Regulation of acid phosphatases in anAspergillus niger pacC disruption strain

AnAspergillus niger strain has been constructed in which the pH-dependent regulatory gene,pacC, was disrupted. ThepacC gene ofA. niger, like that ofA. nidulans, is involved in the regulation of acid phosphatase expression. Disruptants were identified by a reduction in acid phosphatase staining of colonies. Southern analysis demonstrated integration of the disruption plasmid at thepacC locus and Northern analysis showed that the disruption strain produced a truncatedpacC mRNA of 2.2 kb (as compared to 2.8 kb in the wild type). The strain carrying thepacC disruption was used to assign thepacC gene to linkage group IV; this was confirmed by CHEF electrophoresis and Southern analysis. This strain further allowed us to determine which extracellular enzyme and transport systems are under the control ofpacC inA. niger. Expression of theA. niger pacC wild-type gene and the truncatedpacC gene showed that, in contrast to the auto-regulated wild-type expression, which was elevated only at alkaline pH, the truncatedpacC gene was deregulated, as high-level expression occurred regardless of the pH of the culture medium. Analysis of the phosphatase spectrum by isoelectric focussing and enzyme activity staining both in the wild-type and thepacC disruptant showed that at least three acid phosphatases are regulated by thepacC. For the single alkaline phosphatase no pH regulation was observed.     

Identification,cloning and analysis of theAspergillus niger genepacC,a wide domain regulatory gene responsive to ambient pH

A wide domain regulatory gene implicated in modulating gene expression in response to ambient pH has been cloned and sequenced from the industrially useful filamentous fungusAspergillus niger. This gene,pacC, is able to restore apacC ⁺ phenotype toA. nidulans pacC ^c 11 andpacC ^c 14 mutants with respect to extent of conidiation, conidial pigment intensity and acid phosphatase regulation. ThepacC gene ofA. niger comprises three exons, encodes a three-zinc-finger protein of 677 amino acids, and shows pH-dependent regulation of expression: mRNA levels are elevated under alkaline conditions and considerably reduced under acidic conditions. The occurrence of PacC consensus binding targets within the sequences upstream ofpacC may indicate autoregulation.     

Identification, cloning and analysis of theAspergillus niger genepacC, a wide domain regulatory gene responsive to ambient pH

A wide domain regulatory gene implicated in modulating gene expression in response to ambient pH has been cloned and sequenced from the industrially useful filamentous fungusAspergillus niger. This gene,pacC, is able to restore apacC ⁺ phenotype toA. nidulans pacC ^c 11 andpacC ^c 14 mutants with respect to extent of conidiation, conidial pigment intensity and acid phosphatase regulation. ThepacC gene ofA. niger comprises three exons, encodes a three-zinc-finger protein of 677 amino acids, and shows pH-dependent regulation of expression: mRNA levels are elevated under alkaline conditions and considerably reduced under acidic conditions. The occurrence of PacC consensus binding targets within the sequences upstream ofpacC may indicate autoregulation.     

Regulation of gene expression by pH of the growth medium in Aspergillus nidulans

Summary In the fungus Aspergillus nidulans the levels of a number of enzymes whose location is at least in part extracellular (e.g. acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, phosphodiesterase) and of certain permeases (e.g. that for -amino-n-butyrate) are controlled by the pH of the growth medium. For example, at acidic pH, levels of acid phosphatase are high and those of alkaline phosphatase are low whereas at alkaline pH the reverse is true. Mutations in five genes, palA, B, C, E and F, mimic the effects of growth at acid pH whereas mutations in pacC mimic the effects of growth at alkaline pH. palA, B, C, E and F mutations result in an intracellular pH (pH_in) which is more alkaline than that of the wild type whereas pacC mutations result in a pH_in more acidic than that of the wild type. This indicates that these mutations exert their primary effects on the regulation of gene expression by pH rather than on the pH homeostatic mechanism but that the expression of at least some component(s) of the pH homeostatic mechanism is subject to the pH regulatory system. It is suggested that pacC might be a wide domain regulatory gene whose product acts positively in some cases (e.g. acid phosphatase) and negatively in others (e.g. alkaline phosphatase). The products of palA, B, C, E and F are proposed to be involved in a metabolic pathway leading to synthesis of an effector molecule able to prevent the (positive and negative) action of the pacC product.These genes are, to our knowledge, the first examples of genes involved in the regulation of extracellular enzyme and permease synthesis by the pH of the growth medium to be described in any organism.     

NUT1, a major nitrogen regulatory gene inMagnaporthe grisea,is dispensable for pathogenicity

NUT1, a gene homologous to the major nitrogen regulatory genesnit-2 ofNeurospora crassa andareA ofAspergillus nidulans, was isolated from the rice blast fungus,Magnaporthe grisea. NUT1 encodes a protein of 956 amino acid residues and, likenit-2 andareA, has a single putative zinc finger DNA-binding domain. Functional equivalence ofNUT1 toareA was demonstrated by introducing theNUT1 gene by DNA-mediated transformation into anareA loss-of-function mutant ofA. nidulans. The introducedNUT1 gene fully complemented theareA null mutation, restoring to the mutant the ability to utilize a variety of nitrogen sources. In addition, the sensitivity ofAspergillus NUT1 transformants to ammonium repression of extracellular protease activity was comparable to that of wild-typeA. nidulans. Thus,NUT1 andareA encode functionally equivalent gene products that activate expression of nitrogen-regulated genes. A one-step gene disruption strategy was used to generatenutl ^? mutants ofM. grisea by transforming a rice-infecting strain with a disruption vector in which a gene for hygromycin B phosphotransferase (Hyg) replaced the zinc-finger DNA-binding motif ofNUT1. Of 31 hygromycin B (hyg B)-resistant transformants shown by Southern hybridization to contain a disruptedNUT1 gene (nut1::Hyg), 26 resulted from single-copy replacement events at theNUT1 locus. Althoughnut1 ^? transformants ofM. grisea failed to grown on a variety of nitrogen sources, glutamate, proline and alanine could still be utilized. This contrasts withA. nidulans where disruption of the zinc-finger region ofareA prevents utilization of nitrogen sources other than ammonium and glutamine. The role ofNUT1 and regulation of nitrogen metabolism in the disease process was evaluated by pathogenicity assays. The infection efficiency ofnut1 ^? transformants on susceptible rice plants was similar to that of the parental strain, although lesions were reduced in size. These studies demonstrate that theM. grisea NUT1 gene activates expression of nitrogen-regulated genes but is dispensable for pathogenicity.     

A novel gene—samfR involved in early stage ofStreptomyces ansochromogenes differentiation

A 4.6 kb DNA fragment was cloned from the DNA library ofStreptomyces ansochromogenes using a partial DNA fragment located in the downstream of promoter-P_TH4 as probe. The experiments revealed that this DNA fragment consists ofsaw D gene and a 1.4 kbPvu II fragment which can accelerate mycelium formation ofS. ansochromogenes. The nucleotide sequence of 1.4 kb DNA fragment was determined and analysed; the result indicated that the fragment contains one complete open reading frame (ORF) which encodes a protein with 213 amino acids, and this gene was designated assamfR. The deduced protein has 36% amino acid identities and 52% amino acid similarities in comparison with that encoded byhppR gene, which is involved in the regulation of catabolism for 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl) propionate (3HPP) inRhodococcus globerulus. The function ofsamfR gene was studied using strategy of gene disruption, and the resultingsamfR mutant failed to form aerial hyphae and spores, its development and differentiation stopped at the stage of substrate mycelium in contrast with wild type strain. The results showed that thesamfR gene is closely related toS. ansochromogenes differentiation.     

NUT1, a major nitrogen regulatory gene inMagnaporthe grisea, is dispensable for pathogenicity

NUT1, a gene homologous to the major nitrogen regulatory genesnit-2 ofNeurospora crassa andareA ofAspergillus nidulans, was isolated from the rice blast fungus,Magnaporthe grisea. NUT1 encodes a protein of 956 amino acid residues and, likenit-2 andareA, has a single putative zinc finger DNA-binding domain. Functional equivalence ofNUT1 toareA was demonstrated by introducing theNUT1 gene by DNA-mediated transformation into anareA loss-of-function mutant ofA. nidulans. The introducedNUT1 gene fully complemented theareA null mutation, restoring to the mutant the ability to utilize a variety of nitrogen sources. In addition, the sensitivity ofAspergillus NUT1 transformants to ammonium repression of extracellular protease activity was comparable to that of wild-typeA. nidulans. Thus,NUT1 andareA encode functionally equivalent gene products that activate expression of nitrogen-regulated genes. A one-step gene disruption strategy was used to generatenutl ^– mutants ofM. grisea by transforming a rice-infecting strain with a disruption vector in which a gene for hygromycin B phosphotransferase (Hyg) replaced the zinc-finger DNA-binding motif ofNUT1. Of 31 hygromycin B (hyg B)-resistant transformants shown by Southern hybridization to contain a disruptedNUT1 gene (nut1::Hyg), 26 resulted from single-copy replacement events at theNUT1 locus. Althoughnut1 ^– transformants ofM. grisea failed to grown on a variety of nitrogen sources, glutamate, proline and alanine could still be utilized. This contrasts withA. nidulans where disruption of the zinc-finger region ofareA prevents utilization of nitrogen sources other than ammonium and glutamine. The role ofNUT1 and regulation of nitrogen metabolism in the disease process was evaluated by pathogenicity assays. The infection efficiency ofnut1 ^– transformants on susceptible rice plants was similar to that of the parental strain, although lesions were reduced in size. These studies demonstrate that theM. grisea NUT1 gene activates expression of nitrogen-regulated genes but is dispensable for pathogenicity.     

Formation of multiple forms of acid and alkaline phosphatases in relation to the culture age of Aspergillus niger

Acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2 [EC] ) was extracted from mycelia ofAspergillus niger, then separated and purified into four fractions.These acid phosphatases, designated IA, IB, II and III, hadpH optima at 5.0, 4.5–5.0, 4.5 and 2.5, respectively.None required the presence of divalent cations, and all werestrongly inhibited by NaF. They were non-specific acid phosphatasesbut varied in their activities with various substrates. Thealkaline phosphatase (EG 3.1.3.1 [EC] ) of A. niger was also separatedinto two fractions, alkaline phosphatases I and II. Changes in the activity ratios of these acid and alkaline phosphataseswere studied during culture in a peptone medium. The activityof acid phosphatase II was higher than the others when the culturewas young. The activity of acid phosphatase III increased toa maximum in the actively growing phase, then decreased. Thatof acid phosphatase I became highest in the mature culture.In contrast, the activity of alkaline phosphatase I was higherthan the others in young cultures, while alkaline phosphataseII became dominant in the mature culture. Activities of the various acid and alkaline phosphatases indifferent regions of the growing colonies were also studied.The changing patterns of these enzymes in both liquid and surfacecultures were compared. When A. niger was cultured in a medium containing a low concentrationof phosphate, acid phosphatase activity greatly increased afterthe consumption of phosphate, but alkaline phosphatase activitydid not. ¹ The present experiments were carried out, for the most partat the Institute of Applied Microbiology of the University ofTokyo. (Received February 10, 1975; )     

Gene Overexpression and Biochemical Characterization of the Biotechnologically Relevant Chlorogenic Acid Hydrolase from Aspergillus niger

The full-length gene that encodes the chlorogenic acid hydrolase from Aspergillus niger CIRM BRFM 131 was cloned by PCR based on the genome of the strain A. niger CBS 513.88. The complete gene consists of 1,715 bp and codes for a deduced protein of 512 amino acids with a molecular mass of 55,264 Da and an acidic pI of 4.6. The gene was successfully cloned and overexpressed in A. niger to yield 1.25 g liter⁻¹, i.e., 330-fold higher than the production of wild-type strain A. niger CIRM BRFM131. The histidine-tagged recombinant ChlE protein was purified to homogeneity via a single chromatography step, and its main biochemical properties were characterized. The molecular size of the protein checked by mass spectroscopy was 74,553 Da, suggesting the presence of glycosylation. ChlE is assembled in a tetrameric form with several acidic isoforms with pIs of around 4.55 and 5.2. Other characteristics, such as optimal pH and temperature, were found to be similar to those determined for the previously characterized chlorogenic acid hydrolase of A. niger CIRM BRFM 131. However, there was a significant temperature stability difference in favor of the recombinant protein. ChlE exhibits a catalytic efficiency of 12.5 × 10⁶ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ toward chlorogenic acid (CGA), and its ability to release caffeic acid from CGA present in agricultural by-products such as apple marc and coffee pulp was clearly demonstrated, confirming the high potential of this enzyme.     

TheAspergillus parasiticus polyketide synthase genepksA,a homolog ofAspergillus nidulans wA,is required for aflatoxin B1 biosynthesis

Aflatoxins comprise a group of polyketide-derived carcinogenic mycotoxins produced byAspergillus parasiticus andAspergillus flavus. By transformation with a disruption construct, pXX, we disrupted the aflatoxin pathway inA. parasiticus SRRC 2043, resulting in the inability of this strain to produce aflatoxin intermediates as well as a major yellow pigment in the transformants. The disruption was attributed to a single-crossover, homologous integration event between pXX and the recipientA. parasiticus genome at a specific locus, designatedpksA. Sequence analysis suggest thatpksA is a homolog of theAspergillus nidulans wA gene, a polyketide synthase gene involved in conidial wall pigment biosynthesis. The conservedβ-ketoacyl synthase, acyltransferase and acyl carrier-protein domains were present in the deduced amino acid sequence of thepksA product. Noβ-ketoacyl reductase and enoyl reductase domains were found, suggesting thatpksA does not encode catalytic activities for processingβ-carbon similar to those required for long chain fatty acid synthesis. ThepksA gene is located in the aflatoxin pathway gene cluster and is linked to thenor-1 gene, an aflatoxin pathway gene required for converting norsolorinic acid to averantin. These two genes are divergently transcribed from a 1.5 kb intergenic region. We propose thatpksA is a polyketide synthase gene required for the early steps of aflatoxin biosynthesis.     

A ketoreductase gene fromStreptomyces mycarofaciens 1748 DNA involved in biosynthesis of a spore pigment

An efficient plasmid transformation system forS. mycarofaciens 1748 has been established. In order to determine the function of MKR gene in S.mycarofaciens 1748, the gene disruption experiment was carried out. For this purpose the plasmid pKC1139 was used. A recombinant strain with white spore appeared, in contrast to the grey-colour spore of S.myarofaciens 1748. This suggested that homologous recombination between plasmidborne MKR gene sequence and the chromosome of S.mycarofaciens 1748 had occurred. A Southern hybridization experiment using a-³²P-labelled MKR gene as probe indicated that the desired integration event had occurred in the recombinant. The result of gene disruption showed that the alteration of this gene in the chromosome of S.mycarofaciens 1748 made sporulating colonies remain white instead of taking on the typical grey colour of sporulating wild type colonies, suggesting that MKR gene is involved in the biosynthesis of a spore pigment. The recombinant strain was incubated with fermentation medium optimised for midecamycin production. A TLC assay showed that the recombinant strain produced midecamycin in quantities comparable to that ofS. mycarofaciens 1748. A pCN8B12 was a clone from genomic library of midecamycin producing strain which contained a 28-kb DNA insert. The 28-kb DNA fragment contained act I-homologous and act III-homologous regions. he PKS (act I-homologous) and MKR (act III-homologous) genes that define spore pigment of midecamycin producing strain were Jocalized by restriction endonuclease digestion with pCN8B12, indicating that they are separated by about 10 kb DNA. The polyketide synthase gene cluster of simila; organization has not been reported yet.     

Characterization ofGandalf,a new inverted-repeat transposable element ofDrosophila koepferae

The cloning and characterization ofGandalf, a new DNA-transposing mobile element obtained from theDrosophila koepferae (repleta group) genome is described. A fragment ofGandalf was found in a middle repetitive clone that shows variable chromosomal localization. Restriction, Southern blot, PCR and sequencing analyses have shown that mostGandalf copies are about 1 kb long, are flanked by 12 by inverted terminal repeats and contain subterminal repetitive regions on both sides of the element. As with other elements of the DNA-transposing type (known as the ‘Ac family’), theGandalf element generates 8 by direct duplications at the insertion point. Coding region analysis has shown that the longer open reading frame found inGandalf copies could encode part of a protein. However, whether or not the 1 kb copies of the element are actually the active transposons remains to be elucidated.Gandalf shows a very low copy number inD. buzzatii, a sibling species ofD. koepferae. An attempt to induce interspecific hybrid dysgenesis in hybrids of these two species has been unsuccessful.