真菌极性生长结构的研究现状

极性生长的模式普遍存在于真核细胞生物的形态发生过程中,参与真菌的极性生长的结构主要包含顶体(Spitzenk(o)rper)和极体(Polarisome)、胞吐体(Exocyst)、肌动蛋白、微管、脂筏等结构,真菌的极性生长是一极其精细和复杂的过程,需要顶体、极体、分泌囊泡、微管、脂筏以及包括其他相关蛋白在内各种调节蛋白的相互协调,从而促进其菌丝的生长.     

植物EXO70基因家族的研究进展

胞吐是存在于所有真核生物的一种极其重要的细胞活动,直接参与了激素和神经信号的分泌、细胞生长、细胞极性的建立,细胞分裂和细胞壁的形成等多项生理过程。在胞吐过程中,高尔基后转运膜泡与靶膜的识别是由进化上高度保守的胞泌复合体（exocyst）介导的。该复合体由8个蛋白亚基构成,其中EXO70是组成胞泌复合体功能的关键亚基,可与小G蛋白和膜脂互作,参与复合体在靶膜组装。目前,对植物胞泌复合体功能的了解非常有限,已有证据显示其广泛参与了细胞生长,细胞壁形成、细胞分裂等多种生物学过程。与酵母和动物相比,植物胞泌复合体的一个显著特征是：EXO70在高等植物基因组中存在多个同源基因,其具体生物学功能尚不清楚。本文综述胞泌复合体的研究进展,重点讨论植物EXO70的多基因家族,推测不同的EXO70可能参与了组织细胞或运载底物特异的膜泡转运过程。     

微管骨架在丝状真菌极性生长中的作用

细胞极性的确立是真核生物发育过程中的关键环节,丝状真菌作为微生物具有典型的极性生长模式,微管骨架在极性生长中具有重要的作用。对近年来微管骨架在丝状真菌极性生长中的作用进行了综述。     

Exocyst在囊泡转运和细胞分泌过程中功能与结构的研究进展

Exocyst是由八个亚基蛋白组成的高度保守的复合物,目前被证实在细胞胞吐和囊泡转运,特别是囊泡与质膜的拴系阶段过程中发挥着十分重要的作用。本文综述了Exocyst在细胞中的定位、功能和结构方面的最新研究发现,以及复合物各亚基之间的相互作用和组装机制。当前的结晶学实验和电镜实验结果为Exocyst复合物的组装和解离机制提供了重要线索和证据。Exocyst功能与结构研究发现有助于我们进一步洞悉Exocyst复合物在囊泡转运和分泌过程中作用机制。     

胞吐参与植物生物胁迫应答的研究进展

高等植物细胞内囊泡运输介导了膜结构之间的物质运输和信号转导,其中,胞吐调控了运输囊泡向质膜的转运,参与了植物细胞壁形成、细胞分泌和环境响应等多种生物学过程。胞吐可以通过重构及强化细胞壁阻止病原体定殖、分泌抗微生物因子抵御病原体的入侵以及调控植物激素载体蛋白和受体蛋白的极性运输等参与抗病应答。遗传学证据表明胞吐是调控植物生物胁迫响应的重要机制。该文综述胞吐参与植物生物胁迫应答分子机制的研究进展,以期为本领域研究提供参考。     

烟曲霉极性生长相关基因研究进展

极性生长在真核生物中广泛存在,烟曲霉作为一种丝状真菌,极性生长对其形态发生有重要作用,多个基因参与了烟曲霉的极性生长过程。细胞壁是真菌与周围环境接触的第一环节,也是重要的抗真菌药物靶点,且随着耐药的不断发生,研究烟曲霉致病机制以及新的抗真菌药物靶点十分迫切。该文选取参与烟曲霉极性生长且引起细胞壁成分含量变化或影响细胞壁塑型的部分基因进行综述。     

丝状真菌胞外蛋白高效分泌机制的研究进展

丝状真菌由于其胞外蛋白分泌的高效性,成为生产酶制剂的高效细胞工厂.近年来针对真核生物胞外蛋白分泌途径的研究发现,丝状真菌蛋白的分泌途径相比其他真核生物具有高效分泌的特性.为了研究丝状真菌高效分泌的机制,本文总结了近年来丝状真菌分泌途径的最新研究进展,并且选取了分泌途径中关键环节的数种蛋白进行分析,通过与其他真核生物相关蛋白进行结构与序列比对,推测了丝状真菌胞外蛋白高效分泌的可能机制.     

后基因组时代的丝状真菌基因组学与代谢工程

丝状真菌不仅是传统发酵工业中抗生素、酶制剂和有机酸的主要生产者,而且也是代谢工程育种中异源蛋白表达的重要细胞工厂。丝状真菌的遗传修饰和代谢工程研究是现代工业生物技术领域最具活力的研究方向之一。特别是与细菌和酵母相比,丝状真菌在细胞生长、营养需求、环境适应性、翻译后修饰、蛋白分泌能力和生物安全性等方面具有显著的优势。文章综述了丝状真菌作为异源蛋白表达系统在基因组学技术研究和代谢工程研究方面的最新进展。作者在分析丝状真菌基因组结构、特点的基础上,阐述了比较基因组学、蛋白质组学、转录组学和代谢组学等对丝状真菌的代谢途径重构、新型蛋白挖掘和代谢工程育种中的作用和意义。另一方面,作者分析了丝状真菌在表达外源蛋白时遇到的瓶颈问题,总结了丝状真菌代谢工程育种中的常用策略包括异源基因的融合表达、反义核酸技术、蛋白分泌途径改造、密码子优化和蛋白酶缺陷宿主的选育等技术和手段。最后,对该领域的发展趋势进行了展望。     

丝状真菌表面展示技术研究进展

丝状真菌表面展示技术是将表达的目的蛋白固定在丝状真菌细胞表面的一项新兴基因工程技术。丝状真菌具有极强的蛋白质分泌能力和良好的蛋白质翻译后加工能力,因而越来越多的丝状真菌表面展示技术得到开发和应用。本文就丝状真菌表面展示系统的研发和应用进展进行综述,并介绍与该系统构建密切相关的丝状真菌的细胞壁组成、锚定蛋白和遗传转化方法等技术。     

丝状真菌高效表达异源蛋白研究进展

丝状真菌是具有高效分泌蛋白质潜力的真核表达系统, 能对蛋白质进行翻译后修饰, 如蛋白质糖基化等; 并且比植物、昆虫和哺乳动物细胞具有更快的生长速率。近年来, 随着真菌分子遗传技术和菌种改良策略的进步, 尤其是真菌基因组学的发展, 利用丝状真菌生产异源蛋白越来越受到关注。综述了丝状真菌作为细胞工厂生产异源蛋白的最新探索与进展, 其中包括功能基因组学在蛋白表达与分泌研究中的应用, 同时探讨了异源蛋白表达和生产的改进策略。     

The sterol-binding protein Kes1/Osh4p is a regulator of polarized exocytosis

Oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP)-related protein Kes1/ Osh4p is implicated in nonvesicular sterol transfer between membranes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, we found that Osh4p associated with exocytic vesicles that move from the mother cell into the bud, where Osh4p facilitated vesicle docking by the exocyst tethering complex at sites of polarized growth on the plasma membrane. Osh4p formed complexes with the small GTPases Cdc42p, Rho1p and Sec4p, and the exocyst complex subunit Sec6p, which was also required for Osh4p association with vesicles. Although Osh4p directly affected polarized exocytosis, its role in sterol trafficking was less clear. Contrary to what is predicted for a sterol-transfer protein, inhibition of sterol binding by the Osh4p Y97F mutation did not cause its inactivation. Rather, OSH4(Y97F) is a gain-of-function mutation that causes dominant lethality. We propose that in response to sterol binding and release Osh4p promotes efficient exocytosis through the co-ordinate regulation of Sac1p, a phosphoinositide 4-phosphate (PI4P) phosphatase, and the exocyst complex. These results support a model in which Osh4p acts as a sterol-dependent regulator of polarized vesicle transport, as opposed to being a sterol-transfer protein.     

Sec6p Anchors the Assembled Exocyst Complex at Sites of Secretion

The exocyst is an essential protein complex required for targeting and fusion of secretory vesicles to sites of exocytosis at the plasma membrane. To study the function of the exocyst complex, we performed a structure-based mutational analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae exocyst subunit Sec6p. Two “patches” of highly conserved residues are present on the surface of Sec6p; mutation of either patch does not compromise protein stability. Nevertheless, replacement of SEC6 with the patch mutants results in severe temperature-sensitive growth and secretion defects. At nonpermissive conditions, although trafficking of secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane is unimpaired, none of the exocyst subunits are polarized. This is consistent with data from other exocyst temperature-sensitive mutants, which disrupt the integrity of the complex. Surprisingly, however, these patch mutations result in mislocalized exocyst complexes that remain intact. Our results indicate that assembly and polarization of the exocyst are functionally separable events, and that Sec6p is required to anchor exocyst complexes at sites of secretion.     

Cla4 kinase triggers destruction of the Rac1-GEF Cdc24 during polarized growth in Ustilago maydis

Dimorphic switching from budding to filamentous growth is a characteristic feature of many pathogenic fungi. In the fungal model organism Ustilago maydis polarized growth is induced by the multiallelic b mating type locus and requires the Rho family GTPase Rac1. Here we show that mating type-induced polarized growth involves negative feedback regulation of the Rac1-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Cdc24. Although Cdc24 is essential for polarized growth, its concentration is drastically diminished during filament formation. Cdc24 is part of a protein complex that also contains the scaffold protein Bem1 and the PAK kinase Cla4. Activation of Rac1 results in Cla4-dependent degradation of the Rac1-GEF Cdc24, thus creating a regulatory negative feedback loop. We generated mutants of Cdc24 that are resistant to Cla4-dependent destruction. Expression of stable Cdc24 variants interfered with filament formation, indicating that negative feedback regulation of Cdc24 is critical for the establishment of polarized growth.     

Rho GTPase regulation of exocytosis in yeast is independent of GTP hydrolysis and polarization of the exocyst complex

Rho GTPases are important regulators of polarity in eukaryotic cells. In yeast they are involved in regulating the docking and fusion of secretory vesicles with the cell surface. Our analysis of a Rho3 mutant that is unable to interact with the Exo70 subunit of the exocyst reveals a normal polarization of the exocyst complex as well as other polarity markers. We also find that there is no redundancy between the Rho3-Exo70 and Rho1-Sec3 pathways in the localization of the exocyst. This suggests that Rho3 and Cdc42 act to polarize exocytosis by activating the exocytic machinery at the membrane without the need to first recruit it to sites of polarized growth. Consistent with this model, we find that the ability of Rho3 and Cdc42 to hydrolyze GTP is not required for their role in secretion. Moreover, our analysis of the Sec3 subunit of the exocyst suggests that polarization of the exocyst may be a consequence rather than a cause of polarized exocytosis.     

Cyclical regulation of the exocyst and cell polarity determinants for polarized cell growth

Polarized exocytosis is important for morphogenesis and cell growth. The exocyst is a multiprotein complex implicated in tethering secretory vesicles at specific sites of the plasma membrane for exocytosis. In the budding yeast, the exocyst is localized to sites of bud emergence or the tips of small daughter cells, where it mediates secretion and cell surface expansion. To understand how exocytosis is spatially controlled, we systematically analyzed the localization of Sec15p, a member of the exocyst complex and downstream effector of the rab protein Sec4p, in various mutants. We found that the polarized localization of Sec15p relies on functional upstream membrane traffic, activated rab protein Sec4p, and its guanine exchange factor Sec2p. The initial targeting of both Sec4p and Sec15p to the bud tip depends on polarized actin cable. However, different recycling mechanisms for rab and Sec15p may account for the different kinetics of polarization for these two proteins. We also found that Sec3p and Sec15p, though both members of the exocyst complex, rely on distinctive targeting mechanisms for their localization. The assembly of the exocyst may integrate various cellular signals to ensure that exocytosis is tightly controlled. Key regulators of cell polarity such as Cdc42p are important for the recruitment of the exocyst to the budding site. Conversely, we found that the proper localization of these cell polarity regulators themselves also requires a functional exocytosis pathway. We further report that Bem1p, a protein essential for the recruitment of signaling molecules for the establishment of cell polarity, interacts with the exocyst complex. We propose that a cyclical regulatory network contributes to the establishment and maintenance of polarized cell growth in yeast.     

Exocyst is involved in cystogenesis and tubulogenesis and acts by modulating synthesis and delivery of basolateral plasma membrane and secretory proteins

Epithelial cyst and tubule formation are critical processes that involve transient, highly choreographed changes in cell polarity. Factors controlling these changes in polarity are largely unknown. One candidate factor is the highly conserved eight-member protein complex called the exocyst. We show that during tubulogenesis in an in vitro model system the exocyst relocalized along growing tubules consistent with changes in cell polarity. In yeast, the exocyst subunit Sec10p is a crucial component linking polarized exocytic vesicles with the rest of the exocyst complex and, ultimately, the plasma membrane. When the exocyst subunit human Sec10 was exogenously expressed in epithelial Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, there was a selective increase in the synthesis and delivery of apical and basolateral secretory proteins and a basolateral plasma membrane protein, but not an apical plasma membrane protein. Overexpression of human Sec10 resulted in more efficient and rapid cyst formation and increased tubule formation upon stimulation with hepatocyte growth factor. We conclude that the exocyst plays a central role in the development of epithelial cysts and tubules.     

Identification of Genes Controlling Growth Polarity in the Budding Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae: A Possible Role of N-Glycosylation and Involvement of the Exocyst Complex

The regulation of secretion polarity and cell surface growth during the cell cycle is critical for proper morphogenesis and viability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A shift from isotropic cell surface growth to polarized growth is necessary for bud emergence and a repolarization of secretion to the bud neck is necessary for cell separation. Although alterations in the actin cytoskeleton have been implicated in these changes in secretion polarity, clearly other cellular systems involved in secretion are likely to be targets of cell cycle regulation. To investigate mechanisms coupling cell cycle progression to changes in secretion polarity in parallel with and downstream of regulation of actin polarization, we implemented a screen for mutants defective specifically in polarized growth but with normal actin cytoskeleton structure. These mutants fell into three classes: those partially defective in N-glycosylation, those linked to specific defects in the exocyst, and a third class neither defective in glycosylation nor linked to the exocyst. These results raise the possibility that changes in N-linked glycosylation may be involved in a signal linking cell cycle progression and secretion polarity and that the exocyst may have regulatory functions in coupling the secretory machinery to the polarized actin cytoskeleton.     

The beta subunit of the Sec61p endoplasmic reticulum translocon interacts with the exocyst complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The exocyst is a conserved protein complex proposed to mediate vesicle tethering at the plasma membrane. Previously, we identified SEB1/SBH1, encoding the beta subunit of the Sec61p ER translocation complex, as a multicopy suppressor of the sec15-1 mutant, defective for one subunit of the exocyst complex. Here we show the functional and physical interaction between components of endoplasmic reticulum translocon and the exocytosis machinery. We show that overexpression of SEB1 suppresses the growth defect in all exocyst sec mutants. In addition, overexpression of SEC61 or SSS1 encoding the other two components of the Sec61p complex suppressed the growth defects of several exocyst mutants. Seb1p was coimmunoprecipitated from yeast cell lysates with Sec15p and Sec8p, components of the exocyst complex, and with Sec4p, a secretory vesicle associated Rab GTPase that binds to Sec15p and is essential for exocytosis. The interaction between Seb1p and Sec15p was abolished in sec15-1 mutant and was restored upon SEB1 overexpression. Furthermore, in wild type cells overexpression of SEB1 as well as SEC4 resulted in increased production of secreted proteins. These findings propose a novel functional and physical link between the endoplasmic reticulum translocation complex and the exocyst.     

Spatial regulation of the exocyst complex by Rho1 GTPase

Spatial regulation of membrane traffic is fundamental to many biological processes, including epithelial cell polarization and neuronal synaptogenesis. The multiprotein exocyst complex is localized to sites of polarized exocytosis, and is required for vesicle targeting and docking at specific domains of the plasma membrane. One component of the complex, Sec3, is thought to be a spatial landmark for polarized exocytosis. We have searched for proteins that regulate the polarized localization of the exocyst in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we report that certain rho1 mutant alleles specifically affect the localization of the exocyst proteins. Sec3 interacts directly with Rho1 in its GTP-bound form, and functional Rho1 is needed both to establish and to maintain the polarized localization of Sec3. Sec3 is not the only mediator of the effect of Rho1 on the exocyst, because some members of the complex are correctly targeted independently of the interaction between Rho1 and Sec3. These results reveal the action of parallel pathways for the polarized localization of the exocytic machinery, both of which are under the control of Rho1, a master regulator of cell polarity.     

Compartmentalization of the exocyst complex in lipid rafts controls Glut4 vesicle tethering

Lipid raft microdomains act as organizing centers for signal transduction. We report here that the exocyst complex, consisting of Exo70, Sec6, and Sec8, regulates the compartmentalization of Glut4-containing vesicles at lipid raft domains in adipocytes. Exo70 is recruited by the G protein TC10 after activation by insulin and brings with it Sec6 and Sec8. Knockdowns of these proteins block insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Moreover, their targeting to lipid rafts is required for glucose uptake and Glut4 docking at the plasma membrane. The assembly of this complex also requires the PDZ domain protein SAP97, a member of the MAGUKs family, which binds to Sec8 upon its translocation to the lipid raft. Exocyst assembly at lipid rafts sets up targeting sites for Glut4 vesicles, which transiently associate with these microdomains upon stimulation of cells with insulin. These results suggest that the TC10/exocyst complex/SAP97 axis plays an important role in the tethering of Glut4 vesicles to the plasma membrane in adipocytes.