Evidence for the cloning of Deinococcus radiodurans DNA fragments that render Escherichia coli radiation resistant

DNA from the radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans was isolated and used to generate a cosmid library. This cosmid library was grown in Escherichia coli and radiation-resistant E. coli were isolated. Following exposure to 1000 Gy the radiation-resistant transformants exhibited a survival of approximately 10(-1) instead of the 10(-11) exhibited by the nontransformed E. coli. Smaller fragments of DNA were subcloned from the radiation-resistant E. coli; these fragments bestow similar levels of radiation resistance (ratio of slopes = 6.8) to native E. coli upon transfection.     

Physiologic determinants of radiation resistance in Deinococcus radiodurans

Immense volumes of radioactive wastes, which were generated during nuclear weapons production, were disposed of directly in the ground during the Cold War, a period when national security priorities often surmounted concerns over the environment. The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is the most radiation-resistant organism known and is currently being engineered for remediation of the toxic metal and organic components of these environmental wastes. Understanding the biotic potential of D. radiodurans and its global physiological integrity in nutritionally restricted radioactive environments is important in development of this organism for in situ bioremediation. We have previously shown that D. radiodurans can grow on rich medium in the presence of continuous radiation (6,000 rads/h) without lethality. In this study we developed a chemically defined minimal medium that can be used to analyze growth of this organism in the presence and in the absence of continuous radiation; whereas cell growth was not affected in the absence of radiation, cells did not grow and were killed in the presence of continuous radiation. Under nutrient-limiting conditions, DNA repair was found to be limited by the metabolic capabilities of D. radiodurans and not by any nutritionally induced defect in genetic repair. The results of our growth studies and analysis of the complete D. radiodurans genomic sequence support the hypothesis that there are several defects in D. radiodurans global metabolic regulation that limit carbon, nitrogen, and DNA metabolism. We identified key nutritional constituents that restore growth of D. radiodurans in nutritionally limiting radioactive environments.     

Using DNA microarray data to understand the ionizing radiation resistance of Deinococcus radiodurans

In a recent paper, Liu et al. documented the changes in gene expression as stationary phase Deinococcus radiodurans cultures recover from acute exposure to gamma radiation. Given that the biochemical details of the response of D. radiodurans to ionizing radiation are poorly understood, this work represents an important first step towards achieving an understanding of the ionizing radiation resistance in this species.     

Evidence against enhancement of the radioresistance of Escherichia coli by cloned Deinococcus radiodurans DNA

Deinococcus radiodurans genomic DNA, introduced to Escherichia coli in cloning vectors, has been reported to produce radioresistant E. coli that can be selected by gamma irradiation. In this report prior results are reassessed experimentally, and additional studies are presented. Results to date suggest that the acquired radioresistance of E. coli selected by gamma irradiation does not stem from expression of stable plasmid-encoded D. radiodurans sequences, and that acquired radioresistance is not readily transmitted to naive (unirradiated) E. coli by transformation of plasmid recovered from the radioresistant isolates. Several interpretations are discussed.     

Expression of Deinococcus radiodurans PprI enhances the radioresistance of Escherichia coli

PprI, a newly identified gene switch responsible for extreme radioresistance of Deinococcus radiodurans, plays a central regulatory role in multiple DNA damage repair and protection pathways in response to radiation stress [Biochem. Biophy. Res. Commun. 306 (2003) 354]. To evaluate whether PprI also functions in the radioresistance in other organisms, D. radiodurans PprI protein (Deira-PprI) was expressed in Escherichia coli. The complemented E. coli strain showed an increase of approximately 1.6-fold radioresistance with a high dose of gamma irradiation. Immunoblotting assays showed that the expression of Deira-PprI in E. coli resulted in a significant increase in RecA protein expression following high dose ionizing radiation. The expression of Deira-PprI protein also significantly enhanced the scavenging ability of free radicals by inducing the enzymatic activity of KatG. These results indicate that exogenous expression of Deira-PprI promotes DNA repair and protection pathways and enhances the radioresistance of E. coli.     

D.radiodurans CatB基因的克隆及其在大肠杆菌中的表达

通过生物信息学方法从耐辐射奇球菌（Ｄ．ｒａｄｉｏｄｕｒａｎｓ）全基因组居库中查鼠并克隆了编码过氧化氢酶（Ｃａｒｔａｌａｓｅ,Ｃａｔ）的１６１１ｂｐ长ＣａｔＢ基因,将ＣａｔＢ基因连人ｐＫＫ２２３－３表达载体,转化Ｃａｔ酶链陷型大肠杆菌（Ｅ．ｃｏｌｉ ＵＭ２）。转化菌裂解液ＰＡＧＥ酶活性染色分析实物具有Ｃａｔ酶活性,电泳过移位置与ＣａｔＢ位置相符。Ｄ．ｒａｄｉｏｄｕｒａｎｓ ＣａｔＢ基因的表达可使Ｅ．     

An exonuclease I-sensitive DNA repair pathway in Deinococcus radiodurans: a major determinant of radiation resistance

Deinococcus radiodurans R1 recovering from acute dose of gamma radiation shows a biphasic mechanism of DNA double-strand break repair. The possible involvement of microsequence homology-dependent, or non-homologous end joining type mechanisms during initial period followed by RecA-dependent homologous recombination pathways has been suggested for the reconstruction of complete genomes in this microbe. We have exploited the known roles of exonuclease I in DNA recombination to elucidate the nature of recombination involved in DNA double-strand break repair during post-irradiation recovery of D. radiodurans. Transgenic Deinococcus cells expressing exonuclease I functions of Escherichia coli showed significant reduction in gamma radiation radioresistance, while the resistance to far-UV and hydrogen peroxide remained unaffected. The overexpression of E. coli exonuclease I in Deinococcus inhibited DNA double-strand break repair. Such cells exhibited normal post-irradiation expression kinetics of RecA, PprA and single-stranded DNA-binding proteins but lacked the divalent cation manganese [(Mn(II)]-dependent protection from gamma radiation. The results strongly suggest that 3' (rho) 5' single-stranded DNA ends constitute an important component in recombination pathway involved in DNA double-strand break repair and that absence of sbcB from deinococcal genome may significantly aid its extreme radioresistance phenotype.     

Sensitivity of Deinococcus radiodurans to near-ultraviolet radiation

Although Dienococcus radiodurans is notoriously resistant to far-ultraviolet radiation (FUV; 254 nm), it is highly sensitive to near-ultraviolet radiation (NUV; 300-400 nm), thus demonstrating that the mechanisms of damage (and/or recovery) by the two types of irradiation are different. This observed difference between FUV and NUV effects in D. radiodurans agrees with previous studies with Escherichia coli. Near-ultraviolet radiation produces DNA damage which is presumed to be single-strand breaks (SSB) in the DNA of D. radiodurans. Unique lesions, such as DNA-protein crosslinks could not be demonstrated in this study. Cells that were pre-irradiated with a small dose of NUV were subsequently protected against inactivating doses of NUV. The data presented are consistent with induced DNA repair following NUV damage in D. radiodurans; this is in contrast to FUV damage where DNA repair is constitutive but not induced.     

Roles of DNA repair and membrane integrity in heat resistance of Deinococcus radiodurans

To study the effects of heat shock on Deinococcus radiodurans and the role of DNA repair in high temperature resistance, different strains of D. radiodurans (wild type, recA, irrE, and pprA) were treated with temperatures ranging from 40 to 100?°C under wet and dry conditions. The mutant strains were more sensitive to wet heat of ≥60?°C and dry heat of ≥80?°C than the wild type. Both wild-type and DNA repair-deficient strains were much more resistant to high temperatures when exposed in the dried state as opposed to cells in suspension. Molecular staining techniques with the wild-type strain revealed that cells in the dried state were able to retain membrane integrity after drying and subsequent heat exposure, while heat-exposed cells in suspension showed significant loss of membrane integrity and respiration activity. The results suggest that the repair of DNA damage (e.g., DNA double-strand breaks by RecA and PprA) is essential after treatment with wet heat at temperatures >60?°C and dry heat >80?°C, and the ability of D. radiodurans to stabilize its plasma membrane during dehydration might represent one aspect in the protection of dried cells from heat-induced membrane damage.     

表达耐辐射异常球菌IrrE蛋白对产丁二酸大肠杆菌耐渗透压的影响

高渗透压胁迫是降低生物法制备丁二酸生产效率的关键因素之一。为提高丁二酸生产菌株对高渗透压胁迫的耐受性能,本研究考察了外源引入全局调控蛋白IrrE提高大肠杆菌耐高渗透压胁迫性能的可行性。试验结果表明,在不同浓度Na+胁迫下,重组菌生长和发酵性能明显提升。在5 L罐发酵中,重组菌最大细胞干重、糖耗和丁二酸产量比对照菌分别提高了15.6%、22%和23%,表明引入IrrE蛋白可提高菌株对高渗透压胁迫的耐受能力。进一步比较重组菌和对照菌胞内相容性物质海藻糖和甘油的浓度后发现,重组菌胞内海藻糖和甘油浓度明显提高,其最大积累量分别是对照菌的1.3和3.8倍,推测IrrE可通过增加胞内相容性物质的积累提高菌株对高渗透压胁迫的耐受性。     

DNA repair in the extremely radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans

Deinococcus radiodurans and other members of the same genus share extraordinary resistance to the lethal and mutagenic effects of ionizing and u.v. radiation and to many other agents that damage DNA. While it is known that this resistance is due to exceedingly efficient DNA repair, the molecular mechanisms responsible remain poorly understood. Following very high exposures to u.v. irradiation (e.g. 500 Jm⁻², which is non-lethal to D. radiodurans), this organism carries out extremely efficient excision repair accomplished by two separate nucleotide excision repair pathways acting simultaneously. One pathway requires the uvrA gene and appears similar to the UvrABC excinuclease pathway defined in Escherichia coli. The other excision repair pathway is specific for u.v. dimeric photoproducts, but is not mediated by a pyrimidine dimer DNA glycosylase. Instead, it is initiated by a second bona fide endonuclease that may recognize both pyrimidine dimers and pyrimidine-(6–4)pyrimidones. After high doses of ionizing-radiation (e.g. 1.5Mrad), D. radiodurans can mend >100 double-strand breaks (dsb) per chromosome without lethality or mutagenesis. Both dsb mending and survival are recA-dependent, indicating that efficient dsb mending proceeds via homologous recombination. D. radiodurans contains multiple chromosomes per cell, and it is proposed that dsb mending requires extensive recombination amongst these chromosomes, a novel phenomenon in bacteria. Thus, D. radiodurans may serve as an easily accessible model system for the double-strand-break-initiated interchromosomal recombination that occurs in eukaryotic cells during mitosis and meiosis.     

耐辐射球菌pprI在大肠杆菌中表达增强细胞抗氧化能力的研究

将耐辐射球菌(Deinococcus radiodurans)与DNA修复有关的开关基因—pprI通过穿梭质粒pRADZ3导入大肠杆菌TG1中,使其在正常培养条件下(不需诱导剂)表达PprI蛋白,并通过Western blot证实该基因在TG1中可稳定表达。与转化了空白质粒pRADZ3 TG1对照,观察了改造后的两种大肠杆菌在有H2O2氧化压力下的存活率和大肠杆菌中两种过氧化氢酶（KatE, KatG）的活性表达差异。结果表明,无论在指数生长期还是稳定生长期,能表达PprI蛋白的大肠杆菌比对照的存活率要高出10％左右;非变性电泳结果表明,耐辐射球菌pprI 在大肠杆菌中的表达使得KatE活性在指数生长期与稳定生长期分别增加1.5～2倍和2.5～3倍。证明耐辐射球菌pprI 在大肠杆菌中的表达能够增强细胞抗氧化能力。     

Effect of a recD mutation on DNA damage resistance and transformation in Deinococcus radiodurans

The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is resistant to extremely high levels of DNA-damaging agents such as UV light, ionizing radiation, and chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide and mitomycin C. The organism is able to repair large numbers of double-strand breaks caused by ionizing radiation, in spite of the lack of the RecBCD enzyme, which is essential for double-strand DNA break repair in Escherichia coli and many other bacteria. The D. radiodurans genome sequence indicates that the organism lacks recB and recC genes, but there is a gene encoding a protein with significant similarity to the RecD protein of E. coli and other bacteria. We have generated D. radiodurans strains with a disruption or deletion of the recD gene. The recD mutants are more sensitive than wild-type cells to irradiation with gamma rays and UV light and to treatment with hydrogen peroxide, but they are not sensitive to treatment with mitomycin C and methyl methanesulfonate. The recD mutants also show greater efficiency of transformation by exogenous homologous DNA. These results are the first indication that the D. radiodurans RecD protein has a role in DNA damage repair and/or homologous recombination in the organism.     

DNA helicase activity of the RecD protein from Deinococcus radiodurans

The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is extremely resistant to high levels of DNA-damaging agents, including gamma rays and ultraviolet light that can lead to double-stranded DNA breaks. Surprisingly, the organism does not appear to have a RecBCD enzyme, an enzyme that is critical for double-strand break repair in many other bacteria. The D. radiodurans genome does encode a protein whose closest characterized homologues are RecD subunits of RecBCD enzymes in other bacteria. We have purified this novel D. radiodurans RecD protein and characterized its biochemical activities. The D. radiodurans RecD protein is a DNA helicase that unwinds short (20 base pairs) DNA duplexes with either a 5'-single-stranded tail or a forked end, but not blunt-ended or 3'-tailed duplexes. Duplexes with 10-12 nucleotide (nt) 5'-tails are good unwinding substrates and are bound tightly, while DNA with shorter tails (4-8 nt) are poor unwinding substrates and are bound much less tightly. The RecD protein is much less efficient at unwinding slightly longer substrates (52 or 76 base pairs, with 12 nt 5'-tails). Unwinding of the longer substrates is stimulated somewhat (4-5-fold) by the single-stranded DNA-binding protein from D. radiodurans. These results show that the D. radiodurans RecD protein is a DNA helicase with 5'-3' polarity and low processivity.     

Shuttle plasmids constructed by the transformation of an Escherichia coli cloning vector into two Deinococcus radiodurans plasmids

An Escherichia coli plasmid that confers kanamycin resistance (Kmr) was inserted into the large Deinococcus radiodurans cryptic plasmids pUE10 and pUE11, yielding pS28 and pS19. The method of insertion involved both in vitro splicing and the natural transformation of D. radiodurans and yielded full-length clones in E. coli of pUE10 and pUE11. Both pS28 and pS19 replicated and expressed Kmr in E. coli and D. radiodurans. In both pS28 and pS19, D. radiodurans plasmid sequences were immediately upstream from the Kmr determinant. Transformation experiments suggested that Kmr expression in D. radiodurans was initiated in upstream D. radiodurans sequences. Restriction maps of pS28 and pS19 showed that each plasmid contained three MraI sites. Both pS28 and pS19 transformed the MraI-producing D. radiodurans strain R1 at low frequencies. D. radiodurans strain Sark, which naturally contains pUE10 and pUE11, was transformed by pS28 and pS19 at much higher frequencies. A Sark derivative that was cured for pUE10 was isolated by screening Sark/pS28 subisolates for loss of kanamycin resistance.     

PprA: a protein implicated in radioresistance of Deinococcus radiodurans stimulates catalase activity in Escherichia coli

PprA: a pleiotropic protein promoting DNA repair, role in radiation resistance of Deinococcus radiodurans was demonstrated. In this study, the effect of radiation and oxidative stress on transgenic Escherichia coli expressing pprA has been studied. The pprA gene from D. radiodurans KR1 was cloned and expressed in E. coli. Transgenic E. coli cells expressing PprA showed twofold to threefold higher tolerance to hydrogen peroxide as compared to control. The 2.8-fold in vivo stimulation of catalase activity largely contributed by KatE was observed as compared to nonrecombinant control. Furthermore, the purified PprA could stimulate the E. coli catalase activity by 1.7-fold in solution. The effect of PprA on catalase activity observed both in vivo and in vitro was reverted to normal levels in the presence of PprA antibodies. The results suggest that enhanced oxidative stress tolerance in E. coli expressing PprA was due to the PprA stimulation of catalase activity, perhaps through the interaction of these proteins.     

Biochemical characterization of two DNA ligases from Deinococcus radiodurans

Two genes encoding a NAD(+)-dependent DNA ligase (LigA) and an ATP-dependent DNA ligase (LigB) were identified in the genome of the extremely radioresistant bacterium, Deinococcus radiodurans (DR). The recombinant enzymes expressed in Escherichia coli, were purified to homogeneity and characterized. The optimal temperature and pH value of the two DNA ligases were 60 ( degrees )C and 7.0, respectively. Their optimal concentration of MgCl(2) was 5mM. Their half-lifes of heat inactivation at 100 ( degrees )C were about 3 min and 5 min, respectively. In addition, the results showed that DRLigB displayed higher activity than DRLigA at stick and blunt ended joining of DNA, indicating that DRLigB is a key DNA ligase of D. radiodurans in DNA recombination and double-strand break repair.     

Identification of a DNA processing complex from Deinococcus radiodurans

An efficient DNA strand break repair contributes to the radioresistance of Deinococcus radiodurans, which harbors the DNA repair pathways nearly identical to Escherichia coli. The molecular mechanisms of these proteins functioning in 2 diverse classes of bacteria seem to be different. The macromolecular interactions and formation of multiprotein complexes in vivo have gained significant importance in explaining the mechanism of the complex cellular processes. Here, we report the identification of a novel DNA metabolic protein complex from D. radiodurans. A similar complex has, however, not been found in E. coli. Mass spectrometric analysis showed the presence of a few known DNA repair proteins, molecular chaperones, and a large number of uncharacterized proteins from D. radiodurans R1. Biochemical and immunoblotting results indicated the presence of the protein promoting DNA repair A, DNA polymerase, Mg2+, and (or) Mn2+ -dependent 5'-->3' exonuclease activity along with protein kinase activity and phosphoproteins. DNA ligase activity was completely dependent upon the ATP requirement, as no ligase activity was seen in the presence of NAD as a cofactor. These results suggest the molecular interactions of the known DNA repair proteins with uncharacterized proteins in the macromolecular complex and the regulation of DNA degradation with the involvement of ATP and protein kinase functions.