Pollen- and anther-specific chi promoters from petunia: tandem promoter regulation of the chiA gene.

We have analyzed the spatial and temporal activities of chalcone flavanone isomerase (chi) A and B gene promoters from petunia. To study the tandem promoter regulation of chiA, various chiA promoter fragments were fused with the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. Analysis of transgenic plants containing these chimeric genes provided definitive proof that the chiA coding region is regulated by two distinct promoters (designated PA1 and PA2). We also showed that both promoters can function independently and that the chiA PA1 promoter is expressed in limb (epidermal and parenchyma cells), tube (inner epidermal and parenchyma cells), seed (seed coat, endosperm, and embryo), sepal, leaf, and stem. The use of chiA and chiB promoters in the regulation of anther- and pollen-specific gene expression has been studied. By analyzing transgenic plants containing chimeric genes consisting of chiA and B promoter fragments and the GUS reporter gene, we were able to identify a 0.44-kilobase chiA PA2 promoter fragment that drives pollen-specific gene expression and a 1.75-kilobase chiB PB promoter fragment that confers anther-specific (pollen and tapetum cells) expression to the GUS gene.     

Comparative evolutionary histories of chitinase genes in the Genus zea and Family poaceae

Patterns of DNA sequence diversity vary widely among genes encoding proteins that protect plants against pathogens and herbivores. Comparative studies may help determine whether these differences are due to the strength of selection acting on different types of defense, in different evolutionary lineages, or both. I analyzed sequence diversity at three chitinases, a well-studied component of defense, in two species of Zea and several Poaceae taxa. Although the Zea species are closely related and these genes code for proteins with similar biochemical function, patterns of diversity vary widely within and among species. Intraspecific diversity at chiB, chiI, and Z. mays ssp. parviglumis chiA are consistent with a neutral-equilibrium model whereas chiA had no segregating sites within Z. diploperennis--consistent with a recent and strong selective sweep. Codons identified as having diverged among Poaceae taxa in response to positive selection were significantly overrepresented among targets of selection in Arabis, suggesting common responses to selection in distantly related plant taxa. Divergence of the recent duplicates chiA and chiB is consistent with positive selection but relaxed constraint cannot be rejected. Weak evidence for adaptive divergence of these duplicated downstream components of defense contrasts with strong evidence for adaptive divergence of genes involved in pathogen recognition.     

Identification and characterization of the gene cluster involved in chitin degradation in a marine bacterium, Alteromonas sp. strain O-7.

Alteromonas sp. strain O-7 secretes chitinase A (ChiA), chitinase B (ChiB), and chitinase C (ChiC) in the presence of chitin. A gene cluster involved in the chitinolytic system of the strain was cloned and sequenced upstream of and including the chiA gene. The gene cluster consisted of three different open reading frames organized in the order chiD, cbp1, and chiA. The chiD, cbp1, and chiA genes were closely linked and transcribed in the same direction. Sequence analysis indicated that Cbp1 (475 amino acids) was a chitin-binding protein composed of two discrete functional regions. ChiD (1,037 amino acids) showed sequence similarity to bacterial chitinases classified into family 18 of glycosyl hydrolases. The cbp1 and chiD genes were expressed in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant proteins were purified to homogeneity. The highest binding activities of Cbp1 and ChiD were observed when alpha-chitin was used as a substrate. Cbp1 and ChiD possessed a chitin-binding domain (ChtBD) belonging to ChtBD type 3. ChiD rapidly hydrolyzed chitin oligosaccharides in sizes from trimers to hexamers, but not chitin. However, after prolonged incubation with large amounts of ChiD, the enzyme produced a small amount of (GlcNAc)(2) from chitin. The optimum temperature and pH of ChiD were 50 degrees C and 7.0, respectively.     

Regulation and manipulation of flavonoid gene expression in anthers of petunia: the molecular basis of the Po mutation.

Molecular mechanisms governing development of the male reproductive organs of flowers, the anthers, are largely unknown. In this article, we report on the investigation of the molecular basis of a mutation involving the expression of a gene encoding the flavonoid biosynthesis enzyme chalcone flavanone isomerase (CHI) in anthers of petunia. In petunia, the gene Po regulates the expression of CHI in anthers: PoPo petunia lines contain CHI enzyme activity in petals and anthers, whereas popo lines contain the CHI enzyme only in petals but not in anthers. As a result of the Po mutation, the substrate of CHI accumulates and therefore the pollen of a popo line are yellow or greenish. The genome of petunia contains two chi genes, chiA and chiB. In a restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, a 100% linkage was observed between Po and chiA. This result suggested that Po is identical to chiA and that Po is not a regulatory gene of chiA. Introduction of a chiA gene isolated from a PoPo line into a popo line resulted in a complementation of the mutation that was directly visible because the pollen color shifted from yellow to white. This proved that chiA and Po are identical. Because chiA encodes a functional CHI enzyme in flower petals of a popo line, we propose that the Po mutation is a mutation in the regulatory region of chiA abolishing chiA promoter activity in anthers but not in corollas. This change in anther color is a fine illustration of how floral pigmentation can be manipulated in a predictable way and suggests the use of CHI as a visible marker.     

Heterologous expression and functional characterization of a novel chitinase from the chitinolytic bacterium Chitiniphilus shinanonensis

Chitiniphilus shinanonensis strain SAY3(T) is a chitinolytic bacterium isolated from moat water of Ueda Castle in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Fifteen genes encoding putative chitinolytic enzymes (chiA-chiO) have been isolated from this bacterium. Five of these constitute a single operon (chiCDEFG). The open reading frames of chiC, chiD, chiE, and chiG show sequence similarity to family 18 chitinases, while chiF encodes a polypeptide with two chitin-binding domains but no catalytic domain. Each of the five genes was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli, and the resulting recombinant proteins were characterized. Four of the recombinant proteins (ChiC, ChiD, ChiE, and ChiG) exhibited endo-type chitinase activity toward chitinous substrates, while ChiF showed no chitinolytic activity. In contrast to most endo-type chitinases, which mainly produce a dimer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) as final product, ChiG completely split the GlcNAc dimer into GlcNAc monomers, indicating that it is a novel chitinase.     

Structure of the gene encoding chitinase D of Bacillus circulans WL-12 and possible homology of the enzyme to other prokaryotic chitinases and class III plant chitinases.

The gene (chiD) encoding the precursor of chitinase D was found to be located immediately upstream of the chiA gene, encoding chitinase A1, which is a key enzyme in the chitinase system of Bacillus circulans WL-12. Sequencing analysis revealed that the deduced polypeptide encoded by the chiD gene was 488 amino acids long and the distance between the coding regions of the chiA and chiD genes was 103 bp. Remarkable similarity was observed between the N-terminal one-third of chitinase D and the C-terminal one-third of chitinase A1. The N-terminal 47-amino-acid segment (named ND) of chitinase D showed a 61.7% amino acid match with the C-terminal segment (CA) of chitinase A1. The following 95-amino-acid segment (R-D) of chitinase D showed 62.8 and 60.6% amino acid matches, respectively, to the previously reported type III-like repeating units R-1 and R-2 in chitinase A1, which were shown to be homologous to the fibronectin type III sequence. A 73-amino-acid segment (residues 247 to 319) located in the putative activity domain of chitinase D was found to show considerable sequence similarity not only to other bacterial chitinases and class III higher-plant chitinases but also to Streptomyces plicatus endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H and the Kluyveromyces lactis killer toxin alpha subunit. The evolutionary and functional meanings of these similarities are discussed.     

苏云金芽孢杆菌chiA,chiB全基因的克隆、表达及其序列分析

以苏云金芽孢杆菌科默尔亚种15A3菌株基因组DNA为模版,用touchdown PCR方法扩增几丁质酶ChiA和ChiB的全基因序列(GenBank登录号:EF103273和DQ512474)。将PCR产物连接pUCm-T克隆载体,获得重组质粒pUCm-chiA和pUCm-chiB,分别转化E.coliXL-Blue。克隆的几丁质酶基因可以利用本身的启动子异源表达各自的蛋白,不需要几丁质作为诱导物。表达的几丁质酶能够分泌到胞外。证明15A3菌株可组成型表达2种几丁质酶。经核苷酸及氨基酸序列分析证明,chiA基因全长1426bp,含有343bp的上游非编码区和1083bp的ORF,编码360个氨基酸。推测成熟蛋白分子量为36kD,只有一个几丁质酶催化域。chiB基因全长2279bp,含有248bp的上游非编码区和2031bp的ORF,编码676个氨基酸。推测成熟蛋白分子量约为70.6kD,具有三个功能域。核苷酸序列分析显示chiA和chiB的启动子所处的位置及转录起始碱基都不相同,-35区相同,而-10区有两个碱基不同,SD序列也不完全一致。     

Chitin hydrolysis by Listeria spp., including L. monocytogenes

Listeria spp., including the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, are ubiquitous microorganisms in the environment and thus are difficult to exclude from food processing plants. The factors that contribute to their multiplication and survival in nature are not well understood, but the ability to catabolize various carbohydrates is likely to be very important. One major source of carbon and nitrogen in nature is chitin, an insoluble linear beta-1,4-linked polymer of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Chitin is found in cell walls of fungi and certain algae, in the cuticles of arthropods, and in shells and radulae of molluscs. In the present study, we demonstrated that L. monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. are able to hydrolyze alpha-chitin. The chitinolytic activity is repressed by the presence of glucose in the medium, suggesting that chitinolytic activity is subjected to catabolite repression. Activity is also regulated by temperature and is higher at 30 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. In L. monocytogenes EGD, chitin hydrolysis depends on genes encoding two chitinases, lmo0105 (chiB) and lmo1883 (chiA), but not on a gene encoding a putative chitin binding protein (lmo2467). The chiB and chiA genes are phylogenetically related to various well-characterized chitinases. The potential biological implications of chitinolytic activity of Listeria are discussed.     

Bt几丁质酶的基础表达及诱导合成的多态现象

多数微生物可以产生几丁质酶。一般认为几丁质酶基因表达受几丁质的诱导和葡萄糖抑制。但是苏云金芽胞杆菌Bacillus thuringiensis(简称Bt)几丁质酶的诱导表达方式是否与其他微生物相同,至今尚无定论。采用DNS法检测77株Bt在有或无诱导物培养基中的几丁质酶活力。研究了葡萄糖对4株不同表达类型菌株酶活力的影响,以及葡萄糖抑制与几丁质诱导之间的关系。研究发现在无几丁质诱导条件下,全部试验菌株都可以产生几丁质酶,保持一定量的基础表达,说明Bt能组成型合成几丁质酶,不需要诱导。添加诱导物之后,31株菌的酶活力没有任何变化,44株菌有不同程度的提高,但其中绝大部分诱导特性并不典型,酶活力提高不显著。许多Bt菌株几丁质酶表达兼具组成型和诱导型的特点。葡萄糖能够抑制几丁质的诱导作用,但是不能完全抑制Bt菌株几丁质酶的基础表达。比较组成型和诱导型菌株的几丁质酶基因chiA、chiB调节区域核苷酸序列,发现仅存在个别碱基的差异。     

Growth of hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus on chitin involves two family 18 chitinases

Pyrococcus furiosus was found to grow on chitin, adding this polysacharide to the inventory of carbohydrates utilized by this hyperthermophilic archaeon. Accordingly, two open reading frames (chiA [Pf1234] and chiB [Pf1233]) were identified in the genome of P. furiosus, which encodes chitinases with sequence similarity to proteins from the glycosyl hydrolase family 18 in less-thermophilic organisms. Both enzymes contain multiple domains that consist of at least one binding domain and one catalytic domain. ChiA (ca. 39 kDa) contains a putative signal peptide, as well as a binding domain (ChiA(BD)), that is related to binding domains associated with several previously studied bacterial chitinases. chiB, separated by 37 nucleotides from chiA and in the same orientation, encodes a polypeptide with two different proline-threonine-rich linker regions (6 and 3 kDa) flanking a chitin-binding domain (ChiB(BD) [11 kDa]), followed by a catalytic domain (ChiB(cat) [35 kDa]). No apparent signal peptide is encoded within chiB. The two chitinases share little sequence homology to each other, except in the catalytic region, where both have the catalytic glutamic acid residue that is conserved in all family 18 bacterial chitinases. The genes encoding ChiA, without its signal peptide, and ChiB were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. ChiA exhibited no detectable activity toward chitooligomers smaller than chitotetraose, indicating that the enzyme is an endochitinase. Kinetic studies showed that ChiB followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics toward chitotriose, although substrate inhibition was observed for larger chitooligomers. Hydrolysis patterns on chitooligosaccharides indicated that ChiB is a chitobiosidase, processively cleaving off chitobiose from the nonreducing end of chitin or other chitooligomers. Synergistic activity was noted for the two chitinases on colloidal chitin, indicating that these two enzymes work together to recruit chitin-based substrates for P. furiosus growth. This was supported by the observed growth on chitin as the sole carbohydrate source in sulfur-free media.     

苏云金芽孢杆菌chiA,chiB全基因的克隆、表达及其序列分析

以苏云金芽孢杆菌科默尔亚种15A3菌株基因组DNA为模版,用touchdown PCR方法扩增几丁质酶ChiA和ChiB的全基因序列(GenBank登录号:EF103273和DQ512474)。将PCR产物连接pUCm-T克隆载体,获得重组质粒pUCm-chiA和pUCm-chiB,分别转化E.coliXL-Blue。克隆的几丁质酶基因可以利用本身的启动子异源表达各自的蛋白,不需要几丁质作为诱导物。表达的几丁质酶能够分泌到胞外。证明15A3菌株可组成型表达2种几丁质酶。经核苷酸及氨基酸序列分析证明,chiA基因全长1426bp,含有343bp的上游非编码区和1083bp的ORF,编码360个氨基酸。推测成熟蛋白分子量为36kD,只有一个几丁质酶催化域。chiB基因全长2279bp,含有248bp的上游非编码区和2031bp的ORF,编码676个氨基酸。推测成熟蛋白分子量约为70.6kD,具有三个功能域。核苷酸序列分析显示chiA和chiB的启动子所处的位置及转录起始碱基都不相同,-35区相同,而-10区有两个碱基不同,SD序列也不完全一致。     

Characterization of a chitinase gene (chiA) from Serratia marcescens BJL200 and one-step purification of the gene product

Abstract The nucleotide sequence of the chiA gene from Serratia marcescens strain BJL200 was determined. The gene was found to encode a protein of 563 amino acid residues, with a typical N-terminal signal peptide of 23 residues, that is cleaved off during export. The gene exhibited striking differences with two previously characterized chiA genes of S. marcescens in the region corresponding to amino acid residues 410–467 of the gene product. Periplasmic fractions of an Escherichia coli strain harbouring the cloned gene were used as starting material for the development of a fast, one-step purification protocol for the chitinase that is based on hydrophobic interaction chromatography.