Selective enrichment of aromatic amino acid auxotrophs in Hansenula polymorpha.

Aromatic amino acid auxotrophs of the methanol-utilizing yeast Hansenula polymorpha were effectively selected by the use of nystatin and a medium that inhibits the growth of tyrosine auxotrophs. The procedure resulted in a frequency of aromatic auxotrophs of 2% of survivors and an enrichment of 20-fold. The new procedure also takes less time than traditional procedures. Of the auxotrophic mutants isolated, two-thirds required tyrosine and the remainder were tyrosine-phenylalanine double auxotrophs.     

Enzyme Alterations in Tyrosine and Phenylalanine Auxotrophs of Salmonella typhimurium

The enzyme activities specified by the tyrA and pheA genes were studied in wildtype strain Salmonella typhimurium and in phenylalanine and tyrosine auxotrophs. As in Aerobacter aerogenes and Escherichia coli, the wild-type enzymes of Salmonella catalyze two consecutive reactions: chorismate --> prephenate --> 4-hydroxy-phenylpyruvate (tyrA), and chorismate --> prephenate --> phenylpyruvate (pheA). A group of tyrA mutants capable of interallelic complementation had altered enzymes which retained chorismate mutase T activity but lacked prephenate dehydrogenase. Similarly, pheA mutants (in which interallelic complementation does not occur) had one group with altered enzymes which retained chorismate mutase P but lacked prephenate dehydratase. Tyrosine and phenylalanine auxotrophs outside of these categories showed loss of both activities of their respective bifunctional enzyme. TyrA mutants which had mutase T were considerably derepressed in this activity by tyrosine starvation and consequently excreted prephenate. A new and specific procedure was developed for assaying prephenate dehydrogenase activity.     

Selection of yeast auxotrophs by thymidylate starvation.

A rapid procedure for the recovery of Saccharomyces cerevisiae auxotrophs was developed by exploiting the protection of these mutants from thymineless death when a required metabolite was withheld. The method can be used for thymidine 5'-monophosphate-requiring auxotrophs or wild-type strains blocked in de novo synthesis of thymidylate by folate antagonists.     

Medium optimization for L-phenylalanine production by a tryptophan auxotroph of Corynebacterium glutamicum

Summary By screening 15,000 mutants, tyrosine auxotrophs T6, T7, and tryptophan auxotrophs P6, P8, were obtained. After primary production test, mutant P6 was chosen for further investigation. Fractional factorial design(FFD) and steepest ascent method(SAM) were used to optimize the medium component Mutant P6 had 17.1 g/l L-phenylalanine production when 0.44 g/l tryptophan was added. When Corynebacterium glutamicum P6 was cultivated in the optimum medium, L-phenylaianine production increased 22% as compared with the parent strain CCRC 18335, and the interference of tryptophan during the purification process was removed.     

Rich culture medium for the radiochemical labeling of proteins and nucleic acids.

Yeast extract was treated with tyrosine decarboxylase and used to prepare a rich, complex medium virtually free of tyrosine. The medium supported maximal growth rates for Escherichia coli prototrophs, as well as for defined and undefined auxotrophs. It has made possible the efficient radiochemical labeling of cells growing optimally in complex medium and the characterization of mutants with undefined requirements. Similarly prepared media may be useful for the study of fastidious organisms and organisms for which no defined medium has been described.     

Symbiotic characteristics of cysteine and methionine auxotrophs of Sinorhizobium meliloti

Twenty one cysteine and 13 methionine auxotrophs of Sinorhizobium meliloti Rmd201 were obtained by random mutagenesis with transposon Tn5. The cysteine auxotrophs were sulfite reductase mutants and each of these auxotrophs had a mutation in cysI/cysJ gene. The methionine auxotrophs were metA/metZ, metE and metF mutants. One hundred per cent co-transfer of Tn5-induced kanamycin resistance and auxotrophy from each Tn5-induced auxotrophic mutant indicated that each mutant cell most likely had a single Tn5 insertion. However, the presence of more than one Tn5 insertions in the auxotrophs used in our study cannot be ruled out. All cysteine and methionine auxotrophs induced nodules on alfalfa plants. The nodules induced by cysteine auxotrophs were fully effective like those of the parental strain-induced nodules, whereas the nodules induced by methionine auxotrophs were completely ineffective. The supplementation of methionine to the plant nutrient medium completely restored symbiotic effectiveness to the methionine auxotrophs. These results indicated that the alfalfa host provides cysteine but not methionine to rhizobia during symbiosis. Histological studies showed that the defective symbiosis of methionine auxotrophs with alfalfa plants was due to reduced number of infected nodule cells and incomplete transformation of bacteroids.     

Starvation survival response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis auxotrophs to survive long-term starvation was measured. Tryptophan and histidine auxotrophs did not survive single-amino-acid starvation, whereas a proline auxotroph did. All three auxotrophs survived complete starvation. THP-1 cells were also able to restrict the growth of the tryptophan and histidine auxotrophs.     

An enrichment method for temperature-sensitive and auxotrophic mutants of yeast

Summary An enrichment procedure that exploits the difference in heat-sensitivity between exponentially growing and stationary phase cells has been developed for the isolation of yeast mutants. Enrichments of up to 12-fold for temperature-sensitive lethal mutants and of up to 15-fold for auxotrophs have been obtained with single cycles of selection. Still higher enrichments (to frequencies of greater than 90% and 80% for temperature-sensitive lethals and auxotrophs, respectively) have been obtained with multiple cycles of selection. The method requires no special parent strain, and seems adaptable to the selection of a wide variety of types of mutants.     

Isolation and characterization of pyridoxine auxotrophs of Escherichia coli

Dempsey, Walter B. (University of Florida, Gainesville), and P. F. Pachler. Isolation and characterization of pyridoxine auxotrophs of Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 91:642-645. 1966.-Pyridoxine auxotrophs of Escherichia coli B have been consistently produced by a modified penicillin enrichment method. This modified penicillin technique included a 6-hr growth period in the absence of any pyridoxine followed by a 2-hr treatment with penicillin at 1,000 units per ml. Penicillin was removed from these cultures by membrane filtration and the process was repeated. A minimum of three cycles was found necessary to isolate auxotrophs. Different phenotypes within the group of pyridoxine auxotrophs were distinguished by their responses to feeding with the various forms of pyridoxine, as well as by cross-feeding tests. Two auxotrophs were also differentiated by their frequency of reversion to prototrophy. Cross-feeding tests indicated that seven of the phenotypes fed in a linear sequence. These phenotypes had a very low frequency of reversion. The auxotrophs with a high frequency of reversion cross-fed in a linear sequence and fed the first five of the other seven auxotrophs. One of the auxotrophs isolated was a pyridoxal auxotroph.     

Bacteriophage P1 as a vehicle for Mu mutagenesis of Salmonella typhimurium.

We developed a procedure using bacteriophage P1 as a vector for transferring Mu phage deoxyribonucleic acid into Salmonella typhimurium. Mu phage transferred in this manner yielded lysogenic auxotrophs, and we demonstrated that specific deletions and lac gene fusions can be selected.     

Induction of nutritional mutants ofMicrococcus glutamicus and their amino acid accumulation

Micrococcus glutamicus ATCC 13032, a glutamic acid-producing organism, was treated with 0.2M ethylmethane sulfonate, the auxotrophs isolated showing varied patterns of extracellular amino acids. Eighty auxotrophic strains were obtained, out of which 31 excreted 1.0-4.0 mg threonine per ml and all the auxotrophs required biotin for growth and production of the amino acid. Eleven auxotrophs produced 1.5 to 3.0 mg alanine per ml and these auxotrophs required amino acids for their growth. Other auxotrophs lost their excretion capacity in subsequent fermentation trials. Further mutation of the biotin-requiring auxotroph Micrococcus glutamicus EM with gamma rays resulted in the isolation of 89 auxotrophic strains, out of which 28 excreted threonine (up to 5.0 mg per ml) higher than the parent auxotroph. Exposure to X-rays yielded 97 auxotrophs, out of these 35 producing 1.0-3.0 mg methionine per ml and requiring biotin for growth and production of the amino acid. Other auxotrophs produced alanine (0.5 to 2.0 mg per ml) and threonine (2.0 to 3.3 mg per ml). Irradiation with gamma rays favoured the development of threonine producing auxotrophs while X-rays favoured methionine-producing auxotrophs.     

Temperature-sensitive revertants

About 50% of a series of non-temperature-sensitive, spontaneously revertable auxotrophs of Escherichia coli showed temperature-sensitive revertants when the selection was at 25° rather than at 37°. This procedure provides a simple device to select temperature-sensitive mutants.     

A screening procedure for the efficient recognition of Escherichia coli K-12 mutants

A method is described for the rapid screening of large numbers of E. coli colonies for detection of auxotrophs and mutants defective in sugar or succinate metabolism. The procedure permits recognition of forward mutations in a large number of functions and is applicable to the isolation of temperature-sensitive mutants in essential and nonessential genes.     

Isolation and properties of several auxotrophic mutants of a highly virulent strain of the plague microbe]

2432 stable auxotrophic mutants were selected from high virulent Yersinia pestis strain 20b after treatment with nitroso guanidine. They were deficient in amino acids (arginine, aspartic acid, citrulline, glycine, glutamic acid, histidine, isoleucine, serine, leucine, lysine, ornithine, proline, tryptophan, tyrosine, valiney, pyrimidine and vitamins (riboflavin, thyamine, nicotinamide). Some mutants were two- and three-fold dependent. The leucine-, histidine-, purine-dependent mutants were isolated with the high frequency. All the mutants, like their original strain, grew in R-form; they were sensitive to diagnostic phages, had pesticine-fibrinolysin-coagulase sustem (fraction I) and were calcium-dependent. P+ cultures of auxotrophs were not virulent for laboratory animals.     

Selective Filtration in the Isolation of Independent Clones of Streptomyces

A single procedure for an efficient discrimination among the different size components of heterogeneous populations of Streptomyces spore suspensions is described. Conidia connected by substances of hydrophobic nature make obtaining all the spores in independent units difficult. For the isolation of pure clones, single spore suspensions were prepared by selective filtration through uniform and controlled pore size membranes. Single spore-enriched suspensions may be a useful tool for increasing the yield of auxotrophs, ensuring independent mutation during mutagenic treatments. This procedure can be extended to other sporulating species.     

Methods for Isolation of Auxotrophic Mutants of Methanobacterium ivanovii and Initial Characterization of Acetate Auxotrophs

To develop a biochemical genetic approach to understanding cell carbon synthesis or metabolic pathways in methanogens, Methanobacterium ivanovii was selected as a model organism for genetic manipulation studies. The organism displayed a colony size of 3 to 6 mm in less than 2 weeks and had a plating efficiency of about 90%, which made it suitable for replica plating. Mutagenesis and selection techniques were developed for selection of acetate auxotrophs. Chemical mutagenesis with ethyl methanesulfonate, followed by enrichment with bacitracin as a selective agent, resulted in stable acetate auxotrophs. M. ivanovii was very sensitive to UV, but UV-induced acetate auxotrophs were unstable and reverted within two to four transfers. The acetate auxotrophs were analyzed in relation to wild type for carbon monoxide dehydrogenase enzyme activity.     

Complementation analysis with new genetic markers in Phaffia rhodozyma

Isolation and characterization of auxotrophic mutants from wild-type and astaxanthin mutant strains of Phaffia rhodozyma is described. Differences in survival were observed when u.v. irradiation of P. rhodozyma wild-type and astaxanthin mutant strains were incubated in the dark or exposed to photoreactivating light. Ultra-violet mutagenesis was not effective to produce auxotrophic mutants in this yeast. Auxotrophic mutants were obtained with high efficiency through a nystatin enrichment procedure after a N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) mutagenic treatment with a 0.12% survivor level. Stringent mutagenetic conditions were needed to obtain P. rhodozyma auxotrophs. The most frequent mutants were ade^- and met^- in a rather narrow auxotroph spectrum. These results may be associated with a possible diploid condition of this yeast. The high number of adenine auxotrophs obtained in relation to other auxotrophic mutants suggests the possibility of some degree of heterozygosity in the wild-type strain UCD 67-385.     

Two components of chorismate mutase in Brevibacterium flavum.

Chorismate mutase of Brevibacterium flavum, a common enzyme in phenylalanine and tyrosine biosynthesis, was separted into two different component, A and B, with molecular weights of 250,000 and 25,000, respectively, by ammonium sulfate fractionation or gel-filtration. Both components were essential for the enzymatic activity. In the presence of the reaction substrate, chorismate, the two components associated reversibly to give an active enzyme complex with a molecular weight of 320,000. Binding sites of the feedback inhibitors, phenylalanine and tyrosine, on the enzyme were localized on component A as determined by hybridization experiments with the wild-type and mutant components. Tyrosine repressed the synthesis of component B much more strongly than that of component A, while phenylalanine did not show any significant repressive effect on either component. The wild-type strain No. 2247 had four times more component A than component B. Elution patterns in gel, DEAE-cellulose or hydroxyapatite column chromatography as well as the disc-gel electrophoretic pattern of chorismate mutase component A and 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate (DAHP) synthetase activities completely overlapped, suggesting the presence of a bifunctional protein having the two activities. In accord with this suggestion, chorismate mutase as well as DAHP synthetase was insensitive to feedback inhibition by phenylalanine and tyrosine in all the 3-fluorophenylalanine-resistant mutants tested that excreted both phenylalanine and tyrosine. All the phenylalanine and tyrosine double auxotrophs defective in chorismate mutase lacked component B but not A.     

Development of auxotrophic agrobacterium tumefaciens for gene transfer in plant tissue culture

Auxotrophic strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens were generated for use in liquid co-culture with plant tissue for transient gene expression. Twenty-one auxotrophs were recovered from 1,900 tetracycline-resistant insertional mutants generated with a suicide vector transposon mutagenesis system. Twelve of these auxotrophs were characterized on a nutrient matrix. Isolates were screened for growth in plant cell and root culture, and three auxotrophs were identified that had limited growth: adenine (ade-24), leucine (leu-27), and cysteine (cys-32). Ade-24 displayed poor T-DNA delivery in a transient expression test delivering GUS from a binary vector, while cys-32 displayed the best ability to deliver DNA of these three auxotrophs. The growth yield of cys-32 on cysteine was assessed to provide a quantitative basis for co-culture nutrient supplementation. The utility of cys-32 for delivering T-DNA to plant tissues is demonstrated, where an 85-fold enhancement in GUS expression over wild-type A. tumefaciens was achieved.     

转座子Tn5对柠檬酸细菌的诱变

含自杀性质粒 PJB4JI：：Mu：：Tn5的大肠杆菌1830与四株柠檬酸细菌作接合杂交均能获得Kanr转移接合子。其中一株(c-3-1)的Kayr转移接合子中绝大部分对庆大霉素敏感。鉴别了3000个这样的转移接合子菌落获得了2l株营养缺陷型,其中赖氨酸1株,尿嘧啶1株,精氨酸2株,异亮氨酸2株,组氨酸2株,甲硫氨酸株,苯丙氨酸1株,酪氨酸1株,丝氨酸1株,苏氨酸1株,亮氨酸3株,脯氨酸1株,腺嘌呤3株和乳糖利用1株。用琼脂糖电泳检查部分营养缺陷型突变体DNA均未发现自杀性质粒PJB4JI：：Mu：：Tn5,以32p标记的Tn5 DNA为探针与每个营养缺陷型的染色体作杂交均看到了Tn5 DNA同源序列的存在。由此得出结论,这些营养缺陷型产生于转座子Tn5从自杀性质粒PJB4JI到c-3-1染色体的转座。