- Volume 143, Issue 6, 1997

Bacteriophages occur in high numbers in environmental ecosystems and are thus significant mediators of microbial survival and activities. However, interactions between microbial populations and phages in situ have been largely ignored. Current understanding of the process relies on studies performed with well-fed, laboratory-grown host bacteria. The purpose of the experiments reported here was to determine bacteriophage-host interactions under environmentally relevant conditions of nutrient limitation. These studies have revealed the importance of a phenomenon called pseudolysogeny in the maintenance of viral genetic material for extended periods of time in natural ecosystems. Pseudolysogeny is a form of phage-host cell interaction in which the nucleic acid of the phage resides within its starved host in an unstable, inactive state. It is hypothesized that pseudolysogeny occurs due to the cell's highly starved condition. In such cells, there is insufficient energy available for the phage to initiate genetic expression leading to either a true temperate response or to the lytic response. However, upon nutrient addition, the pseudolysogenic state is resolved, resulting in either the establishment of true lysogeny or the initiation of the lytic production of progeny virions. The pseudolysogenic state may explain the long-term survival of viruses in unfavourable environments in which the infective half-life of their virions is relatively short.

Variations in expression of the nah genes of the NAH7 (naphthalene biodegradation) plasmid of Pseudomonas putida when placed in different chromosomal locations in Escherichia coli have been studied by employing a collection of hybrid mini-Tn5 transposons bearing lacZ fusions to the Psal promoter, along with the cognate regulatory gene nahR. Insertions of Psal-lacZ reporters in the proximity of the chromosomal origin of replication, oriC, increased accumulation of β-galactosidase in vivo. Position-dependent changes in expression of the reporter product could not be associated with local variations of the supercoiling in the DNA region, as revealed by probing the chromosome with mobile gyrB-lacZ elements. Such variations in β-galactosidase activity (and, therefore, the expression of catabolic genes) seemed, instead, to be linked to the increase in gene dosage associated with regions close to oriC, and not to local variations in chromosome structure. The tolerance of strains to the selection markers borne by the transposons also varied in parallel with the changes in LacZ levels. The role of chromosomal positioning as a mechanism for the outcome of adaptation phenotypes is discussed.

A gene-replacement mutagenesis method has been developed for the anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough and used to delete dcrA, encoding a potential oxygen or redox sensor with homology to the methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins. A suicide plasmid, containing a cat-marked dcrA allele and a counter-selectable sacB marker was transferred from Escherichia coli S17-1 to D. vulgaris by conjugation. Following plasmid integration the desired dcrA deletion mutant (D. vulgaris F100) was obtained in media containing sucrose and chloramphenicol. Southern blot screening was required to distinguish D. vulgaris F100 from strains in which the sacB marker was inactivated by transposition of an endogenous IS element. No anaerotactic deficiency has so far been detected in D. vulgaris F100, which was found to be more resistant to inactivation by oxygen than the wild-type. Increased transcription of the rbo-rub operon, located immediately downstream from dcrA, was demonstrated by Northern blotting and may be the cause of this unusual phenotype, in view of the recent discovery that Rbo can complement the deleterious effects of superoxide dismutase deficiency in E. coli.

The organization of genes involved in utilization of methylamine (mau genes) was studied in the obligate methylotroph ‘Methylobacillus flagellatum’ KT. Nine open reading frames were identified as corresponding to the genes mauFBEDAGLMN. In addition, an open reading frame (orf-1) encoding a polypeptide with unknown function was identified upstream of the mau gene cluster. Subclones of the ‘M. flagellatum’ KT gene cluster were used for complementation of a series of chemically induced mau mutants of ‘M. flagellatum’ KT. Mutants in mauF, mauB, mauEID, mauA, mauG, mauL and mauM were identified. Two mutants (mau-18 and mau-19) were not complemented by the known mau genes. Since none of the chemically induced mutants studied had a defect in orf-1 or mauN, insertion mutants in these genes were constructed. Phenotypically the mutants fell into three groups. The mauF, mauB, mauE/D, mauA, mauG, mauL and mauM mutants do not grow on methylamine as a source of carbon and lack methylamine dehydrogenase activity, but they synthesize both the large and the small subunit polypeptides albeit at different ratios. The mau-18 and mau-19 mutants do not grow on methylamine as a source of carbon, and lack both methylamine dehydrogenase activity and the methylamine dehydrogenase subunits. The orf-1 and mauN mutants grow on methylamine as a source of carbon and synthesize wild-type levels of methylamine dehydrogenase. It has been shown earlier that the product of the mauM gene is not required for synthesis of active methylamine dehydrogenase in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 and Paracoccus denitrificans. However, MauM is required for synthesis of functional methylamine dehydrogenase in ‘M. flagellatum’.

Escherichia coli contains two genes (acnA and acnB) encoding aconitase activities. An acnB mutant was engineered by replacing the chromosomal acnB gene by an internally deleted derivative containing a tet R cassette. An acnB double mutant was then made by transducing a previously constructed acnA::kan R mutation into the acnB::tet R strain. Western blotting confirmed that the AcnA and AcnB proteins were no longer produced by the corresponding mutants and PCR analysis showed that the chromosomal acnB gene had been replaced by the disrupted gene. Aerobic and anaerobic growth in glucose minimal medium were impaired but not abolished by the acnB mutation, indicating that the lesion is partially complemented by the acnA + gene, and growth was enhanced by glutamate. The acnAB double mutant would not grow on unsupplemented glucose minimal medium and although it responded to glutamate like a typical auxotroph under anaerobic conditions, under aerobic conditions no response to glutamate was observed before it was over-grown by ‘revertants’ lacking citrate synthase (acnAB gltA). The acnAB double mutant retained a low but significant aconitase activity (< 5% of wild-type), designated AcnC. Enzymological and regulatory studies with acn-lacZ fusions indicated that AcnB is the major aconitase, which is synthesized earlier in the growth cycle than AcnA, and subject to catabolite and anaerobic repression.

Chlamydiae exhibit low interspecies DNA homology and plasmids from different chlamydial species can be readily distinguished by Southern blot analysis and restriction enzyme profiling. In contrast, available plasmid sequence data from within the species Chlamydia trachomatis indicate that plasmids from human isolates are highly conserved. To evaluate the nature and extent of plasmid variation, the complete nucleotide sequences were determined for novel plasmids from three diverse non-human chlamydial isolates: pCpA1 from avian Chlamydia psittaci (N352); pCpnE1 from equine Chlamydia pneumoniae (N16); and pMoPn from C. trachomatis mouse pneumonitis. Comparison of the sequence data did not identify an overall biological function for the plasmid but did reveal considerable sequence conservation (> 60%) and a remarkably consistent genomic arrangement comprising eight major ORFs and four 22 bp tandem repeats. The plasmid sequences were close to 7500 nucleotides in length (pCpA1, 7553 bp; pMoPn, 7502 bp) however the equine C. pneumoniae plasmid was smaller (7362 bp) than all other chlamydial plasmids. The reduced size of this plasmid was due to a single large deletion occurring within ORF 1; this potentially generates two smaller ORFs. The disruption of ORF 1 is the only significant variation identified amongst the chlamydial plasmids and could prove important for future vector development studies.

From a cDNA library, constructed from mushroom primordia, nine cDNAs were isolated which were either induced or specifically expressed during fruit body development and maturation of the basidiomycete Agaricus bisporus. These cDNAs varied in size from 372 to 1019 bp and hybridized to transcripts of 400-1600 nt. Four of the cDNAs were only expressed in the generative phase o: the life cycle while the other five cDNAs were strongly induced but had low steady-state mRNA levels in vegetatively grown mycelium of the hybrid strain Horst U1. An apparent full-length cDNA could be identified by sequence analysis and specified a putative protein homologous to the δ-subunit of the mitochondrial ATP synthase complex of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Neurospora crassa. For one of the partial cDNAs, significant homology was found with a family of cell division control proteins, while another partial cDNA appeared to encode a cytochrome P450. All cDNAs, except the presumed cytochrome-P450-specifying cDNA (cypA), hybridized with single copy genes scattered over the Agaricus genome. For the cypA gene, the presence of several additional copies was shown by heterologous hybridizations. Based on changes in expression levels of the fruit-body-induced genes during development coinciding with alterations in morphological appearance of mushrooms, four stages of development were distinguished during growth and maturation of A. bisporus fruit bodies.

The basidiomycete Cryptococcus neoformans causes life-threatening infections in immunocompromised patients, and available chemotherapeutic agents are potentially toxic or have limited efficacy. in vitro, C. neoformans is very sensitive to selected benzimidazole compounds (e.g. albendazole), which act by disrupting microtubules through binding to the β-tubulin subunit. To understand the basis for this benzimidazole sensitivity, we have characterized C. neoformans β-tubulin genes and their expression. Analysis of PCR amplification products, genomic and cDNA clones and Southern blots identified two β-tubulin genes. TUB1 contains seven introns, including one that splits the start codon, and encodes a 447 amino acid protein with >80% identity to most other β-tubulins. A partial sequence of TUB2 revealed a higher density of introns and a considerably more divergent β-tubulin. The relative expression of TUB1 to TUB2 determined by reverse-transcription PCR was about 3:1, consistent with a more limited role for the TUB2 product. Comparisons of β-tubulin sequences from C. neoformans and from various benzimidazole-sensitive and -resistant organisms strongly suggest that the TUB1 product represents the primary benzimidazole target. This was supported by the identification of a His6 to Gin change in TUB1 from three independently isolated albendazole-resistant mutants.

PCR was used to amplify fragments corresponding to the chitin synthase (CHS) genes from the Oomycetes Saprolegnia monoica, Phytophthora capsicum and Achlya ambisexualis, utilizing as primers, oligonucleotides designed from the conserved region of CHS genes of chitinous fungi. Chitin synthase homologues were found in the three cellulosic fungi. The chitin synthase 2 gene (CHS2) from S. monoica was cloned, sequenced and characterized. The amino acid sequence deduced from the CHS2 genomic DNA revealed several domains, corresponding to the catalytic domains and polypeptide signatures, of high identity with CHS genes from chitinous fungi. Existence of a CHS gene family in S. monoica was supported by the identification of two CHS sequences among the PCR products, the localization of CHS homologues on two chromosomes, and the detection of two transcripts in mycelia and protoplasts. Polyclonal anti-chitin synthase antibodies raised against the N-terminal and the neutral fragments of the CHS2 products revealed, respectively, two and four proteins in membrane fractions and a truncated active form in entrapped product. The overall comparison of the structure and organization of CHS genes indicates that in spite of their divergent evolution, Oomycetes and chitinous fungi have evolved with conserved chitin synthase systems.

Streptococcus gordonii M5 and DL1 each express two related adhesin polypeptides, SspA and SspB, which are members of the antigen I/II family of streptococcal surface proteins. The sspA and sspB genes are tandemly arranged in both strains, with sspA residing upstream of sspB. The genes are separated by approximately 400 nucleotides in S. gordonii DL1 and 1300 nucleotides in S. gordonii M5. The nucleotide sequence of the sspA/sspB intergenic region of strain M5 is reported and the difference in length compared to S. gordonii DL1 shown to arise from the presence of an insertion sequence, designated ISSg1, consisting of 1197 bp. The nucleotide sequence of ISSg1 is highly homologous to IS1167 of Streptococcus pneumoniae and is related to a lesser extent to other members of the IS1096 family of bacterial insertion sequences. It contains a single ORF of 1026 bp, encoding a putative transposase polypeptide of 342 amino acids. The deduced transposase sequence exhibits 93% identity with the transposase polypeptides encoded by IS1167. However, the S. gordonii protein lacks a 90 residue central domain that is present in the IS1167 transposase and in the transposase polypeptides encoded by the related IS elements. In addition, the organization of the inverted repeats flanking the transposase gene in S. gordonii differs from IS1167. Extension products generated from a sspB-specific primer indicated that transcription initiates within the intergenic region in both S. gordonii strains, suggesting that sspA and sspB are independently transcribed. Transcription appears to initiate 42 bases upstream of sspB in S. gordonii DL1 In contrast, sspB transcription in M5 initiates at least 125 bases upstream of sspB, in close proximity to the terminal inverted repeat of ISSg1. These results indicate that the sspB promoters of S. gordonii M5 and DL1 are not conserved and suggest that ISSg1 sequences may play a role in directing the expression of sspB in S. gordonii M5.

The DNA inversion systems are made up of an invertible DNA segment and a site-specific recombinase gene. Five systems are known in prokaryotes: the Salmonella typhimurium H segment and hin gene (H-hin), phage Mu G-gin, phage P1 C-cin, Escherichia coli e14 P-pin, and Shigella sonnei B-pinB systems. In this report a site-specific recombinase (pinD) gene of Shigella dysenteriae was cloned and sequenced. pinD mediated inversion of five known segments at the same extent in E. coll. Although one inv sequence was identified, no invertible region was detected in a cloned fragment. The predicted amino acid sequences of PinD and three ORFs showed high homology to those of Gin and its flanking gene products. An ORF homologous to Mom of Mu conserved a functional activity to modify intracellular plasmid DNA. Southern analysis showed that the cloned fragment contains two homologous regions corresponding to the left and right ends of the Mu genome. Together these results indicated that the pinD gene in S. dysenteriae is derived from a Mu-like prophage.

Expression studies on the aldA gene encoding aldehyde dehydrogenase in Escherichia coli showed induction by two types of molecule (hydroxyaldehydes and 2-oxoglutarate), carbon catabolite repression and respiration dependence. Promoter deletion analysis showed that the proximal operator, which includes inducer-regulator complex and catabolite repression protein (Crp) recognition sites, was necessary for induction by either type of inducer, and that full induction by aldehydes required the cooperation of distal operator sequences beyond position -119. Interactions of the regulator protein with the -59 to -6 fragment were shown by DNA mobility shift assays. Fusions of different deletions of the aldA promoter to lacZ indicated that a Crp site proximal to the transcriptional start point (tsp) was functional in the cAMP-dependent catabolite repression of this system, whereas a distal control site was likely to operate in a cAMP-independent catabolite repression. DNA mobility shift and footprint analyses showed that only the tsp proximal site was bound by pure Crp with a K d of 5.4 x 10-7 M. As shown by an Arc-defective strain, the aldA gene seems to be repressed by the Arc system under anaerobiosis, displaying its physiological full induction and activity in the presence of oxygen.