Construction of a new shuttle expression vector for Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli by using a polycistronic system

A shuttle vector has been constructed by fusing the Bacillus subtilis trimethoprim-resistance-carrying (TpR) plasmid pNC601 with the Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322. The resultant plasmid pNBL1 can replicate in both B. subtilis and E. coli, conferring Tp resistance on both cells and ampicillin resistance (ApR) on E. coli. The B. subtilis dihydrofolate reductase operon (dfr) on pNC601 and therefore on pNBL1 consists of the thymidylate synthase B gene (thyB) and the TpR-dihydrofolate reductase gene lacking the C-terminal seven codons (designated as drfA' as compared with the complete dfrA gene). A direct-expression vector pNBL3 has been constructed by inserting synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides containing a Bacillus ribosome-binding site (RBS) and the ATG codon downstream from dfrA' on pNBL1. When the E. coli lacZ gene was placed downstream from the dfrA' gene in pNBL3, efficient synthesis of beta-galactosidase was observed in both cells, showing that the polycistronic expression system is suitable for directing expression of heterologous genes. Translational efficiency of the lacZ gene on pNBL3 was further examined in B. subtilis by changing the sequence upstream from lacZ. Unlike the results previously reported [Sprengel et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 13 (1985) 893-909], when RBS was present, the high level of lacZ expression was preserved irrespective of spacing between the stop codon of the upstream dfrA' gene and the start codon of the downstream lacZ gene. However, in the absence of RBS, the spacing between both genes affected lacZ expression. That is, translational coupling of dfrA'-lacZ was observed, although the translational efficiency was very low.     

Characterization of the ksgA gene of Escherichia coli determining kasugamycin sensitivity

In the plasmid pUC8ksgA7, the coding region of the ksgA gene is preceded by the lac promoter (Plac) and a small open reading frame (ORF). This ORF of 15 codons is composed of nucleotides derived from the lacZ gene, a multiple cloning site and the ksgA gene itself. The reading frame begins with the ATG initiation codon of lacZ and ends a few nucleotides beyond the ATG start codon of ksgA. The ksgA gene is not preceded by a Shine-Dalgarno (SD) signal. Cells transformed with pUC8ksgA7 produce active methylase, the product of the ksgA gene. Introduction of an in-phase TAA stop codon in the small ORF abolishes methylase production in transformed cells. On the plasmid pUC8ksgA5, which contains the entire ksgA region, the promoter of the ksgA gene was found to reside in a 380 base pair Bgl1-Pvu2 restriction fragment, partly overlapping the ksgA gene, by two independent methods. Cloning of this fragment in front of the galK gene in plasmid pKO1 stimulates galactokinase activity in transformants and its insertion into the expression vector pKL203 makes beta-galactosidase synthesis independent of the presence of Plac. The sequence of the Bgl1-Pvu2 fragment was determined and a putative promoter sequence identified. An SD signal could not be distinguished at a proper distance upstream from the ksgA start codon. Instead, an ORF of 13 codons starting with ATG in tandem with an SD signal and ending 4 codons ahead of the ksgA gene was identified. This suggests that translation of the ORF is required for expression of the ksgA gene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A possible contribution of mRNA secondary structure to translation initiation efficiency in Lactococcus lactis

Gene expression signals derived from Lactococcus lactis were linked to lacZ-fused genes with different 5'-nucleotide sequences. Computer predictions of mRNA secondary structure were combined with lacZ expression studies to direct base-substitutions that could possibly influence gene expression. Mutations were made such that the DNA sequence upstream of the ATG start codon was not changed. Moreover, care was taken that the substitutions, which were all within the first six codons, neither affected the amino acid sequence of the gene product nor introduced codons rarely used in L. lactis. The results suggest that mRNA secondary structure contributes to the efficiency of translation initiation in L. lactis.     

霍乱毒素A基因内部翻译调控元件具有翻译起始功能

通过大肠杆菌体外转录－体外翻译系统,证明霍乱毒素Ａ基因内部的翻译调控元件具有翻译起始功能,且其翻译起始效率较ｃｔｘＡ基因高得多,当ｃｔｘＡ的起始密码突变时,从该元件起始的翻译效率下降,说明基因内翻译起以ｃｔｘＡ翻译起始的调控。结果进一步证实了霍乱毒素Ａ、Ｂ亚工比例表达调控的翻译弱化－翻译偶联机理。     

Restoration of a translational stop-start overlap reinstates translational coupling in a mutant trpB''-trpA gene pair of the Escherichia coli tryptophan operon.

The trpB and trpA coding regions of the polycistronic trp mRNA of Escherichia coli are separated by overlapping translation stop and start codons. Efficient translation of the trpA coding region is subject to translational coupling, i.e., maximal trpA expression is dependent on prior translation of the trpB coding region. Previous studies demonstrated that the trpA Shine-Dalgarno sequence (within trpB) and/or the location of the trpB stop codon influenced trpA expression. To examine the effect of stop codon location specifically, we constructed plasmids in which different nucleotide sequences preceding the trpA start codon were retained, and only the reading frame was changed. When trpB translation proceeded in the wild type reading frame and terminated at the normal trpB stop codon, trpA polypeptide levels were elevated over the levels observed when translation stopped before or after the natural trpB stop codon. The proximity of the trpB stop codon to the trpA start codon therefore markedly influences trpA expression.     

Eight UCA codons differentially affect the expression of the lacZ gene in the divE42 mutant of Escherichia coli

In the divE mutant, which has a temperature-sensitive mutation in the tRNA1(Ser) gene, the synthesis of beta-galactosidase is dramatically decreased at the non-permissive temperature. In Escherichia coli, the UCA codon is only recognized by tRNA1(Ser). Several genes containing UCA codons are normally expressed at 42 degrees C in the divE mutant. Therefore, it is unlikely that the defect is due to the general translational deficiency of the mutant tRNA1(Ser). In this study, we constructed mutant lacZ genes, in which one or several UCA codons at eight positions were replaced with other serine codons such as UCU or UCC, and we examined the expression of these mutant genes in the divE mutant. We found that a single UCA codon at position 6 or 462 was sufficient to cause the same level of reduced beta-galactosidase synthesis as that of the wild-type lacZ gene, and that the defect in beta-galactosidase synthesis was accompanied by a low level of lacZ mRNA. It was also found that introduction of an rne-1 pnp-7 double mutation restored the expression of mutant lacZ genes with only UCA codons at position 6 or 462. A polarity suppressor mutation in the rho gene had no effect on the defect in lacZ gene expression in the divE mutant. We propose a model to explain these results.     

First committed step of lipid A biosynthesis in Escherichia coli: sequence of the lpxA gene.

The min 4 region of the Escherichia coli genome contains genes (lpxA and lpxB) that encode proteins involved in lipid A biosynthesis. We have determined the sequence of 1,350 base pairs of DNA upstream of the lpxB gene. This fragment of DNA contains the complete coding sequence for the 28.0-kilodalton lpxA gene product and an upstream open reading frame capable of encoding a 17-kilodalton protein (ORF17). In addition there appears to be an additional open reading frame (ORF?) immediately upstream of ORF17. The initiation codon for lpxA is a GUG codon, and the start codon for ORF17 is apparently a UUG codon. The start and stop codons overlap between ORF? and ORF17, ORF17 and lpxA, and lpxA and lpxB. This overlap is suggestive of translational coupling and argues that the genes are cotranscribed. Crowell et al. (D.N. Crowell, W.S. Reznikoff, and C.R.H. Raetz, J. Bacteriol. 169:5727-5734, 1987) and Tomasiewicz and McHenry (H.G. Tomasiewicz and C.S. McHenry, J. Bacteriol. 169:5735-5744, 1987) have demonstrated that there are three similarly overlapping coding regions downstream of lpxB including dnaE, suggesting the existence of a complex operon of at least seven genes: 5'-ORF?-ORF17-lpxA-lpxB-ORF23-dnaE-ORF37-3 '.     

Translational Coupling during Expression of the Tryptophan Operon of ESCHERICHIA COLI

E. coli trpE polar mutations are 10 time more polar on trpD gene expression than on downstream (trpC, B, or A) gene expression. This effects was shown to be the result of "translational coupling," in which efficient translation of trpE-trpD intercistronic punctuation region consists of overlapping stop and start codons, and the trpE and trpD gene products form a functional complex in the cell. In light observations and characteristics, several models for the mechanism of translational coupling are considered.     

Lactic acid bacteria as prime candidates for codon optimization

In species having a strong correlation of expressivity and codon bias it has been shown that heterologous expression can be optimized by changing codons of the introduced gene towards the set of codons that the host organism naturally uses in its highly expressed genes. Even though two lactic acid bacteria are fully sequenced, there are no reports on attempts of codon optimization in the literature. In this report it is demonstrated that codons used in highly expressed genes tend to differ from the codons in lowly expressed genes, and that there is a strong correlation of codon bias and empirical expressivity (codon adaptation index) in Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus plantarum. This strongly suggests that codon optimization strategies could be applied to expression systems with lactic acid bacteria as producer strains. A good example of a candidate for codon optimization is the mouse interleukin-2 gene, which in its natural form has an extremely low codon adaptation index for expression in Lc. lactis.     

Minigene-like inhibition of protein synthesis mediated by hungry codons near the start codon

Rare AGA or AGG codons close to the initiation codon inhibit protein synthesis by a tRNA-sequestering mechanism as toxic minigenes do. To further understand this mechanism, a parallel analysis of protein synthesis and peptidyl-tRNA accumulation was performed using both a set of lacZ constructs where AGAAGA codons were moved codon by codon from +2, +3 up to +7, +8 positions and a series of 3-8 codon minigenes containing AGAAGA codons before the stop codon. Beta-galactosidase synthesis from the AGAAGA lacZ constructs (in a Pth defective in vitro system without exogenous tRNA) diminished as the AGAAGA codons were closer to AUG codon. Likewise, beta-galactosidase expression from the reporter +7 AGA lacZ gene (plus tRNA, 0.25 microg/microl) waned as the AGAAGAUAA minigene shortened. Pth counteracted both the length-dependent minigene effect on the expression of beta-galactosidase from the +7 AGA lacZ reporter gene and the positional effect from the AGAAGA lacZ constructs. The +2, +3 AGAAGA lacZ construct and the shortest +2, +3 AGAAGAUAA minigene accumulated the highest percentage of peptidyl-tRNA(Arg4). These observations lead us to propose that hungry codons at early positions, albeit with less strength, inhibit protein synthesis by a minigene-like mechanism involving accumulation of peptidyl-tRNA.     

Codon replacement in the PGK1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: experimental approach to study the role of biased codon usage in gene expression.

The coding sequences of genes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae show a preference for 25 of the 61 possible coding triplets. The degree of this biased codon usage in each gene is positively correlated to its expression level. Highly expressed genes use these 25 major codons almost exclusively. As an experimental approach to studying biased codon usage and its possible role in modulating gene expression, systematic codon replacements were carried out in the highly expressed PGK1 gene. The expression of phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) was studied both on a high-copy-number plasmid and as a single copy gene integrated into the chromosome. Replacing an increasing number (up to 39% of all codons) of major codons with synonymous minor ones at the 5' end of the coding sequence caused a dramatic decline of the expression level. The PGK protein levels dropped 10-fold. The steady-state mRNA levels also declined, but to a lesser extent (threefold). Our data indicate that this reduction in mRNA levels was due to destabilization caused by impaired translation elongation at the minor codons. By preventing translation of the PGK mRNAs by the introduction of a stop codon 3' and adjacent to the start codon, the steady-state mRNA levels decreased dramatically. We conclude that efficient mRNA translation is required for maintaining mRNA stability in S. cerevisiae. These findings have important implications for the study of the expression of heterologous genes in yeast cells.     

An AUG initiation codon, not codon–anticodon complementarity, is required for the translation of unleadered mRNA in Escherichia coli

We determined the in vivo translational efficiency of 'unleadered' lacZ compared with a conventionally leadered lacZ with and without a Shine–Dalgarno (SD) sequence in Escherichia coli and found that changing the SD sequence of leadered lacZ from the consensus 5'-AGGA-3' to 5'-UUUU-3' results in a 15-fold reduction in translational efficiency; however, removing the leader altogether results in only a twofold reduction. An increase in translation coincident with the removal of the leader lacking a SD sequence suggests the existence of stronger or novel translational signals within the coding sequence in the absence of the leader. We examined, therefore, a change in the translational signals provided by altering the AUG initiation codon to other naturally occurring initiation codons (GUG, UUG, CUG) in the presence and absence of a leader and find that mRNAs lacking leader sequences are dependent upon an AUG initiation codon, whereas leadered mRNAs are not. This suggests that mRNAs lacking leader sequences are either more dependent on perfect codon–anticodon complementarity or require an AUG initiation codon in a sequence-specific manner to form productive initiation complexes. A mutant initiator tRNA with compensating anticodon mutations restored expression of leadered, but not unleadered, mRNAs with UAG start codons, indicating that codon–anticodon complementarity was insufficient for the translation of mRNA lacking leader sequences. These data suggest that a cognate AUG initiation codon specifically serves as a stronger and different translational signal in the absence of an untranslated leader.     

Promoter-probe vectors for the analysis of divergently arranged promoters

A series of plasmid-based promoter-probe vectors has been constructed which are particularly useful for the analysis of divergent control regions. Each vector contains a pair of divergently oriented indicator genes whose expression can be monitored over a wide range by simple assay methods. These genes are separated by different polylinkers. Specifically, the beta-galactosidase gene (lacZ) was employed in combination with either the galactokinase gene (galK) or the alkaline phosphatase gene (phoA). In all cases translational stop codons are present in all three reading frames upstream from the initiation codon. The vectors permit direct detection of promoters--independent of insert orientation--on indicator plates after transformation. Using this vector system, we further characterized the divergent tet control regions of transposon Tn10 and plasmid pBR322.     

Nucleotide sequence of sporulation locus spoIIA in Bacillus subtilis

We have determined a sequence of 2073 bp from two recombinant plasmids carrying the whole spoIIA locus from Bacillus subtilis, the expression of which is required for spore formation. The sequence contains three long open reading frames (ORFs), each of them being preceded by a ribosome binding site. These three putative proteins (mol. wts 13100, 16300 and 22200) are likely to be expressed and are probably encoded on the same mRNA. The stop codon of ORF1 overlaps with the start codon of ORF2 suggesting that there might be translational coupling between the two ORFs. Although some known promoter sequences were found, the only one upstream from the first open reading frame is about 260 bp from it.     

Translational termination-reinitiation in RNA viruses

Viruses utilize a number of translational control mechanisms to regulate the relative expression levels of viral proteins on polycistronic mRNAs. One such mechanism, that of termination-dependent reinitiation, has been described in a number of both negative- and positive-strand RNA viruses. Dicistronic RNAs which exhibit termination-reinitiation typically have a start codon of the 3'-ORF (open reading frame) proximal to the stop codon of the upstream ORF. For example, the segment 7 RNA of influenza B is dicistronic, and the stop codon of the M1 ORF and the start codon of the BM2 ORF overlap in the pentanucleotide UAAUG (the stop codon of M1 is shown in bold and the start codon of BM2 is underlined). Recent evidence has highlighted the potential importance of mRNA-rRNA interactions in reinitiation on caliciviral and influenza B viral RNAs, probably used to tether 40S ribosomal subunits to the RNA after termination in time for initiation factors to be recruited to the AUG of the downstream ORF. The present review summarizes how such interactions regulate reinitiation in an array of RNA viruses, and discusses what is known about reinitiation in viruses that do not rely on apparent mRNA-rRNA interactions.