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N W Gillham

Publications and source records attributed to N W Gillham.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

The cytoplasmic ribosomes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: characterization of antibiotic sensitivity and cycloheximide-resistant mutants.

In vitro protein synthesis was used to characterize the antibiotic sensitivity of cytoplasmic ribosomes from wild-type and antibiotic-resistant strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Cytoplasmic ribosomes from two cycloheximide-resistant mutants, act-1 and act-2, were resistant to the antibiotic in vitro. The alteration effected by the act-1 mutation, which was dominant in diploids, was localized to the large subunit of the cytoplasmic ribosomes, but no ribosomal protein alterations were detected using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The act-2 mutation, which was semidominant in diploids, was frequently associated with a charge alteration in the large subunit ribosomal protein (r-protein) cyL38 that segregated independently from the antibiotic-resistant phenotype in crosses.

Chlamydomonas↗
PubMed1987

Cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: characterization and immunological comparisons.

Experiments were undertaken to characterize the cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and to compare immunologically several cytoplasmic r-proteins with those of chloroplast ribosomes of this alga, Escherichia coli, and yeast. The large and small subunits of the C. reinhardtii cytoplasmic ribosomes were shown to contain, respectively, 48 and 45 r-proteins, with apparent molecular weights of 12,000-59,000. No cross-reactivity was seen between antisera made against cytoplasmic r-proteins of Chlamydomonas and chloroplast r-proteins, except in one case where an antiserum made against a large subunit r-protein cross-reacted with an r-protein of the small subunit of the chloroplast ribosome. Antisera made against one out of five small subunit r-proteins and three large subunit r-proteins recognized r-proteins from the yeast large subunit. Each of the yeast r-proteins has been previously identified as an rRNA binding protein. The antiserum to one large subunit r-protein cross-reacted with specific large subunit r-proteins from yeast and E. coli.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1987

Specific elimination of mitochondrial DNA from Chlamydomonas by intercalating dyes.

Minute colony mutations in C. reinhardtii are induced with 100% efficiency by intercalating dyes such as acriflavin and ethidium bromide. These mutants form small colonies on petri plates because they undergo only 8-9 mitotic divisions before growth ceases. In liquid media without the dye the mutants show gross alterations in mitochondrial structure and function. Here we demonstrate that induction of minute mutations is accompanied by the specific loss of mitochondrial DNA. We also provide evidence that the transmission of the minute colony phenotype in crosses can be explained in terms of uniparental transmission of mitochondrial DNA by the mt- parent.

Acriflavine↗
PubMed1987

Transmission of mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes in crosses of Chlamydomonas.

Physical differences between organelle genomes of the interfertile species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlamydomonas smithii have been used to demonstrate that sexual zygotes transmit chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA from opposite mating types. Processes responsible can be separated functionally and genetically, although both are controlled by mating type. In vegetative diploids, chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes are transmitted biparentally, but a 1-kilobase insert present in the C. smithii mitochondrial genome spreads unidirectionally to all C. reinhardtii genomes in a manner reminiscent of the intron found in the mitochondrial 21S rRNA gene of omega + strains of yeast.

Chlamydomonas↗
PubMed1987

Mating type linked mutations which disrupt the uniparental transmission of chloroplast genes in chlamydomonas.

In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, chloroplast genomes are normally transmitted by the mating type plus (mt+) parent and mitochondrial genomes by the mating type minus (mt-) parent. In this paper we describe three new nuclear mutations, designated mat-3-1 to -3, which are tightly linked to the mt+ allele and permit high transmission of chloroplast genomes from the mt- parent, but have no effect on transmission of mitochondrial genomes. We also show that mat-1, reported by others to be a nuclear mutation linked to mt- which promotes transmission of chloroplast genomes by the mt- parent, is probably a vegetative diploid since it contains both mt+ and mt- alleles. Vegetative diploids behave as if they are mt- with respect to mating, but possess a level of chloroplast gene transmission intermediate between that of haploid mt- and mt+ stocks.

Chlamydomonas↗
PubMed1986

The sequence of the chloroplast atpB gene and its flanking regions in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

The chloroplast (cp)-encoded CF1 ATPase beta-subunit gene (atpB) of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and its flanking regions have been sequenced. The derived amino acid (aa) sequence is highly homologous to that of the beta-subunit gene in Escherichia coli, bovine heart mitochondria, and higher plant cp. In contrast to all other cp genomes, the CF1 epsilon subunit gene (atpE) does not lie at the 3' end of the atpB gene but maps to a position 92 kb away in the other single-copy region. Northern blots confirm that the beta subunit is not encoded as part of a dicistronic message as it is in higher plants. The region just upstream from the atpB gene in C. reinhardtii contains two small open reading frames (ORFs) and not the gene for the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase as is found in cp genomes of higher plants. No transcripts for either ORF were detected, but the codon usage in these ORFs as well as in the atpB gene follows the unique pattern of codon usage previously seen in other cp genes in C. reinhardtii.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Processing of the precursor to a chloroplast ribosomal protein made in the cytosol occurs in two steps, one of which depends on a protein made in the chloroplast.

In pulse-chase experiments in which log-phase cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were labeled in vivo for 5 min with H2(35)SO4, fluorographs of immunoprecipitates from whole cell extracts revealed that chloroplast ribosomal proteins L-2, L-6, L-21, and L-29, which are made in the cytosol and imported, appeared in their mature forms. However, in the case of chloroplast ribosomal protein L-18, which is also made in the cytoplasm and imported, a prominent precursor with an apparent molecular weight of 17,000 was found at the end of a 5-min pulse. This precursor was processed to its mature size (apparent molecular weight of 15,500) within the first 5 min of the subsequent chase. As determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the precursor to L-18 formed in vivo was 1.5 kilodaltons smaller than the primary product detected in translations of Chlamydomonas polyadenylated RNA in vitro. Upon a 10-min incubation with a postribosomal supernatant from Chlamydomonas, the 18,500-dalton precursor detected in vitro could be partially converted into a polypeptide that comigrated with the 17,000-dalton precursor detected in extracts of cells labeled in vivo. Under conditions in which the total amounts of chloroplast proteins had been reduced and cells were made to synthesize ribosomes rapidly, the apparent half-life of the 17,000-dalton precursor was extended over that seen in log-phase cells. When chloroplast protein synthesis was inhibited with lincomycin for 3 h before labeling under these conditions, the 17,000-dalton L-18 precursor but not the mature form was found, and the precursor was slowly degraded during a 60-min chase. When cells were placed in the dark for 3 h before labeling, processing of this precursor to the mature form appeared unaffected, but the chloroplast-synthesized ribosomal protein L-26 was detected, indicating that chloroplast protein synthesis was still occurring. We interpret these results to indicate that the maturation of protein L-18 in vivo involves at least two processing steps, one of which depends on a protein made on chloroplast ribosomes.

Chlamydomonas↗
PubMed1984

Chloroplast ribosomal proteins of Chlamydomonas synthesized in the cytoplasm are made as precursors.

Polyadenylated RNA from Chlamydomonas was translated in a cell-free rabbit reticulocyte system that employed [35S]methionine. Antibodies made to four chloroplast ribosomal proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm and imported into the organelle were used for indirect immunoprecipitation of the labeled translation products, which were subsequently visualized on fluorographs of SDS gels. The cytoplasmically synthesized chloroplast ribosomal proteins were first seen as precursors with apparent molecular weights of 1,000 to 6,000 greater than their respective mature forms. Processing of the ribosomal protein precursors to mature proteins was affected by adding a postribosomal supernatant that had been extracted from cells of Chlamydomonas. In contrast to the chloroplast ribosomal proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm, two such proteins made within the chloroplast were found to be synthesized in mature form in cell-free wheat germ translation systems programmed with nonpolyadenylated RNA.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Immunological similarities between specific chloroplast ribosomal proteins from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and ribosomal proteins from Escherichia coli.

Polyclonal antibodies were elicited against seven of the 33 different proteins of the large subunit of the chloroplast ribosome from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Three of these proteins are synthesized in the chloroplast and four are made in the cytoplasm and imported. In western blots, six of the seven antisera are monospecific for their respective large subunit ribosomal proteins, and none of these antisera cross-reacted with any chloroplast small subunit proteins from C. reinhardtii. Antisera to the three chloroplast-synthesized ribosomal proteins cross-reacted with specific Escherichia coli large subunit proteins of comparable charge and molecular weight. Only one of the four antisera to the chloroplast ribosomal proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm cross-reacted with an E. coli large subunit protein. None of the antisera cross-reacted with any E. coli small subunit proteins. On the assumption of a procaryotic, endosymbiotic origin for the chloroplast, those chloroplast ribosomal proteins still synthesized within the organelle appear to have retained more antigenic sites in common with E. coli ribosomal proteins than have those which are now the products of cytoplasmic protein synthesis. Antisera to this cytoplasmically synthesized group of chloroplast ribosomal proteins did not recognize any antigenic sites among C. reinhardtii cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins, suggesting that the genes for the cytoplasmically synthesized chloroplast ribosomal proteins either are not derived from the cytoplasmic ribosomal protein genes or have evolved to a point where no antigenic similarities remain.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1983

Sites of synthesis of chloroplast ribosomal proteins in Chlamydomonas.

Cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were pulse-labeled in vivo in the presence of inhibitors of cytoplasmic (anisomycin) or chloroplast (lincomycin) protein synthesis to ascertain the sites of synthesis of chloroplast ribosomal proteins. Fluorographs of the labeled proteins, resolved on two-dimensional (2-D) charge/SDS and one-dimensional (1-D) SDS-urea gradient gels, demonstrated that five to six of the large subunit proteins are products of chloroplast protein synthesis while 26 to 27 of the large subunit proteins are synthesized on cytoplasmic ribosomes. Similarly, 14 of 31 small subunit proteins are products of chloroplast protein synthesis, while the remainder are synthesized in the cytoplasm. The 20 ribosomal proteins shown to be made in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas more than double the number of proteins known to be synthesized in the chloroplast of this alga.

Anisomycin↗
PubMed1982

Extensive methylation of chloroplast DNA by a nuclear gene mutation does not affect chloroplast gene transmission in chlamydomonas.

Based on analysis by high pressure liquid chromatography, greater than 35% of the cytosine residues in chloroplast DNA of vegetative cells were found to be methylated constitutively in the nuclear gene mutation (me-1) of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which has an otherwise wild-type phenotype. Digestion of chloroplast DNA from vegetative cells and gametes of this mutant with restriction endonucleases Hpa II and Msp I reveals that in the 5'CCGG3' sequence, CpG is methylated extensively, whereas CpC is only methylated occasionally. Hae III (5'GGCC3') digestion of the mutant chloroplast DNA also shows extensive methylation of the GpC sequence. In contrast to the results of Sager and colleagues, which show a correlation between methylation of chloroplast DNA and transmission of chloroplast genes in crosses, our results with crosses of the me-1 mutant suggest that extensive chloroplast DNa methylation may be insufficient to account for the pattern of inheritance of chloroplast genes in Chlamydomonas.

Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed1980

Inheritance of chloroplast DNA in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Two symmetrically located deletions of approximately 100 base pairs each have been identified in chloroplast DNA of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Although present in a mutant strain that requires acetate for growth, both deletions have been shown to be distinct from the nonphotosynthetic phenotype of this strain. These physical markers in the chloroplast genome and maternally inherited genetic markers showed strict cotransmission in reciprocal crosses. Thus, our results are consistent with the location of the well-characterized maternally inherited genetic markers in chloroplast DNA of C. reinhardtii.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1979

Mutations in nine chloroplast loci of Chlamydomonas affecting different photosynthetic functions.

Chloroplast components known to be coded by chloroplast DNA include chloroplast rRNAs, tRNAs, and the large subunit of ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase. Because these components comprise less than 3% of the estimated coding capacity of the chloroplast genome, most chloroplast gene functions have yet to be identified. One approach to this problem is the isolation and characterization of mutations in the chloroplast genome affecting specific photosynthetic functions. Recently we have found that such mutations can be preferentially recovered by using arsenate selection on cells previously grown in 5-fluorodeoxyuridine. Sixteen mutants thus isolated have been localized into nine chloroplast loci, based on their ability to recombine and produce photosynthetically competent progeny. Mutants at two loci show the characteristic syndrome of photosynthetic defects that results from a deficiency in chloroplast protein synthesis. These have been found to lack chloroplast ribosome monomers. Mutants at three loci are missing chlorophyll-protein complex I in their thylakoid membranes. Mutants at three other loci are deficient in membrane polypeptides known to be associated with the chloroplast coupling factor.

Alleles↗
PubMed1977

The mitochondrial genome of Chlamydomonas. II. Genetic analysis of non-mendelian obligate photautotrophic mutants.

Among a collection of obligate photoautotrophic (dark-dier, dk) mutants isolated in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, two have been found which are inherited in crosses to wild type in a non-Mendelian, biparental and apparently random fashion. F1 progeny include not only cells which show the dk and wildtype parental phenotypes but also many which possess intermediate phenotypes between wild type and dk. When F1 progeny with dk, intermediate or wild-type phenotype were backcrossed to wild type, the dk phenotype continued to be inherited in a biparental and random fashion. Upon selection, neither mutant formed stable clones producing only dk progeny, suggesting that the two mutants segregate dk and wild-type progeny somatically and that the homozygous dk condition may be lethal. The biparental transmission of these two non-Mendelian dk mutations resembles the transmission of acriflavin-induced minute mutations of Chlamydomonas and is distinct from the uniparentally inherited chloroplast mutations of this alga. Both the dk and minute mutations may alter mitochondrial DNA and thereby alter mitochondrial functions.

Animals↗