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Molecular cloning and localization of an abundant novel protein of Plasmodium berghei.

Screening of Plasmodium berghei genomic libraries using DNA insert corresponding to the 3' half of P. falciparum 70-kDa heat shock protein gene identified several abundant clones which represent a novel gene in the parasite. The complete sequence was obtained using an approach based on inverse polymerase chain reaction. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence revealed the presence of 19 imperfect repeats of the sequence Gly-Gly-Met-Pro toward the carboxy terminus. Except for the similar sequence repeated seven times in the malarial 70-kDa heat shock protein, the sequence of the cloned gene product is very different. Moreover, the sequence also revealed acidic and basic domains in the protein which are more than 60% similar in sequence to functional domains present in numerous DNA binding transcription factors. A 56-kDa protein was identified by immunoprecipitation from labeled P. berghei extract using antisera raised in mice against gene products expressed in Escherichia coli. The protein is present in all the different life cycle stages of the parasites as revealed by immunoelectron microscopy.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Stiffness of sensory hair bundles in the sacculus of the frog.

The stiffness of individual hair bundles of hair cells from the frog sacculus was measured using calibrated quartz probes. For displacements of up to 1 micron in either direction (angular deflections up to +/- 0.13 rad) the stiffness was constant. The stiffness did not depend on whether the bundle was in compression or tension. At first approximation, the stiffness was inversely proportional to the square of the height of application of the force above the apical surface of the hair cell. This is consistent with pivoting of the stereocilia within the hair bundle about their points of insertion into the cuticular plate. The pivotal stiffness of the bundle was approximately proportional to the bundle's cross-sectional area and hence to the number of stereocilia of which it is composed. It is inferred that the contribution of the kinocilium to the total bundle stiffness is small. It is concluded that applied forces are shared almost equally amongst all stereocilia, that there is relative shear between neighbouring stereocilia during bundle deflection and that each stereocilium contributes a pivotal stiffness of 0.49 +/- 0.15 X 10(-15) N X m X rad-1. The measured stiffness of the stereocilium is consistent with a structure which bends mainly at the tapering insertion point. The data are also consistent with little cross-linking here between actin filaments. The nature of the links between stereocilia in the hair bundle is also discussed.

Animals↗

Topogenesis of membrane proteins at the endoplasmic reticulum.

Most eukaryotic membrane proteins are cotranslationally integrated into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane by the Sec61 translocation complex. They are targeted to the translocon by hydrophobic signal sequences, which induce the translocation of either their N- or their C-terminal sequence. Signal sequence orientation is largely determined by charged residues flanking the apolar sequence (the positive-inside rule), folding properties of the N-terminal segment, and the hydrophobicity of the signal. Recent in vivo experiments suggest that N-terminal signals initially insert into the translocon head-on to yield a translocated N-terminus. Driven by a local electrical potential, the signal may invert its orientation and translocate the C-terminal sequence. Increased hydrophobicity slows down inversion by stabilizing the initial bound state. In vitro cross-linking studies indicate that signals rapidly contact lipids upon entering the translocon. Together with the recent crystal structure of the homologous SecYEbeta translocation complex of Methanococcus jannaschii, which did not reveal an obvious hydrophobic binding site for signals within the pore, a model emerges in which the translocon allows the lateral partitioning of hydrophobic segments between the aqueous pore and the lipid membrane. Signals may return into the pore for reorientation until translation is terminated. Subsequent transmembrane segments in multispanning proteins behave similarly and contribute to the overall topology of the protein.

Animals↗

Discordant rates of chromosome evolution in the Drosophila virilis species group.

In Drosophila, the availability of polytene chromosome maps and of sets of probes covering most regions of the chromosomes allows a direct comparison of the organization of the genome in different species. In this work, we report the localization, in Drosophila virilis, D. montana, and D. novamexicana, of > 100 bacteriophage PI clones containing approximately 65 kilobase inserts of genomic DNA from D. virilis. Each clone hybridizes with a single euchromatic site in either chromosome 1 or chromosome 3 in D. virilis. From these data, it is possible to estimate the minimum number of inversions required to transform the map positions of the probes in one species into the map positions of the same probes in a related species. The data indicate that, in the D. virilis species group, the X chromosome has up to four times the number of inversions as are observed in chromosome 3. The first photographic polytene chromosome maps for D. montana and D. novamexicana are also presented.

Animals↗

Importance of M-protein C terminus as substrate antigen for serodetection of equine arteritis virus infection.

Equine arteritis virus (EAV), an enveloped positive-stranded RNA virus, is the prototype of the arterivirus group. In a previous paper (A. Kheyar, S. Martin, G. St.-Laurent, P. J. Timoney, W. H. McCollum, and D. Archambault, Clin. Diagn. Lab. Immunol. 4:648-652, 1997), we have shown that the unglycosylated membrane (M) protein, which is composed of 162 amino acids (aa), is a major target of equine antibody to EAV. In order to determine the antigenic regions of the M protein, the cDNA encoding the M protein of EAV was inserted into the procaryotic expression vector pGEX-4T-1 to produce recombinant glutathione S-transferase-M fusion protein. Various deletion mutant clones, which covered the entire sequence of the M protein, were then generated by inverse PCR and expressed in Escherichia coli to examine, by a Western blot assay, the antigenic reactivity of the clone-derived truncated M proteins with sera from horses either experimentally or naturally infected with EAV. Deletion of the hydrophobic N-terminal 87 aa did not abolish immune reactivity of the protein with serum antibodies to EAV, thereby demonstrating the antigenicity of the C-terminal region (aa 88 to 162) of the M protein. Further truncations of the M-protein C-terminal domain defined particular linear epitope-containing amino acid sequence regions. However, only the M-protein C-terminal region was readily recognized by all EAV-specific horse antisera tested in this study. Based on these findings, only the M-protein C-terminal polypeptide composed of aa 88 to 162 is necessary to identify horse serum antibodies specific to the EAV M protein. Thus, this polypeptide might be useful for serodetection of EAV-infected animals.

Animals↗

New insight into the molecular basis of hemophilia A.

Since publication of the sequence of the factor VIII gene (F8) in 1984, a large number of mutations that cause hemophilia A (HA) have been identified. With the technical advances associated with mutation screenings, it is now possible to identify a putative F8 sequence alteration in the great majority of HA patients. The mutation spectrum includes 2 inversion hot spots (intron 1 and intron 22 inversions) mediated by intrachromosomal recombination between 2 copies of long inverted repeats, one of which lies within the F8 gene whereas the other is extragenic. Point mutations are distributed over all of the exons, and deletions or insertions of different sizes and mutations affecting splice sites account for the rest of the known mutations. In a small number of cases, however, we are unable to find any disease-determining DNA changes in the coding regions of the F8 gene. This fact points to possibilities of unknown gene rearrangements that disrupt the F8 gene or mutations in other genes that play a role in the processing/secretion of the factor VIII protein. Moreover, the proof of an absence of F8 messenger RNA (mRNA) in one patient points to either a defect in the expression of F8 mRNA or its rapid degradation, which may represent a novel mechanism leading to HA.

Factor VIII↗

The locus coding for the 3-nitrobenzoate dioxygenase of Comamonas sp. strain JS46 is flanked by IS1071 elements and is subject to deletion and inversion events.

In Comamonas sp. strain JS46, 3-nitrobenzoate (3Nba) is initially oxidized at the 3,4 position by a dioxygenase, which results in release of nitrite and production of protocatechuate. The locus coding for the 3Nba dioxygenase (designated mnb, for m-nitrobenzoate) was mobilized from strain JS46 using a plasmid capture method, cloned, and sequenced. The 3Nba dioxygenase (MnbA) is a member of the phthalate family of aromatic oxygenases. An open reading frame designated mnbB that codes for an NAD(P)H-dependent class IA aromatic oxidoreductase is downstream of mnbA. MnbB is tentatively identified as the oxidoreductase that transfers reducing equivalents to MnbA in strain JS46. The mnb locus is flanked by IS1071 elements. The upstream element is interrupted by a novel insertion sequence designated ISCsp1, and the transposase genes of the flanking insertion elements are transcribed in the direction opposite the direction of mnbA transcription. Spontaneous deletion of mnb occurs because of homologous recombination between the directly repeated flanking IS1071 elements. In addition, in approximately 0.007 to 0.2% of any population of JS46 cells growing on 3Nba, alternative orientations of mnb relative to the flanking IS1071 elements are detected. These alternative forms are the result of inversions of mnb and the flanking IS1071 elements. Inversions appear to occur because of homologous recombination between the inverted repeats that flank the IS1071 elements.

Bacterial Proteins↗

A system for insertional mutagenesis and chromosomal rearrangement using the Ds transposon and Cre-lox.

A system for insertional mutagenesis and chromosomal rearrangement in Arabidopsis has been developed. The T-DNA vectors are based on the maize transposon Ds, lox sites from the Cre-lox site-specific recombination system, and transcriptional fusions expressing Ac transposase or Cre recombinase. The engineered transposon is termed Dslox. Transposed Dslox insertions were created by crossing plants bearing Dslox with plants expressing Ac transposase, then simultaneously selecting for excision and reinsertion in F2 seedlings using the herbicides chlorsulfuron and phosphonothricin, respectively. F2 plants bearing stable Dslox insertions were identified by scoring for the absence of the Ac transposase T-DNA, using a novel, visual marker in that T-DNA. Two independent Dslox insertions were characterized and placed 5.6 and 16.5 cM from their T-DNAlox, which mapped close to m506 on chromosome 4. Plants bearing either of the two different transposed Dsloxs and T-DNAlox were crossed to plants expressing Cre recombinase, which catalyzed recombination between the lox site in transposed Dslox and the lox site in T-DNAlox. Lox-lox recombinants were identified selectively amongst progeny of these crosses. Molecular and genetic analysis of the lox-lox rearrangements indicated that both were inversions. The smaller inversion was germinally transmitted from generation to generation as a simple trait, whereas the larger inversion was not transmitted to progeny of plants bearing the rearrangement.

Arabidopsis↗

Construction of a Tc1-like transposon Sleeping Beauty-based gene transfer plasmid vector for generation of stable transgenic mammalian cell clones.

We have constructed a single plasmid-, Tc1-like transposon-based gene transfer vector, termed the Prince Charming vector (pPC). The pPC vector was constructed by ligating the CMV-driven "Sleeping Beauty" transposase gene downstream to the Tc1-like transposon inverted repeat (IR) elements and by inserting the RSV promoter (to drive expression of the gene-of-interest) along with a multiple cloning site (MCS), a polyadenylation signal, and the SV40 promoter-driven neomycin gene, at a site flanked by the transposon IR elements. To assess the utility of the pPC vector, we cloned a red fluorescent protein (RFP) gene into the pPC vector at the MCS and transfected human TE85 osteosarcoma cells with the pPC-RFP expression vector using Effectene. Stable transgenic cell clones expressing RFP were selected with G418 sulfate and individual clones were isolated. After 4 weeks of clonal isolation and expansion, 99% of cells in each randomly selected clone expressed RFP strongly. Aliquots of each clone were then maintained in either the presence or the absence of G418 sulfate and were passaged weekly. Even after 6 months in culture in the absence of G418 sulfate, approximately 90% of the cells in each clone still maintained a strong expression level of RFP, indicating that these transgenic cell clones were stable and that the clonal stability of these clones did not require a constant selection pressure. In conclusion, we have developed a single plasmid-, Tc1-like transposon-based gene transfer vector that can be used to generate stable transgenic mammalian cell clones.

Chromosome Inversion↗

Inverse relation between input resistance and threshold current in canine cardiac syncytium.

INTRODUCTION: The present study was designed to examine the extent to which differences in input resistance contribute to the heterogeneity of excitability in canine endocardium. METHODS AND RESULTS: The experiments were performed in isolated canine right anterior papillary muscles. The preparations were superfused with oxygenated Tyrode's solution at 36 degrees to 37 degrees C. Conventional methods were used for recording and stimulation. To obtain pertinent data, two microelectrodes were inserted into the same cell or into two contiguous cells. One microelectrode injected intracellular hyperpolarizing current to polarize the membrane; the second microelectrode recorded the changes in transmembrane potential. The two micreoelectrodes were separated by 8 to 10 microm. The procedure used provided input resistance and threshold current values for the doubly impaled cell or the two contiguous cell units. The same procedure was repeated at different sites of the preparation. The plot of input resistance versus threshold current showed a good fit (R2 = 0.97) between the experimental data and the curve for the rectangular hyperbola XY = 30 mV; therefore, the input resistance and the threshold current are inversely related. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the canine cardiac syncytium is nonhomogeneous with respect to input resistance and that input resistance is inversely related to the minimal current needed to reach threshold. Accordingly, the electrical excitability of the cells studied also is inhomogeneous.

Animals↗

Induction of antiestrogen resistance in human breast cancer cells by random insertional mutagenesis using defective retroviruses: identification of bcar-1, a common integration site.

Duration of response to antiestrogen therapy in metastatic breast cancer is limited due to the development of antiestrogen-resistant tumors. The mechanisms involved are not understood but could originate from (epi)genetic alterations within the tumor cells. We have applied in vitro random insertional mutagenesis with replication defective retroviruses to identify those genes playing a key role in development of antiestrogen resistance in human breast cancer cells. Eighty antiestrogen-resistant cell clones were isolated from 7 x 10(8) estrogen-dependent ZR-75-1 cells, mass-infected with defective retroviruses and subjected to 4-OH-tamoxifen selection. Integration site-specific DNA probes were made by inverse polymerase chain reaction techniques and used to search for common integration sites. Six cell clones were identified with retroviral genome integrations in the same orientation in a single locus, designated breast cancer antiestrogen resistance locus-1 (bcar-1). These bcar-1 cell clones had lost estrogen receptor expression and had become estrogen independent. Our results strongly suggest that alteration of the bcar-1 locus is responsible for development of antiestrogen resistance in human breast cancer cells in vitro. In addition, we have shown that in vitro insertional mutagenesis using defective retroviruses can be applied for gene tagging in human cells.

Autoradiography↗

Role of native topology investigated by multiple unfolding simulations of four SH3 domains.

The relative importance of amino acid sequence and native topology in the unfolding process of two SH3 domains and two circular permutants was investigated by 120 molecular dynamics runs at 375 K for a total simulation time of 0.72 micros. The alpha-spectrin (aSH3) and src SH3 (sSH3) domains, which have the same topology and a sequence identity of only 34%, show similar unfolding pathways. The disappearance of the three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet is the last unfolding event, in agreement with a large repertoire of kinetic data derived from point mutations as well as glycine insertions and disulfide crosslinks. Two alternative routes of beta-sheet unfolding have emerged from the analysis of the trajectories. One is statistically preferred in aSH3 (n-src loop breaks before distal hair-pin) and the inverse in sSH3. An elongation of the beta2-beta3 hairpin was observed during the unfolding of sSH3 at 375 K and in 300 K simulations started from the putative transition state of sSH3 in accord with unusual kinetic data for point mutations at the n-src loop. The change of connectivity in the permutants influenced the sequence of unfolding events mainly at the permutation site. Regions where the connectivity remained unaffected showed the same chronology of contact disappearance. Taken together with previous folding simulations of two designed three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet peptides, these results indicate that, at least for small beta-sheet proteins, the folding mechanism is primarily defined by the native state topology, whilst specific interactions determine the statistically predominant folding route.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Genome sequence of Chlamydophila caviae (Chlamydia psittaci GPIC): examining the role of niche-specific genes in the evolution of the Chlamydiaceae.

The genome of Chlamydophila caviae (formerly Chlamydia psittaci, GPIC isolate) (1 173 390 nt with a plasmid of 7966 nt) was determined, representing the fourth species with a complete genome sequence from the Chlamydiaceae family of obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens. Of 1009 annotated genes, 798 were conserved in all three other completed Chlamydiaceae genomes. The C.caviae genome contains 68 genes that lack orthologs in any other completed chlamydial genomes, including tryptophan and thiamine biosynthesis determinants and a ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase, the product of the prsA gene. Notable amongst these was a novel member of the virulence-associated invasin/intimin family (IIF) of Gram-negative bacteria. Intriguingly, two authentic frameshift mutations in the ORF indicate that this gene is not functional. Many of the unique genes are found in the replication termination region (RTR or plasticity zone), an area of frequent symmetrical inversion events around the replication terminus shown to be a hotspot for genome variation in previous genome sequencing studies. In C.caviae, the RTR includes several loci of particular interest including a large toxin gene and evidence of ancestral insertion(s) of a bacteriophage. This toxin gene, not present in Chlamydia pneumoniae, is a member of the YopT effector family of type III-secreted cysteine proteases. One gene cluster (guaBA-add) in the RTR is much more similar to orthologs in Chlamydia muridarum than those in the phylogenetically closest species C.pneumoniae, suggesting the possibility of horizontal transfer of genes between the rodent-associated Chlamydiae. With most genes observed in the other chlamydial genomes represented, C.caviae provides a good model for the Chlamydiaceae and a point of comparison against the human atherosclerosis-associated C.pneumoniae. This crucial addition to the set of completed Chlamydiaceae genome sequences is enabling dissection of the roles played by niche-specific genes in these important bacterial pathogens.

Adhesins, Bacterial↗

Autoregulation of the mRNA export factor Yra1p requires inefficient splicing of its pre-mRNA.

Yra1p is an essential RNA-binding protein that couples transcription to export. The YRA1 gene is one of only approximately 5% of genes that undergo splicing in budding yeast, and its intron is unusual in several respects, including its large size and anomalous branchpoint sequence. We showed previously that the intron is required for autogenous regulation of Yra1p levels, which cause a dominant negative growth phenotype when elevated. The mechanism of this regulation, however, remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that growth is inversely correlated with splicing efficiency. Substitution of a canonical branchpoint moderately improves splicing but compromises autoregulation. Shortening the intron from 766 to approximately 350 nt significantly improves splicing but abolishes autoregulation. Notably, proper regulation can be restored by insertion of unrelated sequences into the shortened intron. In that the current paradigm for regulated splicing involves the binding of protein factors to specific elements in the pre-mRNA, the regulation of YRA1 expression appears to occur by a novel mechanism. We propose that appropriate levels of Yra1p are maintained by inefficient cotranscriptional splicing.

Base Pairing↗

[2% Haemophilia A patients without mutation in the FVIII gene].

In Germany, approximately 6,000 patients are suffering from haemophilia A. Screening methods cover 97% of the mutations. For the other patients the coding sequences of the FVIII gene have to be sequenced in total. Out of 1,350 patients, no mutation was observed in 80 patients. In 5 patients, we observed an inversion in intron 1. Known mutations were detected in 16 patients, and in 19 cases novel mutations were characterized (14 in coding regions and 5 in flanking introns). The mutations are mainly base pair substitutions, small deletions or insertions (max. 4 bp) and predicted to cause amino acid exchanges or frameshifts leading to premature stop codons. Moreover, 5 polymorphisms were identified in exons 14 and 26 as well as in introns 7 and 19. Further studies are necessary to identify their causative effects. Surprisingly, in 23 patients out of this subgroup of 80, no mutation was identified in the FVIII gene. Therefore, mutations in non-coding areas or even in other genes have to be considered responsible for the haemophilia A like phenotype. One of them codes for the von Willebrand factor (vWF). We confirmed in two of our cases mutations in the vWF gene.

Base Sequence↗

Integration host factor is required for the DNA inversion that controls phase variation in Escherichia coli.

The on-and-off expression (phase variation) of type 1 fimbriae, encoded by fimA, in Escherichia coli is controlled by the inversion of a promoter-containing 314-base-pair DNA element. This element is flanked on each side by a 9-base-pair inverted, repeat sequence and requires closely linked genes for inversion. Homology analysis of the products of these genes, fimB and fimE, reveals a strong similarity with the proposed DNA binding domain of lambda integrase, which mediates site-specific recombination in the presence of integration host factor. Integration host factor, encoded by himA and hip/himD, binds to the sequence 5' TNYAANNNRTTGAT 3', where Y = pyrimidine and R = purine, in mediating integration-excision. In analyzing the DNA flanking the fim 314-base-pair inversion sequence, we found the adjacent sequence 5' TTTAACTTATTGAT 3', which corresponds perfectly with the consensus integration host factor binding site. To characterize the role of himA in phase variation, we transduced either a deletion of himA or an insertionally inactivated hip/himD gene into an E. coli strain with a fimA-lacZ operon fusion. We found the rate of phase variation decreases sharply from 10(-3) to less than 10(-5) per cell per generation. Southern hybridization analysis demonstrates that the himA mutation results in a failure of the switch-generated genetic rearrangement. When the transductant was transformed with a himA+ plasmid, normal switching returned. Thus integration host factor is required for normal type 1 fimbriae phase variation in E. coli.

Bacterial Adhesion↗

Lack of feedback inhibition of V kappa gene rearrangement by productively rearranged alleles.

Circular DNAs excised by immunoglobulin kappa chain gene rearrangements were cloned and characterized. 16 of 17 clones examined were double recombination products containing a V kappa-J kappa rearrangement (coding joint) as well as the reciprocal element (signal joint) of another V kappa-J kappa rearrangement. These products suggested multiple recombination, primary inversion, and secondary excision. In primary events, 5 of 16 translational reading frames were in-phase. Thus, V kappa gene rearrangement may not be inhibited by the presence of a productively rearranged allele. An unusually large trinucleotide (P) insertion forming a palindrome of 12 nucleotides was also observed in one of the coding joints.

Alleles↗