Cloning of the nitrate-nitrite reductase gene cluster of Penicillium chrysogenum and use of the niaD gene as a homologous selection marker.

A new homologous transformation system for the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum is described. The system is based on complementation of niaD mutants using the nitrate reductase structural gene (niaD) of P. chrysogenum. Spontaneous niaD mutants were identified after selection for chlorate resistance, in growth tests and subsequent complementation with the niaD gene of Aspergillus oryzae. The P. chrysogenum niaD gene was isolated from a genomic library using the Aspergillus nidulans niaD gene as a probe. After subcloning of the hybridizing fragment, the vector obtained, pPC1-1, was capable of transforming a P. chrysogenum niaD mutant at an average of 40 transformants per micrograms of circular DNA. Southern analysis of genomic DNA from a number of transformants showed that pPC1-1 DNA was integrated predominantly at sites other than the niaD locus. Using hybridization analysis it was shown that the niaD gene of P. chrysogenum is clustered with the nitrite reductase gene (niiA). From analysis of the nucleotide sequences of parts of the niaD and niiA genes of P. chrysogenum and comparison of these sequences with nucleotide sequences of the corresponding A. nidulans genes it was deduced that the P. chrysogenum genes are divergently transcribed.     

Identification of a major cis-acting DNA element controlling the bidirectionally transcribed penicillin biosynthesis genes acvA (pcbAB) and ipnA (pcbC) of Aspergillus nidulans.

The beta-lactam antibiotic penicillin is produced as a secondary metabolite by some filamentous fungi. In this study, the molecular regulation of the Aspergillus (Emericella) nidulans penicillin biosynthesis genes acvA (pcbAB) and ipnA (pcbC) was analyzed. acvA and ipnA are divergently oriented and separated by an intergenic region of 872 bp. Translational fusions of acvA and ipnA with the two Escherichia coli reporter genes lacZ and uidA enabled us to measure the regulation of both genes simultaneously. A moving-window analysis of the 872-bp intergenic region indicated that the divergently oriented promoters are, at least in part, overlapping and share common regulatory elements. Removal of nucleotides -353 to -432 upstream of the acvA gene led to a 10-fold increase of acvA-uidA expression and simultaneously to a reduction of ipnA-lacZ expression to about 30%. Band shift assays and methyl interference analysis using partially purified protein extracts revealed that a CCAAT-containing DNA element within this region was specifically bound by a protein (complex), which we designated PENR1, for penicillin regulator. Deletion of 4 bp within the identified protein binding site caused the same contrary effects on acvA and ipnA expression as observed for all of the deletion clones which lacked nucleotides -353 to -432. The PENR1 binding site thus represents a major cis-acting DNA element. The intergenic regions of the corresponding genes of the beta-lactam-producing fungi Penicillium chrysogenum and Acremonium chrysogenum also diluted the complex formed between the A. nidulans probe and PENR1 in vitro, suggesting that these beta-lactam biosynthesis genes are regulated by analogous DNA elements and proteins.     

Chromosomal location plays a role in regulation of aflatoxin gene expression in Aspergillus parasiticus.

The nor-1 gene in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus parasiticus encodes a ketoreductase involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis. To study environmental influences on nor-1 expression, we generated plasmid pAPGUSNNB containing a nor-1 promoter-beta-glucuronidase (GUS) (encoded by uidA) reporter fusion with niaD (encodes nitrate reductase) as a selectable marker. niaD transformants of A. parasiticus strain NR-1 (niaD) carried pAPGUSNNB integrated predominantly at the nor-1 or niaD locus. Expression of the native nor-1 and nor-1::GUS reporter was compared in transformants grown under aflatoxin-inducing conditions by Northern and Western analyses and by qualitative and quantitative GUS activity assays. The timing and level of nor-1 promoter function with pAPGUSNNB integrated at nor-1 was similar to that observed for the native nor-1 gene. In contrast, nor-1 promoter activity in pAPGUSNNB and a second nor-1::GUS reporter construct, pBNG3.0, was not detectable when integration occurred at niaD. Because niaD-dependent regulation could account for the absence of expression at niaD, a third chromosomal location was analyzed using pAPGUSNP, which contained nor-1::GUS plus pyrG (encodes OMP decarboxylase) as a selectable marker. GUS expression was detectable only when pAPGUSNP integrated at nor-1 and was not detectable at pyrG, even under growth conditions that required pyrG expression. nor-1::GUS is regulated similarly to the native nor-1 gene when it is integrated at its homologous site within the aflatoxin gene cluster but is not expressed at native nor-1 levels at two locations outside of the aflatoxin gene cluster. We conclude that the GUS reporter system can be used effectively to measure nor-1 promoter activity and that nor-1 is subject to position-dependent regulation in the A. parasiticus chromosome.     

niaD基因与uidA基因共转化糖化酶高产菌株Aspergillus niger T21

从AspergillusnigerT21分离到自发性的氯酸盐抗性株,再经氮源生长试验获得硝酸盐还原酶缺陷的niaD突变体N44。用含有niaD的质粒pSTA10转化N44,转化频率为5个／μg（转化子／DNA）。转化子的Southern印迹分析表明niaD基因同源整合到N44的染色体DNA中。pSTA10与含葡糖苷酸酶基因（uidA）的质粒pNOM102共转化N44,共转化频率为40％。共转化子的GUS（葡糖苷酸酶）活力测定结果表明uidA基因已在N44中表达。由此可知,以niaD为选择标记,uidA为报告基因,以N44为受体的转化系统可用于丝状真菌启动子功能检测和已知调控序列的功能分析。     

Regulation of beta-glucuronidase synthesis in Escherichia coli K-12: pleiotropic constitutive mutations affecting uxu and uidA expression.

Among the beta-glucuronidase (UID)-constitutive mutants obtained by growth on methyl-beta-D-galacturonide, some strains are also derepressed for the two enzymes of the uxu operon: mannonate oxidoreductase (MOR) and mannonate hydrolyase (HLM). By conjugation and transduction experiments, two distinct constitutive mutations were separated in each pleiotropic mutant strain. One of them was specific for uidA gene expression and was characterized as affecting either uidO or uidR sites. The second type of mutation was mapped close to the uxu operon and was found to be responsible for the pleiotropic effect revealed in the primary mutants: after separation such a mutation still fully derepresses MOR and HLM synthesis but weakly derepresses UID synthesis. The pleiotropic effect of this mutation was maintained even though the activity of the structural genes was altered. This rules out the occurrence of an internal derepressing interaction between these enzymes. In merodiploid strains, uxu-linked constitutive mutations were recessive to the wild-type allele, suggesting that these mutations could affect a regulatory gene. The uxuR gene is probably a specific regulatory gene for a very close operon, uxu. Moreover, it has a weak effect on uidA expression. Thus, UID synthesis would be negatively controlled through the activity of two repressor molecules that are synthesized by two distinct regulatory genes, uidR and uxuR. These two repressing factors are antagonized, respectively, by phenyl-thio-beta-D-glucuronide and mannonic amide and could cooperate in a unique repression/induction control over uidA expression. Constitutive mutations affecting the control sites of uidA gene probably characterize two distinct attachment sites in the operator locus for each of the repressor molecules.     

Regulation of Aspergillus nidulans penicillin biosynthesis and penicillin biosynthesis genes acvA and ipnA by glucose.

Expression of the Aspergillus nidulans penicillin biosynthesis genes acvA and ipnA, encoding delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase and isopenicillin N synthetase, respectively, was analyzed. The intergenic region carrying the divergently oriented promoters was fused in frame in both orientations to Escherichia coli lacZ and E. coli uidA reporter genes. Each construct permits simultaneous expression studies of both genes. Transformants of A. nidulans carrying a single copy of either plasmid integrated at the chromosomal argB locus were selected for further investigations. Expression of both genes was directed by the 872-bp intergenic region. ipnA- and acvA-derived gene fusions were expressed from this region at different levels. ipnA had significantly higher expression than did acvA. Glucose specifically reduced the production of penicillin and significantly repressed the expression of ipnA but not of acvA gene fusions. The specific activities of isopenicillin N synthetase, the gene product of ipnA, and acyl coenzyme A:6-aminopenicillanic acid acyltransferase were also reduced in glucose-grown cultures.     

Identification and characterization of chitin synthase genes in the postharvest citrus fruit pathogen Penicillium digitatum

In this study, we carried out the isolation and characterization of chitin synthase genes (CHS) of the main citrus fruit postharvest pathogen Penicillium digitatum. Using distinct sets of degenerate primers designed from conserved regions of CHS genes of yeast and filamentous fungi, PCR methods, and a DNA genomic library, five putative CHS genes (PdigCHSI, PdigCHSII, PdigCHSIII, PdigCHSV, and PdigCHSVII) were identified, isolated, sequenced, and characterized. Phylogenetic analyses, sequence identity, and domain conservation support the annotation as CHS. A very high sequence identity and strong synteny were found with corresponding regions from the genome of Penicillium chrysogenum. Gene expression of P. digitatum CHS genes during mycelium axenic growth, under oxidative and osmotic stress conditions, and during infection of citrus fruits was confirmed and quantified using quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). PdigCHSIII had the highest expression among the five genes by one order of magnitude, while PdigCHSII had the lowest. However, PdigCHSII was strongly induced coincident with conidial production, suggesting a role in conidiogenesis. The expression of PdigCHSI, PdigCHSIII, PdigCHSV, and PdigCHSVII was upregulated during infection of citrus fruit. PdigCHSV and PdigCHSVII coexpressed in most of the experiments carried out, and they are separated by a 1.77 kb intergenic region and arranged in opposite directions.     

The multifunctional peptide synthetase performing the first step of penicillin biosynthesis in Penicillium chrysogenum is a 421,073 dalton protein similar to Bacillus brevis peptide antibiotic synthetases.

The nucleotide sequence of the Penicillium chrysogenum Oli13 acvA gene encoding delta-(L-alpha-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase, which performs the first step in penicillin biosynthesis, has been determined. The acvA gene contains an open reading frame of 11,238 bp encoding a protein of 3746 amino acids with a predicted mol. wt of 421,073 dalton. Three domains within the protein of approximately 570 amino acids have between 38% and 43% identity with each other and share similarity with two antibiotic peptide synthetases from Bacillus brevis as well as two other enzymes capable of performing ATP-pyrophosphate exchange reactions. The acvA gene is located close to the pcbC gene encoding isopenicillin N synthetase, the enzyme for the second step of beta-lactam biosynthesis, and is transcribed in the opposite orientation to it. The intergenic region of 1107 bp from which the acvA and pcbC genes are divergently transcribed has also been sequenced.