Biomedical subjects

Stephan C Schuster

Publications and source records attributed to Stephan C Schuster.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Construction and usage of a onefold-coverage shotgun DNA microarray to characterize the metabolism of the archaeon Haloferax volcanii.

Haloferax volcanii is a moderately halophilic archaeon that can grow aerobically and anaerobically with a variety of substrates. We undertook a novel approach for the characterization of metabolic adaptations, i.e. transcriptome analysis with a onefold-coverage shotgun DNA microarray. A genomic library was constructed and converted into a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product library, which was used to print two DNA microarrays, a 960-spot test array used for optimization of microarray analysis and a 2880-spot onefold-coverage array. H. volcanii cultures were shifted from casamino acid-based metabolism to glucose-based metabolism, and the transcriptome changes were analysed with the onefold-coverage array at five time points covering the transition phase and the onset of exponential growth with the new carbon source. About 10% of all genes were found to be more than 2.5-fold regulated at at least one time point. The genes fall into five clusters of kinetically co-regulated genes. For members of all five clusters, the results were verified by Northern blot analyses. The identity of the regulated genes was determined by sequencing. Many co-regulated genes encode proteins of common functions. Expected as well as a variety of unexpected findings allowed predictions about the central metabolism, the transport capacity and the cellular composition of H. volcanii growing on casamino acids and on glucose. The microarray analyses are in accordance with the growth rates and ribosome contents of H. volcanii growing on the two carbon sources. Analysis of the results revealed that onefold-coverage shotgun DNA microarrays are well suited to characterize the regulation of metabolic pathways as well as protein complexes in response to changes in environmental conditions.

Gene Expression Profiling↗

PubMed2003

Electron transport to periplasmic nitrate reductase (NapA) of Wolinella succinogenes is independent of a NapC protein.

The rumen bacterium Wolinella succinogenes grows by respiratory nitrate ammonification with formate as electron donor. Whereas the enzymology and coupling mechanism of nitrite respiration is well known, nitrate reduction to nitrite has not yet been examined. We report here that intact cells and cell fractions catalyse nitrate and chlorate reduction by reduced viologen dyes with high specific activities. A gene cluster encoding components of a putative periplasmic nitrate reductase system (napA, G, H, B, F, L, D) was sequenced. The napA gene was inactivated by inserting a kanamycin resistance gene cassette. The resulting mutant did not grow by nitrate respiration and did not reduce nitrate during growth by fumarate respiration, in contrast to the wild type. An antigen was detected in wild-type cells using an antiserum raised against the periplasmic nitrate reductase (NapA) from Paracoccus pantotrophus. This antigen was absent in the W. succinogenes napA mutant. It is concluded that the periplasmic nitrate reductase NapA is the only respiratory nitrate reductase in W. succinogenes, although a second nitrate-reducing enzyme is apparently induced in the napA mutant. The nap cluster of W. succinogenes lacks a napC gene whose product is thought to function in quinol oxidation and electron transfer to NapA in other bacteria. The W. succinogenes genome encodes two members of the NapC/NirT family, NrfH and FccC. Characterization of corresponding deletion mutants indicates that neither of these two proteins is required for nitrate respiration. A mutant lacking the genes encoding respiratory nitrite reductase (nrfHA) had wild-type properties with respect to nitrate respiration. A model of the electron transport chain of nitrate respiration is proposed in which one or more of the napF, G, H and L gene products mediate electron transport from menaquinol to the periplasmic NapAB complex. Inspection of the W. succinogenes genome sequence suggests that ammonia formation from nitrate is catalysed exclusively by periplasmic respiratory enzymes.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2003

Acidobacteria form a coherent but highly diverse group within the bacterial domain: evidence from environmental genomics.

Acidobacteria have been established as a novel phylum of Bacteria that is consistently detected in many different habitats around the globe by 16S rDNA-based molecular surveys. The phylogenetic diversity, ubiquity and abundance of this group, particularly in soil habitats, suggest an important ecological role and extensive metabolic versatility. However, the genetic and physiological information about Acidobacteria is scarce. In order to gain insight into genome structure, evolution and diversity of these microorganisms we have initiated an environmental genomic approach by constructing large insert libraries directly from DNA of a calcerous grassland soil. Genomic fragments of Acidobacteria were identified with specific 16S rDNA probes and sequence analyses of six independently identified clones were performed, representing in total more than 210,000 bp. The 16S rRNA genes of the genomic fragments differed between 2.3% and 19.9% and were placed into two different subgroups of Acidobacteria (groups III and V). Although partial co-linearity was found between genomic fragments, the gene content around the rRNA operons was generally not conserved. Phylogenetic reconstructions with orthologues that were encoded on two of the six genomic fragments (PurF, PurL, PurB and formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase) confirmed the coherence of the acidobacterial phylum. One genomic fragment harboured a cluster of eight genes which was syntenic and highly homologous to genomic regions in Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Bradyrhizobium japonicum, including a conserved two-component system. Phylogenetic analysis of the putative response regulator confirmed that this similarity between Rhizobiales and Acidobacteria might be due to a horizontal gene transfer. In total, our data give first insight into the genome content and diversity of the ubiquitously distributed but poorly characterized phylum of Acidobacteria. Furthermore they support the phylogenetic inferences made from 16S rRNA gene libraries, suggesting that Acidobacteria form a broad group in the same sense and with a similar diversity as that of many well-studied bacterial phyla.

Bacteria↗

PubMed2002

Hisactophilin is involved in osmoprotection in Dictyostelium.

BACKGROUND: Dictyostelium cells exhibit an unusual stress response as they protect themselves against hyperosmotic stress. Cytoskeletal proteins are recruited from the cytosolic pool to the cell cortex, thereby reinforcing it. In order to gain more insight into the osmoprotective mechanisms of this amoeba, we used 1-D and 2-D gel electrophoresis to identify new proteins that are translocated during osmotic shock. RESULTS: We identified hisactophilin as one of the proteins that are enriched in the cytoskeletal fraction during osmotic shock. In mutants lacking hisactophilin, viability is reduced under hyperosmotic stress conditions. In wild type cells, serine phosphorylation of hisactophilin was specifically induced by hypertonicity, but not when other stress conditions were imposed on cells. The phosphorylation kinetics reveals a slow accumulation of phosphorylated hisactophilin from 20-60 min after onset of the hyperosmotic shock condition. CONCLUSION: In the present study, we identified hisactophilin as an essential protein for the osmoprotection of Dictyostelium cells. The observed phosphorylation kinetics suggest that hisactophilin regulation is involved in long-term osmoprotection and that phosphorylation occurs in parallel with inactivation of the dynamic actin cytoskeleton.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Transcriptional regulation by antitermination. Interaction of RNA with NusB protein and NusB/NusE protein complex of Escherichia coli.

A recombinant heterodimeric NusB/NusE protein complex of Escherichia coli was expressed under the control of a synthetic mini operon. Surface plasmon resonance measurements showed that the heterodimer complex has substantially higher affinity for the boxA RNA sequence motif of the ribosomal RNA (rrn) operons of E.coli as compared to monomeric NusB protein. Single base exchanges in boxA RNA reduced the affinity of the protein complex up to 15-fold. The impact of base exchanges in the boxA RNA on the interaction with NusB protein was studied by (1)H,(15)N heterocorrelation NMR spectroscopy. Spectra obtained with modified RNA sequences were analysed by a novel generic algorithm. Replacement of bases in the terminal segments of the boxA RNA motif caused minor chemical shift changes as compared to base exchanges in the central part of the dodecameric boxA motif.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2002

A bacterial artificial chromosome-based genetic linkage map of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus.

To understand the evolution of developmental processes, nonmodel organisms in the nematodes, insects, and vertebrates are compared with established model systems. Often, these comparisons suffer from the inability to apply sophisticated technologies to these nonmodel species. In the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, cellular and genetic analyses are used to compare vulva development to that of Caenorhabditis elegans. However, substantial changes in gene function between P. pacificus and C. elegans limit the use of candidate gene approaches in studying P. pacificus mutations. To facilitate map-based cloning of mutations in P. pacificus, we constructed a BAC-based genetic linkage map. A BAC library of 13,440 clones was generated and completely end sequenced. By comparing BAC end and EST sequences between the "wild-type" strain P. pacificus var. California and the polymorphic strain P. pacificus var. Washington, 133 single-stranded conformational polymorphisms were identified. These markers were tested on a meiotic mapping panel of 46 randomly picked F(2) animals after a cross of the two strains, providing the first genetic linkage map of P. pacificus. A mapping strategy using two selected markers per chromosome was devised and the efficiency of this approach was illustrated by the mapping of the Ppa-unc-1/Twitchin gene.

Animals↗