Manipulation of GES and ERG20 for geraniol overproduction in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Manipulation of monoterpene synthases to maximize flux towards targeted products from GPP (geranyl diphosphate) is the main challenge for heterologous monoterpene overproduction, in addition to cell toxicity from compounds themselves. In our study, by manipulation of the key enzymes geraniol synthase (GES) and farnesyl diphosphate synthase (Erg20), geraniol (a valuable acyclic monoterpene alcohol) overproduction was achieved in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with truncated 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme reductase (tHMGR) and isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI1) overexpressed. The expressions of all above engineered genes were under the control of Gal promoter for alleviating product toxicity. Geraniol production varied from trace amount to 43.19 mg/L (CrGES, GES from Catharanthus roseus) by screening of nine GESs from diverse species. Further through protein structure analysis and site-directed mutation in CrGES, it was firstly demonstrated that among the high-conserved amino acid residues located in active pocket, Y436 and D501 with strong affinity to diphosphate function group, were critical for the dephosphorylation (the core step for geraniol formation). Moreover, the truncation position of the transit peptide from the N-terminus of CrGES was found to influence protein expression and activity significantly, obtaining a titer of 191.61 mg/L geraniol in strain with CrGES truncated at S43 (t3CrGES). Furthermore, directed by surface electrostatics distribution of t3CrGES and Erg20^WW (Erg20^F96W-N127W), co-expression of the reverse fusion of Erg20^ww/t3CrGES and another copy of Erg20^WW promoted the geraniol titer to 523.96 mg/L at shakes flask level, due to enhancing GPP accessibility led by protein interaction of t3CrGES-Erg20^WW and the free Erg20^WW. Eventually, a highest reported titer of 1.68 g/L geraniol in eukaryote cells was achieved in 2.0 L fed-batch fermentation under carbon restriction strategy. Our research opens large opportunities for other microbial production of monoterpenes. It also sets a good reference for desired compounds overproduction in microorganisms in terms of manipulation of key enzymes by protein engineering and metabolic engineering.     

Functional analysis and subcellular localization of two geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthases from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium paxilli</Emphasis>

The filamentous fungus Penicillium paxilli contains two distinct geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) synthases, GgsA and GgsB (PaxG). PaxG and its homologues in Neotyphodium lolii and Fusarium fujikuroi are associated with diterpene secondary metabolite gene clusters. The genomes of other filamentous fungi including Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae and Fusarium graminearum also contain two or more copies of GGPP synthase genes, although the diterpene metabolite capability of these fungi is not known. The objective of this study was to understand the biological significance of the presence of two copies of GGPP synthases in P. paxilli by investigating their subcellular localization. Using a carotenoid complementation assay and gene deletion analysis, we show that P. paxilli GgsA and PaxG have GGPP synthase activities and that paxG is required for paxilline biosynthesis, respectively. In the ΔpaxG mutant background ggsA was unable to complement paxilline biosynthesis. A GgsA-EGFP fusion protein was localized to punctuate organelles and the EGFP-GRV fusion protein, containing the C-terminus tripeptide GRV of PaxG, was localized to peroxisomes. A truncated PaxG mutant lacking the C-terminus tripeptide GRV was unable to complement a ΔpaxG mutant demonstrating that the tripeptide is functionally important for paxilline biosynthesis. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Plant volatile terpenoid metabolism: Biosynthetic genes, transcriptional regulation and subcellular compartmentation

Volatile terpenoids released from different plant parts play crucial roles in pollinator attraction, plant defense, and interaction with the surrounding environment. Two distinct pathways localized in different subcellular compartments are responsible for the biosynthesis of these compounds. Recent advances in the characterization of genes and enzymes responsible for substrate and end product biosynthesis as well as efforts in metabolic engineering have revealed new aspects of volatile terpenoid biosynthesis. This review summarizes recent progress in the characterization of volatile terpenoid biosynthetic genes, their spatio-temporal expression patterns and subcellular localization of corresponding proteins. In addition, recent information obtained from metabolic engineering is discussed.     

Differential subcellular targeting and activity-dependent subcellular localization of diacylglycerol kinase isozymes in transfected cells

Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) plays a pivotal role in cellular signal transduction through regulating levels of the second messenger diacylglycerol (DG). Previous studies have revealed that DGK is composed of a family of isozymes that show remarkable heterogeneity in terms of molecular structure, functional domains, tissue and cellular gene expression. Recently, it has been shown that DG is produced in various subcellular compartments including the plasma membrane, internal membranes, cytoskeleton, and nucleus. However, it remains unclear how DG is regulated at distinct subcellular sites. To address this point, we have used an epitope-tag expression system in cultured cells and investigated the subcellular localization of DGK isozymes under the same experimental conditions. We show here that DGK isozymes are targeted differentially to unique subcellular sites in transfected COS7 cells, including the cytoplasm, actin stress fibers, Golgi complex, endoplasmic reticulum, and nucleus. It is also shown that among the isozymes overexpression of DGKbeta causes fragmentation of actin stress fibers while a kinase-dead mutant of DGKbeta abolishes its colocalization with actin stress fibers. These data strongly suggest that each isozyme may be responsible for the metabolism of DG that is produced upon stimulation at a different and specific subcellular site and that DGKbeta activity might have effects on the reorganization of actin stress fibers in transfected COS7 cells.     

Properties and subcellular localization of adenosine diphosphatase in arterial smooth muscle cells in culture

The properties and subcellular localization of adenosine diphosphatase (ADPase) activity in smooth muscle cells cultured from pig aortas have been investigated. The pH optimum of ADPase activity was 7.3 and the apparent K_m for ADP was 10.3 μM. ADPase activity was inhibited completely by EDTA and was restored by the addition of divalent cations. The enzyme activity was not inhibited by 2-glycerophosphate, a substrate for non-specific phosphatases, nor by levamisole, a specific inhibitor of alkaline phosphatase. Smooth muscle cells were homogenized and a post-nuclear supernatant was applied to a sucrose density gradient in a Beaufay automatic zonal rotor. The distribution of ADPase activity in the density gradient was similar to that of 5′-nucleotidase activity, a marker enzyme for the plasma membrane, and distinct from the distributions of the marker enzymes for the other organelles. When the cells were homogenized in the presence of digitonin, an agent which binds to cholesterol and increases the equilibrium density of the plasma membrane, the modal equilibrium densities of ADPase activity and of 5′-nucleotidase activity were increased to similar extents, thus confirming the plasma membrane localization of ADPase activity.     

Characterization and localization of phosphatidylglycerophosphate and phosphatidylserine synthases in Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Catalytic properties and membrane associations of the phosphatidylglycerophosphate (PGP) and phosphatidylserine (PS) synthases of Rhodobacter sphaeroides were examined to further characterize sites of phospholipid biosynthesis. In preparations of cytoplasmic membrane (CM) enriched in these activities, apparent K _m values of PGP synthase were 90 M for sn-glycerol-3-phosphate and 60 M for CDP-diacylglycerol; the apparent K _m of PS synthase for l-serine was near 165 M. Both enzymes required Triton X-100 with optimal PS synthase activity at a detergent/CDP-diacylglycerol (mol/mol) ratio of 7.5:1.0, while for optimal PGP synthase, a range of 10–50:1.0 was observed. Unlike the enzyme in Escherichia coli and several other Gram-negative bacteria, the PS synthase activity had a specific requirement for magnesium and was tightly associated with membranes rather than ribosomes in crude cell extracts. Sedimentation studies suggested that the PGP synthase ws distributed uniformly over the CM in both chemoheterotrophically and photoheterotrophically grown cells, while the PS synthase was confined mainly to a vesicular CM fraction. Solubilized PGP synthase activity migrated as a single band with a pI value near 5.5 in a chromatofocusing column and 5.8 on isoelectric focusing; in the latter procedure, the pI was shifted to 5.3 in the presence of CDP-diacylglycerol. The PGP synthase activity gave rise to a single polypeptide band in lithium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at 4°C.Abbreviations CM cytoplasmic membrane - ICM intracytoplasmic photosynthetic membrane - OM outer membrane - PGP phosphatidylglycerophosphate - PS phosphatidylserine - TLC thin-layer chromatography Supported in part by a Fellowship Awards from the Charles and Johanna Busch Memorial Fund Award to the Rutgers Bureau of Biological Research     

Preparation and characterization of subcellular fractions from the intestinal mucosa of the Northern pike (Esox lucius), with special emphasis on enzymes involved in xenobiotic metabolism

The present study was designed to prepare and characterize subcellular fractions from the intestinal mucosa of the Northern pike (Esox lucius), with special emphasis on the preparation of a microsomal fraction suitable for studying xenobiotic metabolism. The purity of the different fractions obtained by differential centrifugation, as well as the recovery of different organelles, was determined using both enzyme markers and morphological examination with the electron microscope. The subcellular distributions of several enzymes involved in drug metabolism (NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, NADH-ferricyanide reductase, epoxide hydrolase activity towards both cis- and trans-stilbene oxide as substrates, and glutathione transferase) were also examined. The subcellular distributions obtained here for drug-metabolizing and marker enzymes closely resembled those reported for rat and pike liver. The microsomal fraction obtained contained about 50% of the total endoplasmic reticulum. This fraction was relatively free of nuclei, mitochondria, Golgi, peroxisomes and cytosol, but relatively heavily contaminated with lysosomes and fragments of the plasma membrane. Within the limitations discussed, the subfractions prepared here are suitable for further characterization of drug-metabolizing systems in the intestinal mucosa of the Northern pike, as well as for other studies with this tissue.     

Cellular and subcellular localization of gastrointestinal glutathione peroxidase in normal and malignant human intestinal tissue

The gastrointestinal glutathione peroxidase (GI-GPx) is believed to prevent absorption of hydroperoxides. GI-GPx is expressed in the intestine together with the other three glutathione peroxidase isoenzymes, raising the question of the physiological role of the different GPx types. We therefore studied the cellular and subcellular distribution of GI-GPx in normal and malignant tissue obtained from patients with colorectal cancer or familial polyposis by immunohistochemistry. In healthy ileum epithelium GI-GPx was preferentially enriched in Paneth cells. In unaffected crypts of colon and rectum, it decreased gradually from the ground to the luminal surface. In crypt ground, GI-GPx was uniformly distributed, whereas in cells at the luminal surface it was concentrated in structures capping the nuclei at the apical pole. In colorectal cancer, GI-GPx expression depended on the stage of malignant transformation. In early stages, GI-GPx was increased and pronouncedly associated with the vesicular structures. In progressed stages of malignancy, structures disintegrated and GI-GPx distribution became more diffuse. These observations support the hypothesis that GI-GPx, apart from being a barrier against hydroperoxide absorption, might be involved in cell growth and differentiation.     

Subcellular localization of adenosine kinase in mammalian cells: The long isoform of AdK is localized in the nucleus

Two isoforms of adenosine kinase (AdK) have been identified in mammalian organisms with the long isoform (AdK-long) containing extra 20-21 amino acids at the N-terminus (NTS). The subcellular localizations of these isoforms are not known and they contain no identifiable targeting sequence. Immunofluorescence labeling of mammalian cells expressing either only AdK-long or both isoforms with AdK-specific antibody showed only nuclear labeling or both nucleus and cytoplasmic labeling, respectively. The AdK-long and -short isoforms fused at the C-terminus with c-myc epitope also localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm, respectively. Fusion of the AdK-long NTS to green fluorescent protein also resulted in its nuclear localization. AdK-long NTS contains a cluster of conserved amino acids (PKPKKLKVE). Replacement of KK in this sequence with either AA or AD abolished its nuclear localization capability, indicating that this cluster likely serves as a nuclear localization signal. AdK in nucleus is likely required for sustaining methylation reactions.     

GII型诺如病毒VP2蛋白在昆虫细胞中的表达与定位研究

【目的】利用杆状病毒表达系统表达诺如病毒(GenegroupⅡ)VP2蛋白,分析其亚细胞定位,为深入研究VP2蛋白的功能奠定基础。【方法】设计可扩增完整ORF3基因片段的引物P1和P2,在下游引物中引入6×His标签的编码序列,从质粒pMD-ORF3中克隆了含有6×His编码序列的ORF3基因,与pFastBac1载体连接,构建重组质粒pFB-ORF3,转化DH10Bac感受态细胞获得重组杆状病毒基因组Bac-ORF3,脂质体介导转染sf9昆虫细胞获得表达VP2蛋白的重组杆状病毒Ac-VP2,感染sf9细胞后,收集病变细胞,采用抗6×His标签的单克隆抗体作为一抗进行Western blot与间接免疫荧光实验鉴定。【结果】Western blot实验证实Ac-VP2感染的sf9细胞在约29 kD处出现特异性条带;间接免疫荧光实验证实Ac-VP2感染的sf9细胞出现特异性绿色荧光,并且VP2主要定位于sf9的细胞核与细胞膜。【结论】诺如病毒VP2蛋白在Ac-VP2感染的sf9细胞中获得成功表达,并且主要定位于sf9细胞的细胞核与细胞膜。     

RSLpred: an integrative system for predicting subcellular localization of rice proteins combining compositional and evolutionary information

The attainment of complete map‐based sequence for rice (Oryza sativa) is clearly a major milestone for the research community. Identifying the localization of encoded proteins is the key to understanding their functional characteristics and facilitating their purification. Our proposed method, RSLpred, is an effort in this direction for genome‐scale subcellular prediction of encoded rice proteins. First, the support vector machine (SVM)‐based modules have been developed using traditional amino acid‐, dipeptide‐ (i+1) and four parts‐amino acid composition and achieved an overall accuracy of 81.43, 80.88 and 81.10%, respectively. Secondly, a similarity search‐based module has been developed using position‐specific iterated‐basic local alignment search tool and achieved 68.35% accuracy. Another module developed using evolutionary information of a protein sequence extracted from position‐specific scoring matrix achieved an accuracy of 87.10%. In this study, a large number of modules have been developed using various encoding schemes like higher‐order dipeptide composition, N‐ and C‐terminal, splitted amino acid composition and the hybrid information. In order to benchmark RSLpred, it was tested on an independent set of rice proteins where it outperformed widely used prediction methods such as TargetP, Wolf‐PSORT, PA‐SUB, Plant‐Ploc and ESLpred. To assist the plant research community, an online web tool ‘RSLpred’ has been developed for subcellular prediction of query rice proteins, which is freely accessible at http://www.imtech.res.in/raghava/rslpred.     

Characterization,subcellular localization and nuclear targeting of casein kinase 2 from Zea mays

We have isolated and characterized the genomic clone of maize casein kinase 2 (CK2) subunit using the previously described CK2-1 cDNA clone as a probe. The genomic clone is 7.5 kb long and contains 10 exons, separated by 9 introns of different size, two larger than 1.5 kb and the others around 100–150 bp. The sequence of the exons is 100% homologous to the sequence of the CK2-1 cDNA. Southern hybridization of total genomic DNA from maize embryos with CK2 cDNA indicated that the CK2-1 gene is part of a multigenic family. We also isolated a new embryo cDNA clone coding for an CK2-2 subunit. We studied the regulation of the enzyme in embryos at the mRNA level, at the protein level and by activity testing. By using immunocytochemistry the CK2 protein was localized in several types of cells of mature embryos. Particularly strong signals were visible in the cytoplasm of epidermis and meristematic cells. Decoration of nuclei of root cortex and scutellum cells was also observed suggesting that CK2 can shift from the cytoplasm into nuclei in specific cell types. We examined whether CK2 contained specific protein domains which actively target the protein to the nucleus by using in-frame fusions of the maize CK2 subunit to the reporter gene encoding -glucuronidase (GUS) which were assayed in transiently transformed onion epidermal cells. Analysis of chimeric constructs identified one region containing a nuclear localization signal (NLS) that is highly conserved in other CK2 proteins.     

Temporal and subcellular localization of PR-1 proteins in tomato stem tissues infected by virulent and avirulent isolates of Phytophthora capsici

Summary. Immunoblot analysis and immunogold labeling of PR-1 protein (pathogenesis-related protein 1) in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were performed to examine the temporal and spatial expression patterns of PR-1 protein induced by Phytophthora capsici infection. Soluble proteins with molecular masses of 10, 17, 25, 27 and 75 kDa were induced and accumulated in P. capsici-infected stem tissues during the compatible and incompatible interactions. Western blot analysis revealed that expression of PR-1 protein (17 kDa), at 12 to 24 h after inoculation, occurred earlier in the incompatible than in the compatible interaction. Immunogold labeling of PR-1 proteins occurred over cell walls and cytoplasm of the host and the oomycete pathogen and at the interface between host and oomycete cell walls at 24 h after inoculation in the compatible interaction. In the incompatible interaction, numerous PR-1 proteins accumulated predominantly over oomycete cell walls and at the interface between host and oomycete cell walls. The quantity of PR-1 proteins deposited in both host and oomycete cells was much less in the compatible than the incompatible interaction. Healthy tomato stem tissue was nearly free of immunogold labeling of PR-1 proteins. Received October 9, 2001 Accepted January 18, 2002     

滑液支原体NADH氧化酶的酶学活性及亚细胞定位研究

【背景】许多研究表明,支原体的NADH氧化酶(NADH oxidase,NOX)不仅在胞浆中发挥生物酶学功能,也存在于细胞膜上发挥黏附宿主细胞功能。【目的】对滑液支原体(Mycoplasma synoviae,MS)的NOX进行酶学活性及亚细胞定位研究,分析其在MS致病过程中的潜在作用。【方法】对MS的NOX蛋白进行原核表达、纯化,然后对重组MSNOX (rMSNOX)的酶学活性及影响酶活的条件进行研究,测定其酶比活力、米氏常数及最大反应速率,接着用MS阳性血清及制备的rMSNOX兔多克隆抗体,分别与rMSNOX蛋白及MS全菌、膜蛋白和胞浆蛋白进行Western blotting反应,鉴定rMSNOX的免疫原性及其在MS中的分布情况。【结果】在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中成功表达rMSNOX蛋白,相对分子质量约为53 kD,并获得纯化的rMSNOX蛋白;酶活测定显示rMSNOX蛋白的酶比活力为14.17IU/mg,最适酶促温度为37℃,最适pH为7.5,双倒数法求得rMSNOX的最大反应速率V_max为21.8μmol/(L·min),米氏常数K_m     

两个小麦14-3-3基因的特征、亚细胞定位及其对非生物胁迫的响应(英文)

为了探讨14-3-3基因在小麦逆境胁迫应答中的调控作用,利用RACE技术克隆了两个包含完整编码框的14-3-3基因(命名为Ta14R1和Ta14R2),其中Ta14R1 cDNA长999 bp,编码262个氨基酸,而Ta14R2 cDNA长897 bp,编码261个氨基酸。Ta14R1/Ta14R2-GFP融合载体瞬时表达结果显示,Ta14R1和Ta14R2蛋白均定位于细胞质和细胞膜,但不在叶绿体中。荧光定量PCR分析表明,Ta14R1和Ta14R2均在萌发1 d的胚芽鞘中表达量最高;在高温、低温、模拟干旱和ABA处理下,两个基因在小麦的根和叶中都受胁迫诱导而且显著上调表达,推测这两个14-3-3基因通过依赖ABA的非生物胁迫响应途径发挥作用,可能参与了小麦中高温、低温和干旱胁迫的耐受调节过程。     

两个大豆GmSBP基因的特征、亚细胞定位及对非生物胁迫的响应

我国南方春大豆种子发育过程中,常处于高温、高湿季节,加之种子本身富含蛋白(约40%)和脂肪(约20%),导致南方春大豆种子易劣变。本项目组前期差异蛋白质组学研究发现蔗糖结合蛋白在高温高湿胁迫168 h时在种子田间劣变抗性品种湘豆3号发育种子中呈下调表达。为进一步从分子水平了解Gm SBP基因表达以及响应高温高湿胁迫的特性,本研究利用RT-PCR技术从大豆扩增出两个Gm SBP基因(Gm SBP2和Gm SBPL)。两个基因编码的蛋白均为亲水性,不完整的膜蛋白。荧光定量PCR分析表明:在高温高湿条件下,种子田间劣变不抗品种宁镇1号和抗性品种湘豆3号发育种子中Gm SBP2和Gm SBPL基因表达量均受高温高湿胁迫影响,也会导致种子中蔗糖和可溶性糖含量变化。在籽粒发育过程中,Gm SBP2和Gm SBPL基因表达量在花后30 d左右达到最高,对应时期的蔗糖和可溶性糖含量也达到最大值。组织特异性显示Gm SBP和Gm SBPL基因在不同组织间存在差异表达。亚细胞定位结果表明Gm SBP2和Gm SBPL蛋白均定位在细胞膜和细胞质中。以上结果表明Gm SBP2和Gm SBPL基因可能参与了植物非生物胁迫的应答过程,这将从一个侧面丰富我们对大豆种子田间劣变性和劣变抗性的认识。