Sequence variation in class 1 outer membrane protein in Neisseria meningitidis isolated from patients with meningococcal infection and close household contacts

Abstract Aspergillus oryzae , which is widely used for Japanese traditional fermentation, produced at least two lipolytic enzymes (L1 and L2). Southern hybridization analysis of restriction enzyme-digested genomic DNA fragments of Aspergillus oryzae with 23-mer oligonucleotides synthesized according to the amino acid sequence of the enzyme L1 as probes suggested that there is single copy of the L1 gene in the genome. DNA fragments containing the L1 gene were cloned in Escherichia coli . Nucleotide sequencing of the DNA fragments revealed an open reading frame consisting of 213 amino acid residues. It had three putative introns whose sizes were 52 bp, 48 bp and 53 bp, respectively. Putative CAAT and TATA boxes were found at positions −147 and −100 from A (+1) of the translational initiation codon, and a polyadenylation site at 158 bp downstream of the stop codon. The deduced amino acid sequence of the L1 gene was highly similar to those of cutinases from phytopathogenic fungi. Thus, it is interesting to note that the non-phytopathogenic fungus, A. oryzae , produces cutinase, which seems to play an important role in flavor formation.     

米曲霉外源表达系统研究进展

丝状真菌米曲霉是发酵工业的重要菌种,具有强大的蛋白分泌能力和较高的食品安全性,可作为表达外源蛋白的细胞工厂。近年来,米曲霉全基因组序列的测序完成和基于表达序列标签的基因组学研究,为深入研究米曲霉外源表达系统提供了条件。从基因组学进展、遗传转化体系等方面综述了米曲霉作为外源蛋白表达宿主的研究进展。针对米曲霉在外源蛋白表达中存在的瓶颈,提出构建蛋白酶缺陷株、使用强启动子、融合表达等策略,以提高外源蛋白的表达和产量。最后介绍了米曲霉表达系统的应用,利用米曲霉代谢工程菌生产工业用酶和次级代谢产品具有良好的前景。     

Identification of novel HrpXo regulons preceded by two cis-acting elements, a plant-inducible promoter box and a -10 box-like sequence, from the genome database of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

A regulatory protein HrpXo of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight of rice, is known to control the expression of hrp genes that encode components of a type III secretion system and of some effector protein genes. In this study, we screened novel HrpXo regulons from the genome database of X. oryzae pv. oryzae, searching for ORFs preceded by two predicted sequence motifs, a plant-inducible promoter box-like sequence and a -10 box-like sequence. Using a gus reporter system, nine of 15 ORF candidates were expressed HrpXo dependently. We also showed by base-substituted mutagenesis that both motifs are essential for the expression of the genes.     

米根霉菌ldhL基因的克隆及其在大肠杆菌中的表达

以米根霉菌基因组DNA为模板,根据GenBank上已公布的米根霉L-乳酸脱氢酶基因(ldhL)序列设计特异性引物,PCR扩增得到963 bp的DNA片段,经序列分析后将其亚克隆到原核表达载体pET30a上,构建成重组质粒pET30a-ldhL.将pET30a-ldhL转化到BL21感受态细菌中,经IPTG诱导表达后进行SDS-PAGE分析,可见约43 kD的与预期大小一致的目的蛋白条带,结果表明ldhL基因在大肠杆菌中进行了表达,经酶活分析产物的酶活力为98 U/mL,证明了表达产物具有预期的酶活性,这为进一步研究利用乳清为发酵原料高产L-乳酸的米根霉基因工程菌株奠定了基础.     

Stationary-phase variation due to transposition of novel insertion elements in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae causes bacterial leaf blight, a serious disease of rice. Spontaneous mutants which are deficient for virulence and extracellular polysaccharide (Eps) production accumulate in large numbers in stationary-phase cultures of this bacterium, a phenomenon which we have called stationary-phase variation. A clone (pSD1) carrying the Eps biosynthetic gene (gum) cluster of X. oryzae pv. oryzae restored Eps production and virulence to several spv (for stationary-phase variation) mutants. Data from localized recombination analysis, Southern hybridization, PCR amplification, and sequence analysis showed that the mutations are due to insertion of either one of two novel endogenous insertion sequence (IS) elements, namely, ISXo1 and ISXo2, into gumM, the last gene of the gum gene cluster. The results of Southern analysis indicate the presence of multiple copies of both IS elements in the genome of X. oryzae pv. oryzae. These results demonstrate the role of IS elements in stationary-phase variation in X. oryzae pv. oryzae.     

Metabolite profiling and bioactivity of rice koji fermented by Aspergillus strains

In this study, the metabolite profiles of three Aspergillus strains during rice koji fermentation were compared. In the partial least squares discriminant analysis-based gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data sets, the metabolite patterns of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were clearly distinguished from A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) and only marginal differences were observed for A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) fermentation. In the 2 days fermentation samples, the overall metabolite levels of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were similar to the A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) levels and lower than the A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) levels. In addition, we identified discriminators that were mainly contributing tyrosinase inhibition (kojic acid) and antioxidant activities (pyranonigrin A) in A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) and A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) inoculated rice koji, respectively. In this study, we demonstrated that the optimal inoculant Aspergillus strains and fermentation time for functional rice koji could be determined through a metabolomics approach with bioactivity correlations.     

水稻白叶枯病抗性基因Xa23鉴别菌株突变体库的构建及无毒基因突变体的筛选

利用in vivo转座技术构建了白叶枯病抗性基因Xa23鉴别菌株的突变体库,特异性引物PCR扩增和转座子插入位点旁侧序列分析结果表明转座子插入到白叶枯病菌的基因组中。经人工接种鉴定,筛选到4个毒力发生变化的突变体。为进一步克隆Xa23无毒基因提供了条件。     

Isolation of a novel promoter for efficient protein production in Aspergillus oryzae

A novel protein overexpression system of Aspergillus oryzae was constructed. Five promoters which originate from A. oryzae expressed sequence tag (EST) clones in submerged culture were obtained by genome walking. These were subjected to beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter assays. The promoter of manganese superoxide dismutase-encoding gene (sodM) showed the most GUS production. The sodM gene was abundantly expressed in submerged culture but little expressed in solid-state culture. The sodM promoter was approximately 3-fold induced by the addition of 0.01% H2O2. Glucoamylase production in A. oryzae using the sodM promoter led to secretion of approximately 1 g/l-broth in Czapek-Dox medium for 3 d. Fucose lectin production in A. oryzae using the sodM promoter led to overexpression as a specific and abundant intracellular protein.     

Functional analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">pilQ</Emphasis> gene in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xanthomanas oryzae</Emphasis> pv. <Emphasis Type="Italic">oryzae</Emphasis>, bacterial blight pathogen of rice

Bacterial blight (BB) of rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), is the most devastating bacterial disease in rice. A virulence-attenuated mutant strain HNU89K9 of X. oryzae pv. oryzae (KACC10331), with a transposon insertion in the pilQ gene was used for this study. The pilQ was involved in the gene cluster pilMNOPQ of the Xoo genome. Growth rate of the pilQ mutant was similar to that of wild-type. At level of amino acids, PilQ of Xoo showed that a high sequence identities more than 94% and 70% to Xanthomonas species and to Xyllela fastidiosa, respectively but a low sequence homology less than 30% to other bacterial species. The twitching motility forming a marginal fringe on PSA media was observed on colony of the wild-type strain KACC10331, but not in mutant HNU89K9. Wild-type Xoo cells formed a biofilm on the surface of the PVC plastic test tube, while the mutant strain HNU89K9 did not form a biofilm. The results suggest that the pilQ gene of X. oryzae pv. oryzae plays a critical role in pathogenicity, twitching motility, and biofilm formation.     

Metabolomics-based optimal koji fermentation for tyrosinase inhibition supplemented with Astragalus radix

The present study was focused on improving the quality of rice koji by fermentation with a selected Aspergillus oryzae strain and a plant Astragalus radix. A. oryzae KCCM 60345 was used as main inoculant and the Astragalus radix was added as supplement in rice koji preparation. LC-MS based metabolite analysis and tyrosinase inhibitory activities were studied for different time periods. A. oryzae KCCM 60345 fermented rice koji supplemented with Astragalus showed higher tyrosinase inhibition activity at 4 d of fermentation and metabolite analysis with PCA and PLS-DA indicated differences in kojic acid, calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside, ononin, calycosin, and formononetin as compared with other forms of rice koji fermentation. By correlation analysis between metabolites and tyrosinase inhibitory activity, calycosin and kojic acid were identified as major tyrosinase inhibitors. Based on these results, we concluded that A. oryzae KCCM 60345 supplemented with Astragalus radix is useful for whitening effects, and we identified optimal conditions for rice koji preparation.     

Comparative study of genes expressed from rice fungus-resistant and susceptible lines during interactions with Magnaporthe oryzae

Rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is the most important fungal disease of rice. To understand the molecular basis of interaction between the fungus and rice, we constructed a cDNA library from a rice-resistant line inoculated with M. oryzae. One hundred and fifty-three cDNA clones were sequence analyzed, of which 129 exhibited significant nucleotide sequence homology to known genes, 21 were homologous to unknown genes, while three clones did not match to any database. However, these three unmatched clones showed sequence homology at protein level in the protein databases and one of them encoded a disease resistance-related protein kinase and was abundant in the EST collection. Northern analysis showed that this disease resistance-related protein kinase gene was induced by inoculation and only expressed in the rice-resistant, but not susceptible, lines. Southern analysis showed that this gene was present in a single copy in the rice genome and co-segregated with the M. oryzae resistance in the cross of the resistant and susceptible lines. This study illustrates that sequencing of ESTs from inoculated resistant plants can reveal genes responsive to pathogen infection, which could help understand plant defense mechanisms.     

Identification and characterization of filamentous fungi isolated from fermentation starters for Hong Qu glutinous rice wine brewing

Hong Qu glutinous rice wine is one of the most popular traditional rice wines in China. Traditionally, this wine is brewed from glutinous rice with the addition of wine fermentation starters (Hong Qu (also called red yeast rice) and White Qu). The objective of this study was to investigate the variability of filamentous fungi associated with traditional fermentation starters through a traditional culture-dependent method and a molecular identification approach. In this study, forty-three filamentous fungi were separated by traditional culture-dependent means (macro- and microscopic characteristics) from 10 fermentation starters and classified into 16 different species based on morphological examination and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences analysis. It was observed that the genus Aspergillus had the highest number (14 isolates) of isolates followed by Rhizopus (11 isolates), Monascus (5 isolates) and Penicillium (4 isolates). The species R. oryzae, A. niger, A. flavus and M. purpureus were frequently found in wine starter samples, among which R. oryzae was the most frequent species. The enzyme-producing properties (glucoamylase, α-amylase and protease) of all fungal isolates from different starters were also evaluated. A. flavus, R. oryzae and M. purpureus were found to be better glucoamylase producers. A. flavus, R. oryzae and A.oryzae exhibited higher activity of α-amylase. A. flavus and A. oryzae had higher protease activity. However, some fungal isolates of the same species exhibited a significant variability in the production levels for all determined enzyme activity. This study is the first to identify filamentous fungi associated with the starter of Hong Qu glutinous rice wine using both traditional and molecular methods. The results enrich our knowledge of liquor-related micro-organisms, and can be used to promote the development of the traditional fermentation technology.     

米曲霉葡萄糖淀粉酶基因glaB启动子研究概况

米曲霉表达系统与大肠杆菌表达系统和酵母表达系统相比有许多优点,目前绝大多数研究都关注如何提高米曲霉在液体发酵条件下生产蛋白质,但米曲霉在固体培养条件下生产多种蛋白的能力比在液体培养条件下强,这不仅与米曲霉在不同培养条件下的生长形态有关,还与不同代谢途径中特定基因的调控因子如启动子的特性有关。米曲霉葡萄糖淀粉酶基因glaB在固体培养条件下的表达效率明显高于其在液体培养条件下的效率,以葡萄糖淀粉酶基因glaB为例,综述了glaB启动子的研究概况,为今后更好地利用这类启动子提供参考。     

Optimization of ellagic acid production from ellagitannins by co-culture and correlation between its yield and activities of relevant enzymes

Aspergillus oryzae was co-cultured with Trichoderma reesei using acorn cups extract containing up to 62% ellagitannins as substrate to produce ellagic acid with relatively high levels of ellagitannin acyl hydrolase, cellulase and xylanase. Ellagitannins concentration, initial pH, T. reesei and A. oryzae during the fermentation were identified as important process parameters effecting ellagic acid accumulation and the enzymes syntheses. These parameters were optimized by uniformity design to determine the optimum condition for ellagic acid production. Under optimum operational condition, ellagic acid yield could be arrived at 24%, when the fermentation run lasted 96h with an initial pH of 4.5, an ellagitannins concentration of 4gl(-1), T. reesei of 3ml and A. oryzae of 3ml. Meanwhile, it was found that the three enzymes activities correlated very well with ellagic acid yield, resulting in model with high coefficient of determination (R(2)=0.98). The results indicate that the mixed culture of T. reesei and A. oryzae is an effective approach to produce an enzyme system of degrading ellagitannins for ellagic acid production.     

Systematic analysis of SNARE localization in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae

In spite of their great importance for both applied and basic biology, studies on vesicular trafficking in filamentous fungi have been so far very limited. Here, we identified 21 genes, which might be a total set, encoding putative SNARE proteins that are key factors for vesicular trafficking, taking advantage of available whole genome sequence in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae. The subsequent systematic analysis to determine the localization of putative SNAREs using EGFP-fused chimeras revealed that most putative SNAREs show similar subcellular distribution to their counterparts in the budding yeast. However, there existed some characteristic features of SNAREs in A. oryzae, such as SNARE localization at/near the septum and the presence of apparently non-redundant plasma membrane Qa-SNAREs. Overall, this analysis allowed us to provide an overview of vesicular trafficking and organelle distribution in A. oryzae.     

Insights into genome plasticity and pathogenicity of the plant pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria revealed by the complete genome sequence

The gram-negative plant-pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria is the causative agent of bacterial spot disease in pepper and tomato plants, which leads to economically important yield losses. This pathosystem has become a well-established model for studying bacterial infection strategies. Here, we present the whole-genome sequence of the pepper-pathogenic Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria strain 85-10, which comprises a 5.17-Mb circular chromosome and four plasmids. The genome has a high G+C content (64.75%) and signatures of extensive genome plasticity. Whole-genome comparisons revealed a gene order similar to both Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and a structure completely different from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. A total of 548 coding sequences (12.2%) are unique to X. campestris pv. vesicatoria. In addition to a type III secretion system, which is essential for pathogenicity, the genome of strain 85-10 encodes all other types of protein secretion systems described so far in gram-negative bacteria. Remarkably, one of the putative type IV secretion systems encoded on the largest plasmid is similar to the Icm/Dot systems of the human pathogens Legionella pneumophila and Coxiella burnetii. Comparisons with other completely sequenced plant pathogens predicted six novel type III effector proteins and several other virulence factors, including adhesins, cell wall-degrading enzymes, and extracellular polysaccharides.