Cloning, sequence, and expression of a cDNA encoding hamster UDP-GlcNAc:dolichol phosphate N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase

UDP-GlcNAc:dolichol phosphate N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase (GPT) catalyzes the initial reaction required for synthesis of dolichol-P-P-oligosaccharides. We report here on the sequence and expression of a full-length cDNA clone encoding hamster GPT. The cDNA predicts a protein of 408 amino acid residues including 10 hydrophobic segments. Several portions of the hamster GPT sequence constituting one-third of the protein have 60% or greater identity with yeast GPT, and one-half of the conserved sequence falls within the hydrophobic segments. In addition, hamster GPT has two copies of a putative dolichol recognition sequence recently identified in three yeast enzymes that interact with dolichol. The protein lacks KDEL or DEKKMP-type carboxyl-terminal ER sorting sequences. When expressed in COS-1 cells, the cDNA causes a 5-7-fold increase of GPT activity in membrane fractions. The activity was completely inhibitable by tunicamycin, and the primary product was shown to be GlcNAc-pyrophosphoryldolichol. This cDNA represents the first enzyme of the dolichol-oligosaccharide biosynthetic pathway to be cloned from a vertebrate source and demonstrates structural homology between the enzymes of the yeast and mammalian pathways.     

Transfer of genes to Chinese hamster ovary cells by DNA-mediated transformation

We have transferred DNa to Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells by DNA-mediated transformation. CHO tk- cells were transformed with the clones gene for herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) and were found to have a 50-fold lower frequency of transformation than mouse Ltk- cells at the same DNA dosage. By altering the amount of tk gene and carrier DNA present, frequencies of up to 5 x 10(-5) were obtained. CHO HSV-tk+ transformants were very stable, and in several clones the HSV-tk gene copies integrated in higher-molecular-weight DNA. These cells also exhibited cotransformation for unselected markers. CHO lines were also transformed at a frequency of 10(-4) with the bacterial gene Ecogpt in a SV40-pBR322 vector. CHO tk-cells could be transformed at a frequency of 10(-7) with cellular DNA isolated from CHO tk+ cells. CHO cells offer a well-defined genetic system within which to transfer either cloned or whole cellular DNAs.     

Isolation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae TRP3.

Several plasmids, isolated from two plasmid pools, complemented a Saccharomyces cerevisiae trp3 mutant with defective indole-3-glycerol-phosphate synthase activity. Restriction mapping indicated that a 1.2-kilobase StuI segment was common to all complementing plasmids. Southern blot hybridization established that a cloned 5.2-kilobase BamHI fragment was derived intact from chromosomal DNA. A yeast trp3 mutant transformed with trp3-complementing plasmids contained approximately 40-fold elevated indole-3-glycerol-phosphate synthase activity. These plasmids also complemented an Escherichia coli trpC mutant, and transformants exhibited enzyme activity. Yeast trp3 is therefore associated with a 1.2-kilobase StuI DNA segment.     

Cloning the Gene for the Malolactic Fermentation of Wine from Lactobacillus delbrueckii in Escherichia coli and Yeasts

The gene responsible for the malolactic fermentation of wine was cloned from the bacterium Lactobacillus delbrueckii into Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This gene codes for the malolactic enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of l-malate to l-lactate. A genetically engineered yeast strain with this enzymatic capability would be of considerable value to winemakers. L. delbrueckii DNA was cloned in E. coli on the plasmid pBR322, and two E. coll clones able to convert l-malate to l-lactate were selected. Both clones contained the same 5-kilobase segment of L. delbrueckii DNA. The DNA segment was transferred to E. coli-yeast shuttle vectors, and gene expression was analyzed in both hosts by using enzymatic assays for l-lactate and l-malate. When grown nonaerobically for 5 days, E. coli cells harboring the malolactic gene converted about 10% of the l-malate in the medium to l-lactate. The best expression in S. cerevisiae was attained by transfer of the gene to a shuttle vector containing both a yeast 2-mum plasmid and yeast chromosomal origin of DNA replication. When yeast cells harboring this plasmid were grown nonaerobically for 5 days, ca. 1.0% of the l-malate present in the medium was converted to l-lactate. The L. delbrueckii controls grown under these same conditions converted about 25%. A laboratory yeast strain containing the cloned malolactic gene was used to make wine in a trial fermentation, and about 1.5% of the l-malate in the grape must was converted to l-lactate. Increased expression of the malolactic gene in wine yeast will be required for its use in winemaking. This will require an increased understanding of the factors governing the expression of this gene in yeasts.     

Amplification of the gene for histidyl-tRNA synthetase in histidinol-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Histidinol-resistant (HisOHR) mutants with up to a 30-fold increase in histidyl-tRNA synthetase activity have been isolated by stepwise adaptation of wild-type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to increasing amounts of histidinol in the medium. Immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled cell lysates with antibodies to histidyl-tRNA synthetase showed increased synthesis of the enzyme in histidinol-resistant cells. The histidinol-resistant cell lines had an increase in translatable polyadenylated mRNA for histidyl-tRNA synthetase. A cDNA for CHO histidyl-tRNA synthetase has been cloned, using these histidyl-tRNA synthetase-overproducing mutants as the source of mRNA. Southern blot analysis of wild-type and histidinol-resistant cells with this cDNA showed that the histidyl-tRNA synthetase DNA bands were amplified in the resistant cells. These HisOHR cells owed their resistance to histidinol to amplification of the gene for histidyl-tRNA synthetase.     

Molecular characterization and nucleic acid sequence of an avirulence gene from race 6 of Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea.

A gene was previously cloned from Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea race 6, designated avirulence gene A (avrA), that controls the expression of virulence by the pathogen on specific cultivars of soybean. A 3.2-kilobase (kb) AccI subclone from the cosmid clone pPg6L3 was shown to be active when cloned into the broad-host-range vector pRK404. Transposon Tn5 mutagenesis and deletion analysis delineated a span of approximately 2.5 kb of DNA that was necessary for gene activity. The nucleotide sequence of a 3.409-kb segment of DNA which contained the avrA gene has been determined. An open reading frame of 2.721 kb of DNA, which correlates with the region of DNA defined by transposon mutagenesis and deletion analysis, was identified. The open reading frame would encode a protein of 100.866 kilodaltons, which is in good agreement with the 100-kilodalton protein expressed by Escherichia coli maxicells.     

Isolation and characterization of the nuclear gene encoding the Rieske iron-sulfur protein (RIP1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The nuclear gene encoding the Rieske iron-sulfur protein of the cytochrome bc1 complex of the mitochondrial respiratory chain has been isolated and characterized from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We used a segment of the iron-sulfur protein gene from Neurospora crassa (Harnisch, U., Weiss, H., and Sebald, W. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 149, 95-99) to detect the yeast gene by Southern analysis. Five different but overlapping clones were then isolated by probing a yeast genomic library carried on YEp 13 by colony lift hybridization. Several approaches confirmed that the isolated DNA contained the gene for the Rieske iron-sulfur protein. The yeast gene, which contains no introns, can be expressed in Escherichia coli. A 900-base pair HindIII-EcoRI fragment was subcloned into pUC19 and directed the synthesis of immunodetectable protein. The gene was also identified by disruption of its chromosomal copy by homologous integration. A 400 base pair PstI-EcoRI fragment cloned adjacent to a HIS3 marker in pUC18 was used as an integrating vector. HIS+ transformants were obtained which were unable to grow on the nonfermentable carbon source glycerol. Southern analysis of the respiration deficient (gly-) strains confirmed that the chromosomal copy of the gene was disrupted, and immunoblots of extracts of the transformants indicated a lack of iron-sulfur protein. A respiration-deficient integrant was transformed to GLY+ by a 2-kilobase pair HindIII-BglII fragment, including a complete copy of the gene, carried on a multicopy episomal vector. Immunoblots with monoclonal antibodies to the iron-sulfur protein indicated overproduction of the protein in the complemented strain and revealed expression of approximately equal amounts of mature iron-sulfur protein and of a protein approximately 3 kDa larger than the mature protein in the complemented strain. A 1.2-kilobase pair segment of DNA from the clone which complemented the disrupted strains was sequenced and found to contain an open reading frame of 645 nucleotides, capable of encoding a 21,946-dalton protein. The gene is flanked by consensus signal sequences for initiation and termination which are common in yeast and is preceded by a possible upstream activating sequence. Amino acid sequence analysis of the amino-terminal end of the mature iron-sulfur protein agreed exactly with that predicted by the nucleotide sequence starting at Lys-31.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

mRNA polyadenylate-binding protein: gene isolation and sequencing and identification of a ribonucleoprotein consensus sequence.

We identified and produced antibodies to the major proteins that interact with poly(A)+ RNAs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The major proteins which were cross-linked by UV light to poly(A)+ RNA in intact yeast cells had apparent molecular weights of 72,000, 60,000, and 50,000. The poly(A) segment of the RNA was selectively cross-linked to the 72,000-molecular-weight protein (72K protein). Mice immunized with purified UV-cross-linked RNA-protein (RNP) complexes produced antibodies to the three major RNP proteins. A yeast genomic DNA library constructed in the lambda gt11 expression vector was screened with the anti-RNP serum, and recombinant bacteriophage clones were isolated. One recombinant phage, lambda YPA72.1, bearing a 2.5-kilobase insert, produced a large beta-galactosidase-RNP fusion protein. Affinity-selected antibodies from the anti-RNP serum on this fusion protein recognized a single 72K protein which was cross-linked to the poly(A) segment of RNA in the intact cell. Furthermore, the fusion protein of lambda YPA72.1 had specific poly(A)-binding activity. Therefore, lambda YPA72.1 encodes the 72K poly(A)-binding protein. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that this protein was localized in the cytoplasm. Hybrid-selected mRNA translated in vitro produced the 72K poly(A)-binding protein, and mRNA blot analysis detected a single 2.1-kilobase mRNA. DNA blot analysis suggested a single gene for the poly(A)-binding protein. DNA sequence analysis of genomic clones spanning the entire gene revealed a long open reading frame encoding a 64,272-molecular-weight protein with several distinct domains and repeating structural elements. A sequence of 11 to 13 amino acids is repeated three times in this protein. Strikingly, this repeated sequence (RNP consensus sequence) is highly homologous to a sequence that is repeated twice in a major mammalian heterogeneous nuclear RNP protein, A1. The conservation of the repetitive RNP consensus sequence suggests an important function and a common evolutionary origin for messenger RNP and heterogeneous nuclear RNP proteins.     

Cloning and expression of a Streptomyces cholesterol oxidase gene in Streptomyces lividans with plasmid pIJ702

The cholesterol oxidase gene (cho) of Streptomyces sp. was cloned into Streptomyces lividans with the vector pIJ702. Deletion analysis of the recombinant plasmid showed that entire coding sequence of the cho gene was located within a 2.5-kilobase segment of the chromosomal DNA obtained from the cholesterol oxidase-producing strain. When cloned cells of S. lividans were grown in an appropriate medium, the cells produced severalfold more cholesterol oxidase extracellularly than did the producing strain.     

Cloning and expression of a Streptomyces cholesterol oxidase gene in Streptomyces lividans with plasmid pIJ702.

The cholesterol oxidase gene (cho) of Streptomyces sp. was cloned into Streptomyces lividans with the vector pIJ702. Deletion analysis of the recombinant plasmid showed that entire coding sequence of the cho gene was located within a 2.5-kilobase segment of the chromosomal DNA obtained from the cholesterol oxidase-producing strain. When cloned cells of S. lividans were grown in an appropriate medium, the cells produced severalfold more cholesterol oxidase extracellularly than did the producing strain.     

Molecular cloning and analysis of yeast gene for cycloheximide resistance and ribosomal protein L29.

A cosmid clone bank of yeast DNA has been used to isolate the cycloheximide resistance gene cyh2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A cosmid carrying this gene was identified by cross hybridization to another cloned gene, tsm437. The two genes, which are tightly linked genetically are both present on a 31 kb segment of cloned DNA. The cyh2 gene encodes ribosomal protein L29, a component of the large subunit. Blot hybridization analysis reveals that this gene is present as a single copy in the yeast genome, unlike many other yeast ribosomal protein genes which appear to be duplicated. The cyh2 gene also appears to contain an intervening sequence, a characteristic common to most yeast ribosomal protein genes that have been cloned.     

Cloning of the pullulanase gene and overproduction of pullulanase in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes.

The pullulanase gene (pul) of Klebsiella aerogenes was cloned into a pBR322 vector in Escherichia coli. Deletion analysis of the recombinant plasmid showed that the pul coding sequence, probably with the regulator gene, was located entirely within a 4.2-kilobase segment derived from the chromosomal DNA of K. aerogenes. E. coli cells carrying the recombinant plasmids produced about three- to sevenfold more pullulanase than did the wild-type strain of K. aerogenes W70. When the cloned cells of E. coli were grown with pullulan or maltose, most pullulanase was produced intracellularly, whereas K. aerogenes produced pullulanase extracellularly. Transfer of the plasmid containing the pul gene into K. aerogenes W70 resulted in about a 20- to 40-fold increase in total production of pullulanase, and the intracellular enzyme level was about 100- to 150-fold higher than that of the parent strain W70. The high level of pullulanase activity in K. aerogenes cells carrying the recombinant plasmid was maintained for at least 2 weeks.     

Cloning of the pullulanase gene and overproduction of pullulanase in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes

The pullulanase gene (pul) of Klebsiella aerogenes was cloned into a pBR322 vector in Escherichia coli. Deletion analysis of the recombinant plasmid showed that the pul coding sequence, probably with the regulator gene, was located entirely within a 4.2-kilobase segment derived from the chromosomal DNA of K. aerogenes. E. coli cells carrying the recombinant plasmids produced about three- to sevenfold more pullulanase than did the wild-type strain of K. aerogenes W70. When the cloned cells of E. coli were grown with pullulan or maltose, most pullulanase was produced intracellularly, whereas K. aerogenes produced pullulanase extracellularly. Transfer of the plasmid containing the pul gene into K. aerogenes W70 resulted in about a 20- to 40-fold increase in total production of pullulanase, and the intracellular enzyme level was about 100- to 150-fold higher than that of the parent strain W70. The high level of pullulanase activity in K. aerogenes cells carrying the recombinant plasmid was maintained for at least 2 weeks.     

Sequence of a cDNA that specifies the uridine diphosphate N-acetyl-D-glucosamine:dolichol phosphate N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase from Chinese hamster ovary cells.

We have isolated a portion of the uridine diphosphate N-acetyl-D-glucosamine:dolichol phosphate N-acetyl-glucosamine-1-phosphate transferase gene (GTR2) from the genome of a tunicamycin-resistant clonal Chinese hamster ovary cell line, 3E11. The genomic fragment was selected by its hybridization to the yeast ALG-7 gene at low stringency. A 2.46-kilobase cDNA was isolated from a library prepared from 3E11 mRNA and probed with GTR2. The cDNA contained an open reading frame that encodes a protein of 408 amino acids with a molecular mass of 44.9 kDa. This protein was 43% identical in amino acid sequence to the protein of 448 amino acids encoded by the ALG-7 gene. The GTR2 gene fragment contained sequences for four exons coding for the carboxyl-terminal half of the protein. Transferase DNA sequences in 3E11 cells were 12-fold elevated over wild-type cells and 25-fold elevated when 3E11 cells were grown in the presence of tunicamycin. Transferase RNA levels in 3E11 cells were also elevated over wild-type levels but appeared unchanged by the presence of tunicamycin in the medium.     

Structural analysis of the locus containing the human C-reactive protein gene and its related pseudogene

The gene for human C-reactive protein (CRP) is mapped within a 34-kilobase pair genomic DNA segment identified by chromosome walking through overlapping DNA fragments cloned into a lambda phage library. Within 16 kilobase pairs upstream and downstream of the locus for the authentic CRP gene, only one other sequence homologous to that for CRP could be found. Sequencing analysis indicates this sequence to be a pseudogene with 50-80% region-specific homology. Comparison of the authentic CRP gene cloned from genomic DNA libraries independently prepared from three patients indicates no difference in the 5' and 3' flanking region, promoter region, or coding sequence. Only a polymorphism in the length of the poly(GT) stretch located in the intron is observed. There appears to be only one gene locus and copy per haploid chromosome for the authentic CRP gene and its pseudogene.     

DNA amplification in multidrug, cross-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells: molecular characterization and cytogenetic localization of the amplified DNA

Vincristine-resistant (VCR) Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have been established by stepwise selection in increasing concentrations of vincristine. These cells exhibit multidrug cross-resistance to a number of drugs that have no structural or functional similarities. Cytogenetic analyses of resistant cells revealed the presence of double minutes and expanded chromosomal segments, thus implicating gene amplification as a possible mechanism of resistance. An amplified DNA segment isolated from other multidrug cross-resistant CHO cell lines (Roninson, I. B., H. T. Abelson, D. E. Housman, N. Howell, and A. Varshavsky, 1984, Nature (Lond.), 309:626-628) is also amplified in our VCR lines. This DNA segment was used as a probe to screen a cosmid library of VCR genomic DNA, and overlapping clones were retrieved. All of these segments, totaling approximately 45 kilobases (kb), were amplified in VCR cells. Using in situ hybridization, we localized the amplification domain to the long arm of CHO chromosome 1 or Z1. Northern hybridization analysis revealed that a 4.3-kb mRNA was encoded by this amplified DNA domain and was over-produced in the VCR cells. Suggestions for the involvement of these amplified DNA segments in the acquisition of multidrug cross-resistance in animal cells are also presented.