Biosynthesis of Inositol by an Enzyme System in the Rice Seeds

As the first step for production of human apolipoprotein E (hApoE) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the hApoE cDNA was cloned in Escherichia coli, on the basis of the nucleotide sequence reported previously. When the hApoE cDNA including its pre-sequence-encoding region was expressed under the control of the GAL7 promoter, no protein immunoreactive with anti-hApoE antibody was detected either in the culture medium or inside the cells. For efficient production and secretion of hApoE in S. cerevisiae, the mature hApoE-encoding region was fused to the prepro-sequence region of Rhizomucor rennin (MPR) and to the whole MPR gene including its prepro- and mature-MPR regions. When the fusion gene consisting of the prepro-sequence-encoding region and hApoE regions was expressed in S. cerevisiae, no protein reactive with the anti-hApoE antibody was detected in any fraction of the yeast cells, probably due to rapid degradation of the hApoE protein by yeast proteases. On the othe hand, when hApoE was expressed as a fusion to the whole MPR protein, a considerable amount of the fused protein was secreted into the medium. The preprosequence of MPR was correctly processed from the fused protein in the medium by autocatalytic activity of MPR and by a protease(s) of the host cell. Integration of the fusion gene into the chromosome at a copy number of eight led to secretion of the fused protein in a larger amount than the case when the fusion gene was carried on a 2-µm plasmid with its copy number of a few hundreds, because the 2-µm derived plasmid containing the fusion gene was very unstable in the yeast cells. The secretion level was also improved by changing g the culture conditions. A maximum yield of hApoE part in the secreted fused protein was estimated to be 23.7 mg per liter and the amount of the fused protein was calculated to be 53.0 mg per liter.     

Secretion by Saccharomyces cerevisiae of rat apolipoprotein E as a fusion to Mucor rennin

As the first step for production of rat apolipoprotein E (rApoE) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the rApoE cDNA was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. When the intact rApoE gene including the presequence-encoding region was expressed under the control of the yeast GAL7 promoter, no protein immunoreactive with anti-rApoE antibody was detected either in the culture medium or inside the cells. For the purpose of the extracellular production of rApoE, three fusion genes were constructed in which the mature rApoE-encoding sequence was connected after the pre, prepro, and whole regions of the gene encoding a fungal aspartic proteinase, Mucor pusillus rennin (MPP), since MPP is efficiently secreted from recombinant S. cerevisiae containing the MPP gene. When these three fusion genes were expressed under the control of the GAL7 promoter, only one, encoding the mature rApoE connected to the whole MPP sequence, directed efficient secretion of the fused protein. The maximum yield of the fused protein secreted into the medium reached 11.8 mg/l and the calculated rApoE part was 5.3 mg in the fused protein. The excreted fusion protein was glycosylated at the original two sites in the MPP part. The fused protein was gradually degraded in the medium probably by proteases of the host cell, because no such degradation occured in a yeast pep4mutant strain.     

Expression of an 87-kD-β-1,3-Glucanase of Bacillus circulans IAM1165 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Low-temperature Incubation

A DNA segment encoding a signal peptide from yeast invertase was fused in frame to. hglH. gene encoding 87-kD- β-1,3-glucanase from Bacillus circulans IAM1165 and was expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae under the control of the GAL1 gene promoter. Yeast cells contain.ng this fused gene produced active β -1,3-glucanase in the medium after a long period of incu ation at low temperature. The enzyme produced by yeast was heterogeneous in size, and larger than the enzyme produced by Escherichia coli.     

Retion of human apolipoprotein A-II by a mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiæ

Summary A modified cDNA of mature human apolipoprotein A-II (apoA-II) was expressed by a sterol-uptake yeast strain (erg 10) of Saccharomyces cerevisiæ. ApoA-II cDNA was fused with a modified yeast alpha factor leader peptide coding sequence under phosphoglycerate kinase promoter control in a 2 micron-based plasmid construction. The use of cholesterol allowed apoA-II secretion in the culture medium. The mono and dimeric forms of apoA-II (approximately 3 micrograms per ml) were detected.     

Overproduction of extracellular endoglucanase by genetically engineered Bacillus subtilis

Summary Overproduction of extracellular endoglucanase was attempted by modifying promoter region of an endoglucanase gene cloned from Bacillus subtilis BSE616 and expressing in B. subtilis DB104. A strong promoter was cloned from B. subtilis 168 chromosomal DNA and fused to the endoglucanase gene after removing its native promoter. An effective Shine-Dalgarno sequence was inserted between the promoter and the endoglucanase structural gene. The modified gene was expressed well in B. subtilis and produced 265 units of endoglucanase per mg protein that is 60 % of total protein which was secreted into culture medium.     

Fusion protein of the hyaluronan binding domain from human TSG-6 with luciferase for assay of hyaluronan

The gene expression plasmid, pET-Lmluc, for the fusion protein of the hyaluronan binding domain from human TSG-6 [product of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-stimulated gene-6] and luciferase from Renilla reniformis was constructed. The fused gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and the resulted insoluble Lm-luc fusion protein was purified and refolded to recover both the hyaluronan binding capability and the luciferase activity. Hyaluronan as low as 1 ng ml^–1 was detected by using the indirect enzymatic immunological assay with the refolded Lm-luc fusion protein.     

Steroid Hormone Regulation and Tissue-Specific Expression of the Human GnRH Gene in Cell Culture and Transgenic Animals

In order to study the molecular mechanisms involved in the control of GnRH gene expression, the human GnRH gene was cloned and characterized. The gene was expressed in cells obtained from CNS tumors in transgenic mice generated utilizing 1131 bp of 5' flanking GnRH DNA fused to the simian virus 40 large T antigen. We have shown a stimulatory estrogen response element in the human GnRH gene by transient transfection studies. DNase I footprinting and an avidinbiotin DNA binding assay demonstrated that the human GnRH gene bound ER. The GN cell line was found to have nuclear ERs utilizing an ¹²⁵I estradiol binding study and by in situ hybridization histochemistry. In order to study GnRH expression in vivo, either 5000 or 484 bp of GnRH flanking DNA was fused to the luciferase (Luc) reporter gene, and transgenic mice generated. Expression in the transgenic animals was found in the hypothalamus of animals bearing the -500Luc transgene, but not in animals bearing the -484Luc transgene. The transgenic mice expressing the -5000Luc gene were gonadectomized resulting in a 20-30% increase in hypothalamic Luc expression in the males and a 65% increase in females, while mice who were gonadectomized and replaced with testosterone (males) or E₂ (females) showed a 50% decrease in Luc expression over control levels. Thus, these studies present in vitro evidence of E₂ modulation of GnRH gene expression and an in vivo model in which sensitive studies of GnRH regulation and expression can be performed.     

Expression and localization of recombinant human B2 receptors in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

The human bradykinin B₂ receptor (B₂R) fused with green fluorescent protein (GFP) at the C-terminal has been expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. In the expression vector, B₂R gene was driven under the highly inducible promoter of alcohol oxidase 1 gene of P. pastoris. By fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis and Western blot analysis, it was proved that B₂R recombinant receptor proteins were expressed at a high level in the yeast. Furthermore, the transformants of P. pastoris were monitored with confocal microscopy, a strong green fluorescence was checked out. The recombinant B₂R receptor proteins were mainly located on the plasma membrane proved by immunofluorescence microscopy. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Expression of the sweet-tasting plant protein brazzein in Escherichia coli and Lactococcus lactis: a path toward sweet lactic acid bacteria

Brazzein is an intensely sweet-tasting plant protein with good stability, which makes it an attractive alternative to sucrose. A brazzein gene has been designed, synthesized, and expressed in Escherichia coli at 30 °C to yield brazzein in a soluble form and in considerable quantity. Antibodies have been produced using brazzein fused to His-tag. Brazzein without the tag was sweet and resembled closely the taste of its native counterpart. The brazzein gene was also expressed in Lactococcus lactis, using a nisin-controlled expression system, to produce sweet-tasting lactic acid bacteria. The low level of expression was detected with anti-brazzein antibodies. Secretion of brazzein into the medium has not led to significant yield increase. Surprisingly, optimizing the codon usage for Lactococcus lactis led to a decrease in the yield of brazzein.     

Fusion of luxA and luxB and its expression in E. coli,S. cerevisiae and D. melanogaster

Luciferase from Vibrio harveyi is encoded by two adjacent genes, luxA and luxB. The two genes were fused by replacing a segment extending from near the end of luxA into the N-terminal end of luxB by a synthetic oligonucleotide. The construction removed the TAA stop codon at the end of luxA, the intervening region of 26 base pairs, and the initial methionine of luxB. A Smal site was included at the junction between the two genes and an Aatll site was created near the end of luxA without altering its amino acid sequence. In Escherichia coli the fused luxAB gene could be expressed to produce functional luciferase that gave about 20% of the activity in cells without the fusion. An out-of frame ATG exists close to and preceding the ATG of the luxA gene. This was removed and the entire fused gene bracketed by several restriction enzyme sites. The fused luxAB gene was successfully expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Drosophila melanogaster by transferring it to appropriate plasmid vectors.     

Dehydrochorismic Acid from Pinus densiflora Pollen

A human opioid peptide hormone, β-endorphin, was expressed in Escherichia coli as the C-terminal portion of a fused protein. The fused protein consisting of the N-terminal 62% of E. coli anthranilate synthetase (323 amino acids), a peptide corresponding to the linker DNA (7 amino acids), and the precursor form of β-endorphin (47 amino acids), was highly expressed under the control of a tryptophan promoter. The level of expression of β-endorphin was estimated to be 17 mg/liter broth by radioimmunoassay, and 51 mg/liter broth by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by a densitometric analysis. β-Endorphin was cleaved from the fused protein and purified by HPLC, and is presumed to be identical with human β-endorphin because of its amino acid composition and amino acid sequence.     

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv. Zhongmian 35) using glyphosate as a selectable marker

The most economically significant Chinese cotton cultivar (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv. Zhongmian 35) was transformed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated DNA transfer. The aroA-M1 gene that confers resistance to the glyphosate was fused with a chloroplast-transit peptide of Arabidopsis thaliana 5-enolpyruvyl-3-phosphoshikimate synthase (ASP) and expressed in cotton plants under the control of a CaMV35S promoter. Transgenic plants were directly selected on medium containing glyphosate. Thirty-four independent transgenic lines were obtained after selection, giving a maximal 1.9% transformation frequency. The integration and expression of the aroA-M1 gene in T₀ plants and T₁ progeny were confirmed using DNA hybridization, Western blot and PCR techniques. An increased resistance of T₀ and T₁ transgenic plants towards glyphosate was also observed.     

Double disruption of the proteinase genes, tppA and pepE, increases the production level of human lysozyme by Aspergillus oryzae

In this study, we investigated the effects of proteinase gene disruption on heterologous protein production by Aspergillus oryzae. The human lysozyme (HLY) was selected for recombinant production as a model for the heterologous protein. A tandem HLY construct fused with α-amylase (AmyB) was expressed by A. oryzae in which the Kex2 cleavage site was inserted at the upstream of HLY. HLY was successfully processed from AmyB and produced in the medium. We performed a systematic disruption analysis of five proteinase genes (pepA, pepE, alpA, tppA, and palB) in the HLY-producing strain with the adeA selectable marker. Comparative analysis indicated that disruption of the tppA gene encoding a tripeptidyl peptidase resulted in the highest increase (36%) in the HLY production. We further deleted the tppA gene in the pepE or palB disruptant with another selectable marker, argB. Consequently, a double disruption of the tppA and pepE genes led to a 63% increase in the HLY production compared to the control strain. This is the first study to report that the double disruption of the tppA and pepE genes improved the production level of a heterologous protein by filamentous fungi. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

拟南芥AtPUB18的亚细胞定位和酶活性及AtPUB18的表达

通过RT-PCR技术从拟南芥中克隆到AtPUB18全长ORF。利用VectorNTI和MEGA 5.0对蛋白序列进行生物信息学分析结果显示,AtPUB18和AtPUB19蛋白序列相似性为74.9%,一致性为63.5%;构建AtPUB18启动子(1 974bp)融合GUS报告基因载体并转化拟南芥,组织化学染色分析显示,低温和干旱诱导后转基因植株中AtPUB18表达水平显著提高;构建AtPUB18与绿色荧光蛋白基因(GFP)融合的瞬时表达载体并转化原生质体,激光共聚焦显微镜观察发现,AtPUB18-GFP融合蛋白分布在细胞核和细胞质中;构建AtPUB18与麦芽糖结合蛋白基因(MBP)融合表达载体并转化大肠杆菌表达融合蛋白,纯化后的蛋白进行泛素连接酶活性检测结果显示,在小麦泛素激活酶E1和人泛素结合酶E2存在时,AtPUB18具有泛素连接酶活性。研究表明,AtPUB18是一个有功能的泛素连接酶,定位在细胞膜和细胞质中,可能参与拟南芥对非生物胁迫的响应。     

Expression in Pichia pastoris of Candida antarctica Lipase B and Lipase B Fused to a Cellulose-Binding Domain

Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) and C. antarctica lipase B fused to a cellulose-binding domain (CBD-CALB) were expressed functionally in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The cellulose-binding domain originates from cellulase A of the anaerobic rumen fungus Neocallimastix patriciarum. The genes were fused to the α-factor secretion signal sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and placed under the control of the alcohol oxidase gene (AOX1) promoter. The recombinant proteins were secreted into the culture medium reaching levels of approximately 25 mg/L. The proteins were purified using hydrophobic interaction chromatography and gel filtration with an overall yield of 69%. Results from endoglycosidase H digestion of the proteins showed that CALB and CBD-CALB were N-glycosylated. The specific hydrolytic activities of recombinant CALB and CBD-CALB were identical to that reported for CALB isolated from its native source. The fusion of the CBD to the lipase resulted in a greatly enhanced binding toward cellulose for CBD-CALB compared with that for CALB.     

Molecular Characterization of a cDNA Encoding Functional Human CLK4 Kinase and Localization to Chromosome 4q35

Phosphorylated serine- and arginine-rich (SR) proteins play an important role in the formation of spliceosomes, possibly controlling the regulation of alternative splicing. Enzymes that phosphorylate the SR proteins belong to the family of CDC2/CDC28-like kinases (CLK). Employing nucleotide sequence comparison of human expressed sequence tag sequences to the murine counterpart, we identified, cloned, and recombinantly expressed the human orthologue to the murine CLK4 cDNA. When fused to glutathione S-transferase, the catalytically active human CLK4 is able to autophosphorylate and to phosphorylate myelin basic protein, but not histone H2B as a substrate. Inspection of mRNA accumulation demonstrated gene expression in all human tissues, with the most prominent abundance in liver, kidney, brain, and heart. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, the human CLK4 cDNA was localized to band q35 on chromosome 4.     

A model for a bioconversion system with the promoter of the parAt gene,which confers a high level of expression of a transgene in hairy roots

The promoter of the protoplast auxin-regulated (parAt) gene of tobacco, which is expressed throughout the tissues of hairy roots, can be useful for developing a bioconversion system with hairy roots. The parAt gene is shown to be expressed in roots of seedlings and in those of mature tobacco plants. The 5-upstream region of parAt was fused to the coding sequence of the ß-d-glucuronidase (GUS) gene to generate the parAt-GUS fusion gene, which was introduced into the binary vector for Agrobacterium. Hairy roots that carried the fusion gene were obtained (parAt-GUS/hairy root) by infecting tobacco plants with A. rhizogenes carrying the fusion gene in the binary vector. Biochemical analysis with 4-methylumbelliferyl ß-d-glucuronide (MUG), a substrate for GUS, showed that the level of GUS activity was tenfold higher than that of hairy roots carrying the reporter GUS gene, which is linked to the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S RNA promoter (35S-GUS/hairy root). We also examined the rate of conversion of MUG to 4-methylumbel-liferone (MU) by hairy roots when MUG was added to the culture medium of the parAt-GUS/hairy roots. The hairy roots converted MUG to MU at more than ten times as high efficiency as the 35S-GUS/hairy roots. In addition to tobacco, the parAt-GUS gene was similarly expressed in hairy roots from Atropa and Arabidopsis. These results suggest that the promoter of the parAt gene is a useful tool for conversion of various metabolites by hairy root cultures. Correspondence to: Y. Machida     

Expression of human antithrombin III in the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum

Summary In order to test the biotechnological potential of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum the cDNA coding for human antithrombin III was expressed in this microorganism. The 1392-bp antithrombin III cDNA was fused to the N-terminal coding part of the D. discoideum actin 6 gene. In constructs carrying this artificial N-terminal coding region only low amounts of antithrombin III were detected. However, constructs from which all actin coding nucleotides were removed produced significant amounts of antithrombin III, most of which was secreted into the culture broth. Stationary cultures (1.5 × 10⁷ cells/ml) of certain stable transformants accumulated up to 1.0 g antithrombin III/ml culture medium within 24 h. The recombinant protein has a slightly smaller molecular weight in sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gels than authentic plasma antithrombin III and it is glycosylated, as determined by concanavalin A labelling. Offprint requests to: T. Dingermann     

Phytohemagglutinin-enhanced hybrid colony formation by cells from aged mice: Expression of th 4mod-1 mouse locus in human-mouse hybrids

Summary Cells from a continuous human line and freshly isolated cells from old adult mice heterozygous at theMod-1 locus were fused in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The production of hybrid cells, as a function of PEG concentration in the presence and absence of phytohemagglutining (PHA), was measured by cell survival and proliferation on selective medium. The incorporation of PHA into the fusion mixture allowed cell fusion to take place at nontoxic concentrations of PEG. PHA increased the frequency of cell fusion and increased the production of viable hybrid cells from 138- to over 2800-fold depending on cell type. The results suggest that the procedure may have broad application in promoting the fusion of cells sensitive to PEG. Clones were analyzed for isozymes of malic enzyme and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The expression of the gene encoding X-linked mouse glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase confirmed that the cells were hybrids. These cells lost other mouse isozymes rapidly. In those clones in which the mouse malic enzyme gene was expressed, the product ofMod-1 ^α was detected significantly more frequently than that ofMod-1 ^b.     

Extracellular production of human immunoglobulin G Fc region (hIgG-Fc) by Escherichia coli

Summary We have constructed the recombinant plasmid for the extracellular production of human immunoglobulin G Fc region (hIgG-Fc) in Escherichia coli. The excretion vector pEXFC10 contained the weakly activated kil gene of plasmid pMB9 and the DNA fragment encoding a fused protein, in which the codons for the alkalophilic Bacillus sp. No. 170 penicillinase signal peptide and the hIgG-Fc were fused through the one additional amino acid Ser, which was identical with the N-terminus of alkalophilic Bacillus mature penicillinase. By cultivating E. coli carrying pEXFC10, about 40% of hIgG-Fc was excreted into the culture medium. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the extracellular hIgG-Fc indicated that processing occurred correctly between Ala and Ser. From the sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in the nonreducing condition, it was suggested that most of the extracellular hIgG-Fc proteins took the dimeric form via disulfide bonds.