Home | About | Contact Us | Publishers | Help | RSS
Virulence Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Homologous recombination Aspergillus fumigatus Botrytis cinerea Fusarium graminearum Verticillium dahliae Autophagy Fungal virulence Meiosis Acremonium chrysogenum Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation Aspergillus flavus Aspergillus oryzae
( see all 19)
China 14 (%)
United States 10 (%)
India 7 (%)
Germany 5 (%)
Japan 5 (%)
Capital Normal University 2 (%)
Chiba University 2 (%)
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences 2 (%)
Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University 2 (%)
Nanjing Agricultural University 2 (%)
( see all 263)
Acar, Murat 2 (%)
Cheng, Hongmei 2 (%)
Guo, Huiming 2 (%)
Li, Xiaokang 2 (%)
Rehman, Latifur 2 (%)
Current Genetics 50 (%)
Journal 50 (%)
Springer 50 (%)
( see all 7)
Biochemistry, general 50 (%)
Cell Biology 50 (%)
Life Sciences 50 (%)
Microbial Genetics and Genomics 50 (%)
Microbiology 50 (%)
CURRENTLY DISPLAYING:
Most articles
Fewest articles
263 Authors
92 Institutions
Showing 1 to 10 of 50 matching Articles Results per page: 10 20 50 Export (CSV)
Marker-free genetic manipulations in yeast using CRISPR/CAS9 system
Current Genetics (2018-10-01) 64: 1129-1139 , October 01, 2018
By Soreanu, Inga; Hendler, Adi; Dahan, Danielle; Dovrat, Daniel; Aharoni, Amir Show all (5)
The budding yeast is currently one of the major model organisms for the study of a wide variety of biological processes. Genetic manipulation of yeast involves the extensive usage of selectable markers that can lead to undesired effects. Thus, marker-free genetic manipulation in yeast is highly desirable for gene/promoter replacement and various other applications. Here we combine the power of selectable markers followed by CRISPR/CAS9 genome editing for common genetic manipulations in yeast in a marker-free manner. We demonstrate our approach for whole gene and promoter replacements and for high-efficiency operator array integration. Our approach allows the utilization of many thousands of existing strains including library strains for the generation of significant genetic changes in yeast in a marker-free and cloning-free fashion.
Improved Tet-On and Tet-Off systems for tetracycline-regulated expression of genes in Candida
Current Genetics (2018-02-01) 64: 303-316 , February 01, 2018
By Bijlani, Swati; Nahar, Anubhav S.; Ganesan, K.
Tetracycline-regulated expression of genes is often used for functional analysis of Candida albicans genes. However, the widely used Tet-On system has certain limitations such as prolonged lag time (up to 8 h) for induction and non-uniform expression among the cells. We speculated that poor expression of tetracycline-controlled transactivator (Tet-transactivator) from CaADH1 promoter could be responsible for this, and thus compared the effect of expressing this protein under the control of CaADH1, CaTDH3 and CaRP10 promoters on the expression of GFP from the TET promoter. Only CaRP10 promoter facilitated a more uniform and rapid induction of GFP. However, a high concentration of doxycycline was needed for induction, which is not desirable for assessing certain phenotypes. Tet-Off systems are known to require a low concentration of doxycycline, but a limitation of the widely used Tet-Off system for C. albicans is the use of CaENO1 promoter, which is known to be repressed in the presence of gluconeogenic carbon source, for expression of transactivator. Thus, we have converted the above-mentioned Tet-On systems to Tet-Off systems by site-directed mutagenesis of the Tet-transactivator. Compared to the Tet-On systems, the Tet-Off systems required about 200-fold less concentration of doxycycline for modulation of gene expression. Only the Tet-Off system with CaRP10 promoter driving the expression of transactivator allowed rapid and high level expression of GFP compared to those with CaADH1 or CaTDH3 promoters. The utility of CaRP10 based Tet-On and Tet-Off systems was further validated by the conditional expression of the CaTUP1 gene. We have also adapted these systems for use with Candida tropicalis and find that the Tet-Off system is functional in this species. The Tet systems reported here will be useful for conditional expression of genes in C. albicans as well as C. tropicalis.
Two genes encoding GH10 xylanases are essential for the virulence of the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora parasitica
Current Genetics (2018-08-01) 64: 931-943 , August 01, 2018
By Lai, Ming-Wei; Liou, Ruey-Fen
Plant cell walls are pivotal battlegrounds between microbial pathogens and their hosts. To penetrate the cell wall and thereby to facilitate infection, microbial pathogens are equipped with a wide array of cell wall-degrading enzymes to depolymerize the polysaccharides in the cell wall. However, many of these enzymes and their role in the pathogenesis of microbial pathogens are not characterized, especially those from Oomycetes. In this study, we analyzed the function of four putative endo-beta-1,4-xylanase-encoding genes (ppxyn1–ppxyn4) from Phytophthora parasitica, an oomycete plant pathogen known to cause severe disease in a wide variety of plant species. All four genes belong to the glycoside hydrolase family 10 (GH10). Recombinant proteins of ppxyn1, ppxyn2, and ppxyn4 obtained from the yeast Pichia pastoris showed degrading activities toward birch wood xylan, but they behaved differently in terms of the conditions for optimal activity, thermostability, and durability. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed upregulated expression of all four genes, especially ppxyn1 and ppxyn2, during plant infection. In contrast, ppxyn3 was highly expressed in cysts and its close homolog, ppxyn4, in germinating cysts. To uncover the role of ppxyn1 and ppxyn2 in the pathogenesis of P. parasitica, we generated silencing transformants for these two genes by double-stranded RNA-mediated gene silencing. Silencing ppxyn1 and ppxyn2 reduced the virulence of P. parasitica toward tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) and tomato plants. These results demonstrate the crucial role of xylanase-encoding ppxyn1 and ppxyn2 in the infection process of P. parasitica.
Genetic interactions between the chromosome axis-associated protein Hop1 and homologous recombination determinants in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
By Brown, Simon David; Jarosinska, Olga Dorota; Lorenz, Alexander
Hop1 is a component of the meiosis-specific chromosome axis and belongs to the evolutionarily conserved family of HORMA domain proteins. Hop1 and its orthologs in higher eukaryotes are a major factor in promoting double-strand DNA break formation and inter-homolog recombination. In budding yeast and mammals, they are also involved in a meiotic checkpoint kinase cascade monitoring the completion of double-strand DNA break repair. We used the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which lacks a canonical synaptonemal complex to test whether Hop1 has a role beyond supporting the generation of double-strand DNA breaks and facilitating inter-homolog recombination events. We determined how mutants of homologous recombination factors genetically interact with hop1, studied the role(s) of the HORMA domain of Hop1, and characterized a bio-informatically predicted interactor of Hop1, Aho1 (SPAC688.03c). Our observations indicate that in fission yeast, Hop1 does require its HORMA domain to support wild-type levels of meiotic recombination and localization to meiotic chromatin. Furthermore, we show that hop1∆ only weakly interacts genetically with mutants of homologous recombination factors, and in fission yeast likely has no major role beyond break formation and promoting inter-homolog events. We speculate that after the evolutionary loss of the synaptonemal complex, Hop1 likely has become less important for modulating recombination outcome during meiosis in fission yeast, and that this led to a concurrent rewiring of genetic pathways controlling meiotic recombination.
Genetics of trehalose biosynthesis in desert-derived Aureobasidium melanogenum and role of trehalose in the adaptation of the yeast to extreme environments
Current Genetics (2018-04-01) 64: 479-491 , April 01, 2018
By Jiang, Hong; Liu, Guang-Lei; Chi, Zhe; Hu, Zhong; Chi, Zhen-Ming Show all (5)
Melanin plays an important role in the stress adaptation of Aureobasidium melanogenum XJ5-1 isolated from the Taklimakan desert. A trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene (TPS1 gene) was cloned from K5, characterized, and then deleted to determine the role of trehalose in the stress adaptation of the albino mutant K5. No stress response element and heat shock element were found in the promoter of the TPS1 gene. Deletion of the TPS1 gene in the albino mutant rendered a strain DT43 unable to synthesize any trehalose, but DT43 still could grow in glucose, suggesting that its hexokinase was insensitive to inhibition by trehalose-6-phosphate. Overexpression of the TPS1 gene enhanced trehalose biosynthesis in strain ET6. DT43 could not grow at 33 °C, whereas K5, ET6, and XJ5-1 could grow well at this temperature. Compared with K5 and ET6, DT43 was highly sensitive to heat shock treatment, high oxidation, and high desiccation, but all the three strains demonstrated the same sensitivity to UV light and high NaCl concentration. Therefore, trehalose played an important role in the adaptation of K5 to heat shock treatment, high oxidation, and high desiccation.
Nitrate assimilation pathway (NAP): role of structural (nit) and transporter (ntr1) genes in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici growth and pathogenicity
By Gomez-Gil, Lucia; Camara Almiron, Jesus; Rodriguez Carrillo, Patricia Lizett; Olivares Medina, Cindy Nayely; Bravo Ruiz, Gustavo; Romo Rodriguez, Pamela; Corrales Escobosa, Alma Rosa; Gutierrez Corona, Felix; Roncero, M. Isabel Show all (9)
The tomato pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici possesses the capability to use nitrate as the only nitrogen source under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and to activate virulence-related functions when cultivated in the presence of nitrate, but not in ammonium. The genome of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici encodes three paralogs nitrate reductase (NR) genes (nit1, nit2 and nit3) and one predicted ortholog of the Aspergillus nidulans high-affinity nitrate/nitrite transporters NtrA and NtrB, named ntr1. We set out to clarify the role of nit1, nit2, nit3 and ntr1 genes in nitrate assimilation and in the virulence of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that only nit1, nit2 and ntr1 are expressed at significant levels during growth in nitrate as the only nitrogen source. Targeted deletion of nit1 and ntr1, but not of nit2 or nit3, severely impaired growth of F. oxysporum on nitrate as nitrogen source, indicating that Nit1 and Ntr1 proteins are involved in nitrate assimilation by the fungus; biochemical analysis of nit mutants indicated that Nit1 and Nit2 enzymes contribute to about 50 and 30% of the total NR activity, respectively. In addition, a spontaneous chlorate-resistant mutant derived from F. oxysporum 4287, denoted NitFG, was characterized, showing inability to grow in nitrate under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and low levels of NR activity, in spite of its increased transcription levels of nit1 and nit2 genes. Tomato plant infection assays showed that NitFG and ∆ntr1 mutants induced an earlier death in tomato plants, whereas the single mutants ∆nit1, ∆nit2 and ∆nit1∆nit2 double mutant showed a mortality rate similar to the wild-type strain. Taken together, these results indicate that the Nit1 and Ntr1 proteins are important for nitrate assimilation of F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici incubated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and that this metabolic process is not essential for the virulence of the fungus. These observations open new questions about the role of Nit1, Nit2, and Nit3 proteins in other routes of nitrate metabolism in this pathogenic fungus and in the possible regulatory role that can be exerted by the AreA protein in these routes.
Control of morphology and virulence by ADP-ribosylation factors (Arf) in Mucor circinelloides
By Patiño-Medina, J. Alberto; Maldonado-Herrera, Guadalupe; Pérez-Arques, Carlos; Alejandre-Castañeda, Viridiana; Reyes-Mares, Nancy Y.; Valle-Maldonado, Marco I.; Campos-García, Jesus; Ortiz-Alvarado, Rafael; Jácome-Galarza, Irvin E.; Ramírez-Díaz, Martha I.; Garre, Victoriano; Meza-Carmen, Victor Show all (12)
Mucor circinelloides is a dimorphic fungus used to study cell differentiation that has emerged as a model to characterize mucormycosis. In this work, we identified four ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf)-encoding genes (arf1–arf4) and study their role in the morphogenesis and virulence. Arfs are key regulators of the vesicular trafficking process and are associated with both growth and virulence in fungi. Arf1 and Arf2 share 96% identity and Arf3 and Arf4 share 89% identity, which suggests that the genes arose through gene-duplication events in M. circinelloides. Transcription analysis revealed that certain arf genes are affected by dimorphism of M. circinelloides, such as the arf2 transcript, which was accumulated during yeast development. Therefore, we created knockout mutants of four arf genes to evaluate their function in dimorphism and virulence. We found that both arf1 and arf2 are required for sporulation, but these genes also perform distinct functions; arf2 participates in yeast development, whereas arf1 is involved in aerobic growth. Conversely, arf3 and arf4 play only minor roles during aerobic growth. Moreover, we observed that all single arf-mutant strains are more virulent than the wild-type strain in mouse and nematode models, with the arf3 mutant being most virulent. Lastly, arf1/arf2 and arf3/arf4 double mutations produced heterokaryon strains that did not reach the homokaryotic state, indicating that these genes participate in essential and redundant functions. Overall, this work reveals that Arfs proteins regulate important cellular processes in M. circinelloides such as morphogenesis and virulence, laying the foundation to characterize the molecular networks underlying this regulation.
Functional analysis of diacylglycerol O-acyl transferase 2 gene to decipher its role in virulence of Botrytis cinerea
By Sharma, Esha; Tayal, Pamil; Anand, Garima; Mathur, Piyush; Kapoor, Rupam Show all (5)
Gray mold disease inflicted by Botrytis cinerea is a serious menace responsible for significant economic loss worldwide. Due to its polyphagous nature, the pathogen has enthused inquisitiveness in researchers to unravel its complexity. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation was used to generate insertional mutants of Botrytis cinerea. A mutant (BCM-55) with disruption in a gene (BcDGAT2) that encodes for diacylglycerol O-acyl transferase 2 (DGAT2), showed enervated virulence on various hosts' tissues. Enzyme DGAT2 is crucial in the final step of synthesis of triacylglycerol (TAG) that plays an important role in homeostasis of membrane and cellular processes. However, the role of DGAT2 has never been reported in a phytopathogenic fungus. In this study, BCM-55 was characterized to ascertain the role of DGAT2 in virulence of B. cinerea. The insertional mutant was defective in spore production and lacked sclerotia formation as a consequence of lower accumulation of TAG. A significant delay in spore germination in BCM-55 was accompanied with a low penetration potential. Hyphae of the mutant formed swollen endings with considerable impairment in penetration. Deletion of BcDGAT2 also led to increased sensitivity towards cell wall and membrane-disturbing agents. Furthermore, BCM-55 was deficient in the production of oxalic acid and showed lower activity of a cell wall-degrading enzyme, polygalacturonase. The role of BcDGAT2 in virulence was further confirmed by targeted deletion and complementation of the gene. The results insinuate a crucial role of BcDGAT2 in penetration and consequently virulence of B. cinerea. The study provides novel insights into plant–pathogen interactions that can be exploited to develop suitable disease management strategies.
Fumarase is involved in DNA double-strand break resection through a functional interaction with Sae2
Current Genetics (2018-06-01) 64: 697-712 , June 01, 2018
By Leshets, Michael; Ramamurthy, Dharanidharan; Lisby, Michael; Lehming, Norbert; Pines, Ophry Show all (5)
One of the most severe forms of DNA damage is the double-strand break (DSB). Failure to properly repair the damage can cause mutation, gross chromosomal rearrangements and lead to the development of cancer. In eukaryotes, homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) are the main DSB repair pathways. Fumarase is a mitochondrial enzyme which functions in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Intriguingly, the enzyme can be readily detected in the cytosolic compartment of all organisms examined, and we have shown that cytosolic fumarase participates in the DNA damage response towards DSBs. In human cells, fumarase was shown to be involved in NHEJ, but it is still unclear whether fumarase is also important for the HR pathway. Here we show that the depletion of cytosolic fumarase in yeast prolongs the presence of Mre11 at the DSBs, and decreases the kinetics of repair by the HR pathway. Overexpression of Sae2 endonuclease reduced the DSB sensitivity of the cytosolic fumarase depleted yeast, suggesting that Sae2 and fumarase functionally interact. Our results also suggest that Sae2 and cytosolic fumarase physically interact in vivo. Sae2 has been shown to be important for the DSB resection process, which is essential for the repair of DSBs by the HR pathway. Depletion of cytosolic fumarase inhibited DSB resection, while the overexpression of cytosolic fumarase or Sae2 restored resection. Together with our finding that cytosolic fumarase depletion reduces Sae2 cellular amounts, our results suggest that cytosolic fumarase is important for the DSB resection process by regulating Sae2 levels.
Interaction of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RING-domain protein Nse1 with Nse3 and the Smc5/6 complex is required for chromosome replication and stability
By Wani, Saima; Maharshi, Neelam; Kothiwal, Deepash; Mahendrawada, Lakshmi; Kalaivani, Raju; Laloraya, Shikha Show all (6)
Genomic stability is maintained by the concerted actions of numerous protein complexes that participate in chromosomal duplication, repair, and segregation. The Smc5/6 complex is an essential multi-subunit complex crucial for repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Two of its subunits, Nse1 and Nse3, are homologous to the RING-MAGE complexes recently described in human cells. We investigated the contribution of the budding yeast Nse1 RING-domain by isolating a mutant nse1-103 bearing substitutions in conserved Zinc-coordinating residues of the RING-domain that is hypersensitive to genotoxic stress and temperature. The nse1-103 mutant protein was defective in interaction with Nse3 and other Smc5/6 complex subunits, Nse4 and Smc5. Chromosome loss was enhanced, accompanied by a delay in the completion of replication and a modest defect in sister chromatid cohesion, in nse1-103. The nse1-103 mutant was synthetic sick with rrm3∆ (defective in fork passage through pause sites), this defect was rescued by inactivation of Tof1, a subunit of the fork protection complex that enforces pausing. The temperature sensitivity of nse1-103 was partially suppressed by deletion of MPH1, encoding a DNA-helicase. Homology modeling of the structure of the budding yeast Nse1–Nse3 heterodimer based on the human Nse1–MAGEG1 structure suggests a similar organization and indicates that perturbation of the Zn-coordinating cluster has the potential to allosterically alter structural elements at the Nse1/Nse3 interaction interface that may abrogate their association. Our findings demonstrate that the budding yeast Nse1 RING-domain organization is important for interaction with Nse3, which is crucial for completion of chromosomal replication, cohesion, and maintenance of chromosome stability.
© 2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
About | Contact Us | Springer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Publishers | Help0620
Global Research Identifier Database, more details here: https://www.grid.ac/