression of genes encoding flagellar and locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) proteins, thus negatively impacting on the motility and intimate adherence phenotypes, respectively. Here, we show that the deletion of sdiA from EHEC O157 : H7 strain 86-24, and from a hha (a negative regulator of ler) mutant of this strain, enhanced bacterial adherence to HEp-2 epithelial cells of the sdiA mutant strains relative to the strains containing a wild-type copy of sdiA. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR showed that the expression of LEE-encoded genes ler, espA and eae in strains with the sdiA deletions was not significantly different from that of the strains wild-type for sdiA. Similarly, no additional increases in the expression of LEE genes were observed in a sdiA hha double mutant strain relative to that observed in the hha deletion mutant. While the expression of fliC, which encodes flagellin, was enhanced in the sdiA mutant strain, the expression of fliC was reduced by several fold in the hha mutant strain, irrespective of the presence or absence of sdiA, indicating that the genes sdiA and hha exert opposing effects on the expression of fliC. The strains with deletions in sdiA or hha showed enhanced expression of csgA, encoding curlin of the curli fimbriae, with the expression of csgA highest in the sdiA hha double mutant, suggesting an additive effect of these two gene deletions on the expression of csgA. No significant differences were observed in the expression of the genes lpfA and fimA of the operons encoding long polar and type 1 fimbriae in the sdiA mutant strain. These data indicate that SdiA has no significant effect on the expression of LEE genes, but that it appears to act as a strong repressor of genes encoding flagella and curli fimbriae, and the alleviation of the SdiA-mediated repression of these genes in an EHEC O157 : H7 sdiA mutant strain contributes to enhanced bacterial motility and increased adherence to HEp-2 epithelial cells.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 2870-2877 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Degols ◽  
K Shiozaki ◽  
P Russell

Spc1, an osmotic-stress-stimulated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) homolog in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, is required for the induction of mitosis and survival in high-osmolarity conditions. Spc1, also known as Sty1, is activated by Wis1 MAPK kinase and inhibited by Pyp1 tyrosine phosphatase. Spc1 is most closely related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hog1 and mammalian p38 kinases. Whereas Hog1 is specifically responsive to osmotic stress, we report here that Spc1 is activated by multiple forms of stress, including high temperature and oxidative stress. In this regard Spc1 is more similar to mammalian p38. Activation of Spc1 is crucial for survival of various forms of stress. Spc1 regulates expression of genes encoding stress-related proteins such as glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd1+) and trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (tps1+). Spc1 also promotes expression of pyp2+, which encodes a tyrosine phosphatase postulated as a negative regulator of Spc1. This proposal is supported by the finding that Spc1 associates with Pyp2 in vivo and that the amount of Spc1 tyrosine phosphorylation is lower in a Pyp2-overproducing strain than in the wild type. Moreover, the level of stress-stimulated gpd1+ expression is higher in delta pyp2 mutants than in the wild type. These findings demonstrate that Spc1 promotes expression of genes involved in stress survival and that of regulation may be commonly employed to modulate MAPK signal transduction pathways in eukaryotic species.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Djordje Bajic ◽  
Clara Moreno ◽  
Juan F Poyatos

Genome-scale genetic interaction networks are progressively contributing to map the molecular circuitry that determines cellular behaviour. To what extent this mapping changes in response to different environmental or genetic conditions is however largely unknown. Here we assembled a genetic network using an in silico model of metabolism in yeast to explicitly ask how separate genetic backgrounds alter network structure. Backgrounds defined by single deletions of metabolically active enzymes induce strong rewiring when the deletion corresponds to a catabolic gene, evidencing a broad redistribution of fluxes to alternative pathways. We also show how change is more pronounced in interactions linking genes in distinct functional modules, and in those connections that present weak epistasis. These patterns reflect overall the distributed robustness of catabolism. In a second class of genetic backgrounds, in which a number of neutral mutations accumulate, we dominantly observe modifications in the negative interactions that together with an increase in the number of essential genes indicate a global reduction in buffering. Notably, neutral trajectories that originate considerable changes in the wild-type network comprise mutations that diminished the environmental plasticity of the corresponding metabolism, what emphasizes a mechanistic integration of genetic and environmental buffering. More generally, our work demonstrates how the specific mechanistic causes of robustness influence the architecture of multiconditional genetic interaction maps.


Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeny E Bezsonov ◽  
Herman K Edskes ◽  
Reed B Wickner

Abstract [URE3] is an amyloid-based prion of Ure2p, a negative regulator of poor nitrogen source catabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Overproduced Btn2p or its paralog Cur1p, in processes requiring Hsp42, cure the [URE3] prion. Btn2p cures by collecting Ure2p amyloid filaments at one place in the cell. We find that rpl4aΔ, rpl21aΔ, rpl21bΔ, rpl11bΔ and rpl16bΔ (large ribosomal subunit proteins) or ubr2Δ (ubiquitin ligase targeting Rpn4p, an activator of proteasome genes) reduce curing by overproduced Btn2p or Cur1p. Impaired curing in ubr2Δ or rpl21bΔ is restored by an rpn4Δ mutation. No effect of rps14aΔ or rps30bΔ on curing was observed, indicating that 60S subunit deficiency specifically impairs curing. Levels of Hsp42p, Sis1p or Btn3p are unchanged in rpl4aΔ, rpl21bΔ or ubr2Δ mutants. Overproduction of Cur1p or Btn2p was enhanced in rpn4Δ and hsp42Δ mutants, lower in ubr2Δ strains, and restored to above wild type levels in rpn4Δ ubr2Δ strains. As in the wild-type, Ure2N-GFP colocalizes with Btn2-RFP in rpl4aΔ, rpl21bΔ or ubr2Δ strains, but not in hsp42Δ. Btn2p/Cur1p overproduction cures [URE3] variants with low seed number, but seed number is not increased in rpl4aΔ, rpl21bΔ or ubr2Δ mutants. Knockouts of genes required for the protein sorting function of Btn2p did not affect curing of [URE3], nor did inactivation of the Hsp104 prion-curing activity. Overactivity of the ubiquitin/proteasome system, resulting from 60S subunit deficiency or ubr2Δ, may impair Cur1p and Btn2p curing of [URE3] by degrading Cur1p, Btn2p or another component of these curing systems.


Microbiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 167 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumi Imanishi-Shimizu ◽  
Yukina Kamogawa ◽  
Yukino Shimada ◽  
Kiminori Shimizu

The CAP64 gene is known to be involved in capsule formation in the basidiomycete yeast Cryptococcus neoformans. A null mutant of CAP64, Δcap64, lacks a capsule around the cell wall and its acidic organelles are not stained with quinacrine. In order to clarify whether the Cap64 protein indeed maintains vacuole or vesicle acidification, so that the vesicle containing the capsule polysaccharide or DBB substrate are transported to the cell membrane side, the relationship between CAP64 and intracellular transport genes and between CAP64 and enzyme-secretion activity were analysed. Laccase activity was higher in the Δcap64 strain than in the wild-type strain, and the transcriptional levels of SAV1 and VPH1 were also higher in the Δcap64 strain than in the wild-type strain. The intracellular localization of the Cap64 protein was analysed by overexpressing an mCherry-tagged Cap64 and observing its fluorescence. The Cap64 protein was accumulated within cells in a patch-like manner. The quinacrine-stained cells were observed to analyse the acidified cell compartments; quinacrine was found to be accumulated in a patch-like manner, with the patches overlapping the fluorescence of CAP64-mCherry fusion protein. Quinacrine was thus accumulated in a patch-like fashion in the cells, and the mCherry-tagged Cap64 protein position was consistent with the position of quinacrine accumulation in cells. These results suggest that CAP64 might be involved in intracellular acidification and vesicle secretion via exocytosis.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koumei Yazaki ◽  
Chinatsu Yoshikoshi ◽  
Satoru Oshiro ◽  
Sumino Yanase

Astaxanthin (AX), which is produced by some marine animals, is a type of carotenoid that has antioxidative properties. In this study, we initially examined the effects of AX on the aging of a model organismC. elegansthat has the conserved intracellular pathways related to mammalian longevity. The continuous treatments with AX (0.1 to 1 mM) from both the prereproductive and young adult stages extended the mean lifespans by about 16–30% in the wild-type and long-lived mutantage-1ofC. elegans. In contrast, the AX-dependent lifespan extension was not observed even in adaf-16null mutant. Especially, the expression of genes encoding superoxide dismutases and catalases increased in two weeks after hatching, and the DAF-16 protein was translocated to the nucleus in the AX-exposed wild type. These results suggest that AX protects the cell organelle mitochondria and nucleus of the nematode, resulting in a lifespan extension via an Ins/IGF-1 signaling pathway during normal aging, at least in part.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barth Grant ◽  
Iva Greenwald

Abstract The Caenorhabditis elegans lin-12 and glp-1 genes encode members of the LIN-l2/NOTCH family of receptors. The sel-1 gene was identified as an extragenic suppressor of a lin-12 hypomorphic mutant. We show in this report that the sel-1 null phenotype is wild type, except for an apparent elevation in lin-12 and glp-1 activity in sensitized genetic backgrounds, and that this genetic interaction seems to be lin-12 and glp-1 specific. We also find that sel-1 encodes a predicted extracellular protein, with a domain sharing sequence similarity to predicted proteins from humans and yeast. SEL-1 may interact with the LIN-12 and GLP-1 receptors and/or their respective ligands to down-regulate signaling.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fleurdeliz Maglangit ◽  
Yuting Zhang ◽  
Kwaku Kyeremeh ◽  
Hai Deng

AbstractContinued mining of natural products from the strain Streptomyces sp. MA37 in our laboratory led to the discovery of a minor specialised metabolite (SM) called accramycin A. Owing to its low yield (0.2mg/L) in the wild type strain, we investigated the roles of regulatory genes in the corresponding biosynthetic gene cluster (acc BGC) through gene inactivation with the aim of improving the titre of this compound. One of the resulting mutants (ΔaccJ) dramatically upregulated the production of accramycin A 1 by 330-fold (66mg/L). Furthermore, ten new metabolites, accramycins B-K 2-11, were discovered, together with two known compounds, naphthacemycin B112 and fasamycin C 13 from the mutant extract. This suggested that accJ, annotated as Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Regulator (MarR), is a negative regulator gene in the accramycin biosynthesis. Compounds 1-13 inhibited the Gram-positive pathogens (S. aureus, E. faecalis) and clinical isolates, E. faecium (K59-68 and K60-39), and S. haemolyticus with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values in the range of 1.5-12.5µg/mL. Remarkably, compounds 1-13 displayed superior activity against K60-39 (MIC = 3.1-6.3µg/mL) than ampicillin (MIC = 25µg/mL), and offer promising potential for the development of accramycin-based antibiotics that target multidrug-resistant Enterococcus clinical isolates. Our results highlight the importance of identifying the roles of regulatory genes in natural product discovery.


2017 ◽  
Vol 199 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Lagares ◽  
Germán Ceizel Borella ◽  
Uwe Linne ◽  
Anke Becker ◽  
Claudio Valverde

ABSTRACT Riboregulation has a major role in the fine-tuning of multiple bacterial processes. Among the RNA players, trans-encoded untranslated small RNAs (sRNAs) regulate complex metabolic networks by tuning expression from multiple target genes in response to numerous signals. In Sinorhizobium meliloti, over 400 sRNAs are expressed under different stimuli. The sRNA MmgR (standing for Makes more granules Regulator) has been of particular interest to us since its sequence and structure are highly conserved among the alphaproteobacteria and its expression is regulated by the amount and quality of the bacterium's available nitrogen source. In this work, we explored the biological role of MmgR in S. meliloti 2011 by characterizing the effect of a deletion of the internal conserved core of mmgR (mmgR Δ33–51). This mutation resulted in larger amounts of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) distributed into more intracellular granules than are found in the wild-type strain. This phenotype was expressed upon cessation of balanced growth owing to nitrogen depletion in the presence of surplus carbon (i.e., at a carbon/nitrogen molar ratio greater than 10). The normal PHB accumulation was complemented with a wild-type mmgR copy but not with unrelated sRNA genes. Furthermore, the expression of mmgR limited PHB accumulation in the wild type, regardless of the magnitude of the C surplus. Quantitative proteomic profiling and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) revealed that the absence of MmgR results in a posttranscriptional overexpression of both PHB phasin proteins (PhaP1 and PhaP2). Together, our results indicate that the widely conserved alphaproteobacterial MmgR sRNA fine-tunes the regulation of PHB storage in S. meliloti. IMPORTANCE High-throughput RNA sequencing has recently uncovered an overwhelming number of trans-encoded small RNAs (sRNAs) in diverse prokaryotes. In the nitrogen-fixing alphaproteobacterial symbiont of alfalfa root nodules Sinorhizobium meliloti, only four out of hundreds of identified sRNA genes have been functionally characterized. Thus, uncovering the biological role of sRNAs currently represents a major issue and one that is particularly challenging because of the usually subtle quantitative regulation contributed by most characterized sRNAs. Here, we have characterized the function of the broadly conserved alphaproteobacterial sRNA gene mmgR in S. meliloti. Our results strongly suggest that mmgR encodes a negative regulator of the accumulation of polyhydroxybutyrate, the major carbon and reducing power storage polymer in S. meliloti cells growing under conditions of C/N overbalance.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Ueda ◽  
Hideaki Takano ◽  
Madoka Nishimoto ◽  
Hiromi Inaba ◽  
Teruhiko Beppu

ABSTRACT The amf gene cluster encodes a probable secretion system for a peptidic morphogen, AmfS, which induces aerial mycelium formation in Streptomyces griseus. Here we examined the transcriptional control mechanism for the promoter preceding amfT (PamfT) directing the transcription of the amfTSBA operon. High-resolution S1 analysis mapped a transcriptional start point at 31 nucleotides upstream of the translational start codon of amfT. Low-resolution analysis showed that PamfT is developmentally regulated in the wild type and completely abolished in an amfR mutant. The −35 region of PamfT contained the consensus sequence for the binding of BldD, a pleiotropic negative regulator for morphological and physiological development in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). The cloned bldD locus of S. griseus showed high sequence similarity to the S. coelicolor counterpart. Transcription of bldD occurred constitutively in both the wild type and an A-factor-deficient mutant of S. griseus, which suggests that the regulatory role of BldD is independent of A-factor. The gel retardation assay revealed that purified BldD and AmfR recombinant proteins specifically bind PamfT. Overproduction of BldD in the wild-type cell conferred a bald phenotype (defective in aerial growth and streptomycin production) and caused marked repression of PamfT activity. An amfT-depleted mutant also showed a bald phenotype but PamfT activity was not affected. Both the bldD-overproducing wild-type strain and the amfT mutant were unable to induce aerial growth of an amfS mutant in a cross-feeding assay, which indicates that these strains are defective in the production of an active AmfS peptide. The results overall suggests that two independent regulators, AmfR and BldD, control PamfT activity via direct binding to determine the transcriptional level of the amf operon responsible for the production and secretion of AmfS peptide, which induces the erection of aerial hyphae in S. griseus.


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