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PubMed2002

A distinct class of dominant negative Ras mutants: cytosolic GTP-bound Ras effector domain mutants that inhibit Ras signaling and transformation and enhance cell adhesion.

Cytosolic GTP-bound Ras has been shown to act as a dominant negative (DN) inhibitor of Ras by sequestering Raf in non-productive cytosolic complexes. Nevertheless, this distinct class of DN mutants has been neither well characterized nor extensively used to analyze Ras signaling. In contrast, DN Ras17N, which functions by blocking Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factors, has been well characterized and is widely used. Cytosolic GTP-bound Ras mutants could be used to inhibit particular Ras effectors by introducing additional mutations (T35S, E37G or Y40C) that permit them to associate selectively with and inhibit Raf, RalGDS, or phosphoinositide 3-kinase, respectively. When the wild-type Ras effector binding region is used, cytosolic Ras should associate with all Ras effectors, even those that are not yet identified, making these DN Ras mutants effective inhibitors of multiple Ras functions. We generated cytosolic GTP-bound H-, N-, and K-Ras, and we assessed their ability to inhibit Ras-induced phenotypes. In fibroblasts, cytosolic H-, N-, and K-Ras inhibited Ras-induced Elk-1 activation and focus formation, induced a flattened cell morphology, and increased adhesion to fibronectin through modulation of a beta(1)-subunit-containing integrin, thereby demonstrating that DN activity is not limited to a subset of Ras isoforms. We also generated cytosolic GTP-bound Ras effector domain mutants (EDMs), each of which reduced the ability of cytosolic GTP-bound Ras proteins to inhibit Elk-1 activation and to induce cell flattening, implicating multiple pathways in these phenotypes. In contrast, Ras-induced focus formation, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-, or Ras-induced phospho-Akt levels and cell adhesion to fibronectin were affected by T35S and Y40C EDMs, whereas PDGF- or Ras-induced phospho-Erk levels were affected only by the T35S EDM, implying that a more limited set of Ras-mediated pathways participate in these phenotypes. These data constitute the first extensive characterization of this functionally distinct class of DN Ras inhibitor proteins.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed2005

Presenilin-1 D257A and D385A mutants fail to cleave Notch in their endoproteolyzed forms, but only presenilin-1 D385A mutant can restore its gamma-secretase activity with the compensatory overexpression of normal C-terminal fragment.

The enzyme gamma-secretase is involved in the cleavage of several type I membrane proteins, such as Notch 1 and amyloid precursor protein. Presenilin-1 (PS-1) is one of the critical integral membrane protein components of the gamma-secretase complex and is processed endoproteolytically, generating N- and C-terminal fragments (NTF and CTF, respectively). PS-1 is also known to incorporate into a high molecular weight complex by binding to other gamma-secretase components such as Nicastrin, Aph-1, and Pen-2. Mutations on PS-1 can alter the effects of gamma-secretase on its many substrates to different extents. Here, we showed that PS-1 mutants have a different activity for Notch cleavage, which depended on the PS-1 mutation site. We demonstrated that defective PS-1 mutants located in CTF, i.e. D385A and C410Y, could restore their gamma-secretase activities with the compensatory overexpression of wild type CTF or of minimal deleted CTF (amino acids 349-467). However, the defective PS-1 D257A mutant could not restore their gamma-secretase activities with the compensatory overexpression of wild type NTF. In comparison, both D257A NTF and D385A CTF could abolish the gamma-secretase activity of wild type and pathogenic PS-1 mutants. We also showed that PS-1 NTF but not CTF forms strong high molecular weight aggregates in SDS-PAGE. Taken together, results have shown that NTF and CTF integrate differently into high molecular weight aggregates and that PS-1 Asp-257 and Asp-385 have different accessibilities in their unendoproteolyzed conformation.

Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases↗

PubMed1981

Dunce mutants of Drosophila melanogaster: mutants defective in the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase enzyme system.

The cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase activities present in flies of six mutant strains of the dunce gene and in the parent wild-type strains are characterized. All of the mutants exhibit aberrant cyclic AMP metabolism. The mutant strains dunceM14, dunceM11, and dunceML appear to be amorphic, because they completely lack the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase normally present in adult flies. These strains exhibit extremely high levels of cAMP. The mutant strains dunce1, dunce2, and dunceCK are hypomorphic and exhibit reduced levels of the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase. These strains exhibit less marked increases in cAMP content compared with the three amorphic strains. The dunce2 strain possesses a residual enzyme activity that exhibits anomalous kinetics compared with those of the normal enzyme. The possibility that the dunce locus is the structural gene for the cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase is discussed.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗

PubMed1994

Neurospora mutants affecting polyamine-dependent processes and basic amino acid transport mutants resistant to the polyamine inhibitor, alpha-difluoromethylornithine.

Polyamines (spermidine and spermine) are required by living cells, but their functions are poorly understood. Mutants of Neurospora crassa with enhanced or diminished sensitivity to interference with polyamine synthesis, originally selected to study the regulation of the pathway, were found to have unexpected defects. A group of four non-allelic mutations, causing no interference with polyamine synthesis, each imparted spermidine auxotrophy to a genotype already partially impaired in spermidine synthesis. Strains carrying only the new mutations displayed unconditional delay or weakness at the onset of growth, but grew well thereafter and had a normal or overly active polyamine pathway. These mutants may have defects in vital macromolecular activities that are especially dependent upon the polyamines-activities that have not been identified with certainty in studies to date. Another group of mutants, selected as resistant to the polyamine inhibitor difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), had normal activity and regulation of ornithine decarboxylase, the target of the drug. All but one of thirty mutants were allelic, and were specifically deficient in the basic amino acid permease. This mechanism of DFMO resistance is unprecedented among the many DFMO-resistant cell types of other organisms and demonstrates that DFMO can be used for efficient genetic studies of this transport locus in N. crassa.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1996

Mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with defects in acetate metabolism: isolation and characterization of Acn- mutants.

The two carbon compounds, ethanol and acetate, can be oxidatively metabolized as well as assimilated into carbohydrate in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The distribution of acetate metabolic enzymes among several cellular compartments, mitochondria, peroxisomes, and cytoplasm makes it an intriguing system to study complex metabolic interactions. To investigate the complex process of carbon catabolism and assimilation, mutants unable to grow on acetate were isolated. One hundred five Acn- ("ACetate Nonutilizing") mutants were sorted into 21 complementation groups with an additional 20 single mutants. Five of the groups have defects in TCA cycle enzymes: MDH1, CIT1, ACO1, IDH1, and IDH2. A defect in RTG2, involved in the retrograde communication between the mitochondrion and the nucleus, was also identified. Four genes encode enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis: ICL1, MLS1, MDH2, and PCK1. Five other genes appear to be defective in regulating metabolic activity since elevated levels of enzymes in several metabolic pathways, including the glyoxylate cycle, gluconeogenesis, and acetyl-CoA metabolism, were detected in these mutants: ACN8, ACN9, ACN17, ACN18, and ACN42. In summary, this analysis has identified at least 22 and as many as 41 different genes involved in acetate metabolism.

Acetates↗

PubMed1987

Site-directed mutants of the cAMP receptor protein--DNA binding of five mutant proteins.

Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was employed to generate mutants of the cAMP receptor protein (CRP) of Escherichia coli. The mutant proteins were purified to homogeneity and tested for stability and DNA binding. It is shown that mutations at the position of Arg180 abolish specific DNA binding, whereas those at the position Arg185 have very little effect. Both positions have previously been implicated as crucial for the specific interaction between CRP and DNA. The Ser128----Ala mutant shows a slight reduction in DNA binding affinity relative to wild-type. All mutants investigated show similar stability profiles to wild-type CRP with respect to thermolysin proteolysis as a function of temperature.

DNA↗

PubMed1990

Polyamines and Flower Development in the Male Sterile Stamenless-2 Mutant of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) : I. Level of Polyamines and Their Biosynthesis in Normal and Mutant Flowers.

The levels of free putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, and the activities of ornithine decarboxylase and s-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase were determined in the floral organs of the normal and a male sterile stamenless-2 (sl-2/sl-2) mutant of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Under the intermediate temperature regime, all mutant floral organs possessed significantly higher levels of polyamines and enzyme activities than their normal counterparts. In the low temperature-reverted mutant stamens, the polyamine levels and the activity of PA biosynthetic enzymes were not significantly different from the normal. It is suggested that the abnormal stamen development in the sl-2/sl-2 mutant is, in part, related to elevated levels of endogenous PAs.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Structures of V45E and V45Y mutants and structure comparison of a variety of cytochrome b5 mutants.

Val45 is a highly conserved residue and a component of the heme-pocket wall of cytochrome b(5). The crystal structures of cytochrome b(5) mutants V45E and V45Y have been determined at high resolution. Their overall structures were very similar to that of the wild-type protein. However, Val45 of the wild-type protein points towards the heme, but the large side chains of both Glu45 and Tyr45 of the mutants point towards the solvent. A channel is thus opened and the hydrophobicity of the heme pocket is decreased. The rotation of the porphyrin ring and the conformational change of the axial ligand His39 in the V45Y mutant indicate that the microenvironment of the heme is disturbed because of the mutation. The binding constants and the electron-transfer rates between cytochrome b(5) and cytochrome c decrease owing to the mutation, which can be accounted for by molecular modeling: the inter-iron distances increase in order to eliminate the unreasonably close contacts resulting from the large volumes of the mutated side chains. The influence of the mutations on the redox potentials and protein stability is also discussed. The structures of seven mutants of cytochrome b(5) are compared with each other and the effects of these mutations on the protein properties and functions are summarized.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed1994

Positive selection for resistance to 2-deoxyglucose gives rise, in Streptococcus salivarius, to seven classes of pleiotropic mutants, including ptsH and ptsI missense mutants.

We have used the toxic non-metabolizable glucose/mannose analogue 2-deoxyglucose to isolate a comprehensive collection of mutants of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system from Streptococcus salivarius. To increase the range of possible mutations, we isolated spontaneous mutants on different media containing 2-deoxyglucose and various metabolizable sugars, either lactose, melibiose, galactose or fructose. We found that the frequency at which 2-deoxyglucose-resistant mutants were isolated varied according to the growth substrate. The highest frequency was obtained with the combination galactose and 2-deoxyglucose and was 15-fold higher than the rate observed with the mixture melibiose and 2-deoxyglucose, the combination that gave the lowest frequency. By combining results from: (i) Western blot analysis of IIIMan, a specific component of the phosphoenolpyruvate:mannose phosphotransferase system in S. salivarius; (ii) rocket immunoelectrophoresis of HPr and EI, the two general energy-coupling proteins of the phosphotransferase system; and (iii) from gene sequencing, mutants could be assigned to seven classes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed1976

Specific action of 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide on Excherichia coli K-12 pro+ strains leading to the isolation of proline-requiring mutants: isolation and characterization of pro-mutants.

A specific action of 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide on Escherichia coli K-12 Pro(+) strains leading to highly efficient, selective isolation of Pro(-) mutants is described. Incubation of Pro(+) cells with a sublethal concentration of 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide in Penassay broth gave Pro(-) mutants, which lacked either the biosynthetic pathway of proline from glutamic acid to glutamyl gamma-phosphate (proB(-)) or the pathway from glutamyl gamma-phosphate to glutamic gamma-semialdehyde (proA(-)) or both. Pro(-) mutants, which have the metabolic block between Delta(1) pyrroline-5-carboxylate (the cyclized dehydration product of glutamic gamma-semialdehyde) and proline (proC(-)) were not found among survivors. Treatment of Pro(+) cells with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine led to isolation of all three types of Pro(-) mutants, suggesting that the action of 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide on Pro(+) cells is apparently distinct from the action of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. F-duction and interrupted mating experiments led to determination of the correlation between proline loci and the biosynthetic pathway of proline from glutamic acid.

Culture Media↗

PubMed1989

Cellulose Fermentation by an Asporogenous Mutant and an Ethanol-Tolerant Mutant of Clostridium thermocellum.

Two mutants of Clostridium thermocellum were isolated after UV light mutagenesis. Mutant A1, selected as asporogenous, exhibited a fermentation pattern similar to that of the wild type. However, at pH 6.5, the mutant degraded 12% more cellulose than did the wild type, leading to enhanced ethanol production. Mutant 647, selected as ethanol tolerant, was able to grow in medium containing 4% ethanol. During the early stage of the exponential growth phase, ethanol was produced as the main product, up to a concentration of about 9 g/liter. After 3 days of culture, 48.3 g (89% of the initial amount) of degraded cellulose per liter was fermented into 12.7 g of ethanol per liter.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1974

Mutants of Escherichia coli defective in membrane phospholipid synthesis: macromolecular synthesis in an sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase Km mutant.

sn-Glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P) auxotrophs of Escherichia coli have been selected from a strain which cannot aerobically catabolize G3P. The auxotrophy resulted from loss of the biosynthetic G3P dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8) or from a defective membranous G3P acyltransferase. The apparent K(m) of the acyltransferase for G3P was 11- to 14-fold higher (from about 90 mum to 1,000 to 1,250 mum) in membrane preparations from the mutants than those of the parent. All extracts prepared from revertants of the G3P dehydrogenase mutants showed G3P dehydrogenase activity, but most contained less than 10% of the wild-type level. Membrane preparations from revertants of the acyltransferase mutants had apparent K(m)'s for G3P similar to that of the parent. Strains have been derived in which the G3P requirement can be satisfied with glycerol in the presence of glucose, presumably because the glycerol kinase was desensitized to inhibition by fructose 1,6-diphosphate. Investigations on the growth and macromolecular synthesis in a G3P acyltransferase K(m) mutant revealed that upon glycerol deprivation, net phospholipid synthesis stopped immediately; growth continued for about one doubling; net ribonucleic acid (RNA), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and protein nearly doubled paralleling the growth curve; the rate of phospholipid synthesis assessed by labeling cells with (32)P-phosphate, (14)C-acetate, or (3)H-serine was reduced greater than 90%; the rates of RNA and DNA synthesis increased as the cells grew and then decreased as the cells stopped growing; the rate of protein synthesis showed no increase and declined more slowly than the rates of RNA and DNA synthesis when the cells stopped growing. The cells retained and gained in the capacity to synthesize phospholipids upon glycerol deprivation. These data indicate that net phospholipid synthesis is not required for continued macromolecular synthesis for about one doubling, and that the rates of these processes are not coupled during this time period.

Acetates↗

PubMed1974

Mutants of Escherichia coli defective in membrane phospholipid synthesis: mapping of sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase Km mutants.

plsB mutants of Escherichia coli are sn-glycerol 3-phosphate auxotrophs which owe their requirement to a K(m) defect in sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase, the first enzyme in the phospholipid biosynthetic pathway. We have located the plsB gene at minute 69 of the E. coli genetic map, far removed from the gene defined by mutants with a temperature-sensitive sn-glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase. The plsB gene was cotransduced with the dctA locus, and the transduction data indicated that the clockwise gene order is asd, plsB, dctA, xyl. plsB(-) is recessive to plsB(+) and all acyltransferase K(m) mutants tested lie very close to the plsB locus. Effective supplementation of plsB mutants was shown not to require a defective glpD gene.

Acyltransferases↗

PubMed1994

Isolation of an R- M+ mutant of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:8 and its application in construction of rough mutants utilizing mini-Tn5 derivatives and lipopolysaccharide-specific phage.

A generally applicable procedure was used to isolate a spontaneous restriction-deficient mutant of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:8. Transposition frequency in the mutant strain 8081-res was approximately 6.7 x 10(-6) per recipient, while it was practically zero in the wild-type strain 8081-c. Mobilization frequency into 8081-res was 10(5) times higher than that into the wild-type strain. The mutant had lost the ability to express the YenI restriction endonuclease activity present in serotype O:8 strains. This allowed the construction of a transposon library in 8081-res. Insertion mutants with transposons in the genes of the rfa region were selected from this library.

Bacteriophages↗

PubMed1974

Conditional lethal mutants of adenovirus 2-simian virus 40 hybrids. I. Host range mutants of Ad2+ND1.

Human adenovirus type 2 (Ad2) grows poorly in monkey cells, although this defect can be overcome by co-infection with simian virus 40 (SV40). The nondefective Ad2-SV40 hybrid virus, Ad2(+)ND1, replicates efficiently in both human and African green monkey kidney cells, presumably due to the insertion of SV40 sequences into the Ad2 DNA. Several mutants of Ad2(+)ND1 have been isolated that grow and plaque poorly in monkey cells, although they retain the ability to replicate and plaque efficiently in HeLa cells. One of these mutants (H39) has been examined in detail. Studies comparing the DNA of the mutant with Ad2(+)ND1 either by the cleavage patterns produced by Escherichia coli R.RI restriction endonuclease digestion or by heteroduplexing reveal no differences. The pattern of protein synthesis of Ad2(+)ND1 and H39 in monkey cells is quite different with the mutant resembling Ad2, which is defective in the synthesis of late proteins. However, in human cells, the proteins synthesized by H39 and the parent Ad2(+)ND1 are very similar. The production of SV40 U antigen in H39-infected cells is different from that in Ad2(+)ND1-infected cells. Finally, the growth of H39 in monkey cells can be complemented by SV40.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed1975

Characterization of new regulatory mutants of bacteriophage T4. II. New class of mutants.

New mutants of bacteriophage T4 that overproduce the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase were investigated. Unlike previously described overproducers of this enzyme (Johnson and Hall, 1974), these mutants did not overproduce deoxycytidylate deaminase. Overproduction of dihydrofolate reductase by the new mutants occurred because enzymatic activity continued to increase for a longer period of time in cells infected by the mutants than in cells infected by wild-type phage. This continued increase occurred even in the presence of rifampin, indicating that the overproduction is probably due to a post-transcriptional event. Both these new overproducers and the previously described overproducers were studied by using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The two types of overproducers appeared to be very different. The previously described overproducers showed a delay and/or reduction in the synthesis of several proteins that normally started to be made 4 to 6 min after infection. Several proteins could be seen to be overproduced on the gels. The new overproducers did not show the delay in the synthesis of some proteins and only overproduced a few proteins. The new gene defined by the new overproducers is between the gene coding for thymidine kinase and the gene coding for lysozyme.

Aminohydrolases↗

PubMed1976

RNA- temperature-sensitive mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus: L-protein thermosensitivity accounts for transcriptase restriction of group I mutants.

In vitro transcriptase activity of three group I temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus restricted at 39 C was restored by L-protein fractions derived from wild-type (wt) vesicular stomatitis virion nucleo-capsids. Soluble NS protein from wt nucleocapsids did not reconstitute restricted transcriptions of the group I RNA-ts mutants. NS protein activity, but not L protein activity, was purified from the group I ts mutants; this NS fraction always displayed the wt phenotype in reconstitution assays. Neither the L nor the NS protein was capable of restoring the defective transcriptive activity of the group IV vesicular stomatitis virus mutant ts W16B.

Capsid↗

PubMed1976

Conditional lethal mutants of adenovirus type 2-simian virus 40 hybrids. II. Ad2+ND1 host-range mutants that synthesize fragments of the Ad2+ND1 30K protein.

Adenovirus type 2 (Ad2) grows 1,000 times less well in monkey cells than in human cells. This defect can be overcome, not only upon co-infection of cells with simian virus 40 (SV40), but also when the relevant part of the SV40 genome is integrated into the adenovirus genome to form an adenovirus-SV40 hybrid virus. We have used the nondefective Ad2-SV40 hybrid virus Ad2+ND1, which contains an insertion of 17% of the SV40 genome, to isolate host-range mutants which are defective in growth on monkey cells although they grow normally on human cells. Like Ad2, these mutants are defective in the synthesis of late proteins in monkey cells. A 30,000-molecular-weight protein (30K), unique to Ad2+ND1-infected cells, can be synthesized in vitro, using Ad2+ND1 mRNA that contains SV40 sequences. 30K is not seen in cells infected with those host-range mutants that are most defective in growth on monkey cells, and translation in vitro of SV40-specific mRNA from these cells produces new unique polypeptides, instead of 30K. Genetic and biochemical analyses indicate that these mutants carry point mutations rather than deletions.

Adenoviridae↗