Mutations in the 2C region of poliovirus responsible for altered sensitivity to benzimidazole derivatives

MRL-1237, [1-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-imino-1,4-dihydropyridin-1-yl) methylbenzimidazole hydrochloride], is a potent and selective inhibitor of the replication of enteroviruses. To reveal the target molecule of MRL-1237 in viral replication, we selected spontaneous MRL-1237-resistant poliovirus mutants. Of 15 MRL-1237-resistant mutants obtained, 14 were cross-resistant to guanidine hydrochloride (mrgr), while 1 was susceptible (mrgs). Sequence analysis of the 2C region revealed that the 14 mrgr mutants contained a single nucleotide substitution that altered an amino acid residue from Phe-164 to Tyr. The mrgs mutant, on the other hand, contained a substitution of Ile-120 to Val. Through the construction of a cDNA-derived mutant, we confirmed that the single mutation at Phe-164 was really responsible for the reduced susceptibility to MRL-1237. MRL-1237 inhibited poliovirus-specific RNA synthesis in HeLa cells infected with a wild strain but not with an F164Y mutant. We furthermore examined the effect of mutations of the 2C region on the drug sensitivity of cDNA-derived guanidine-resistant and -dependent mutants. Two guanidine-resistant mutants were cross-resistant to MRL-1237 but remained susceptible to another benzimidazole, enviroxime. Either MRL-1237 or guanidine stimulated the viral replication of two guanidine-dependent mutants, but enviroxime did not. These results indicate that MRL-1237, like guanidine, targets the 2C protein of poliovirus for its antiviral effect.     

Production of guanidine-resistant and -dependent poliovirus mutants from cloned cDNA: mutations in polypeptide 2C are directly responsible for altered guanidine sensitivity.

cDNA fragments representing the region in polypeptide 2C containing mutations in a guanidine-resistant or -dependent mutant were cloned into the wild-type background of an infectious clone. Transfection of COS-1 cells with these plasmids yielded viruses that were either completely resistant to 2.0 mM guanidine hydrochloride or dependent on this concentration of drug for growth.     

Recombination and oligonucleotide analysis of guanidine-resistant foot-and-mouth disease virus mutants.

Guanidine resistance (gr) mutations of foot-and-mouth disease virus were mapped by recombining pairs of temperature-sensitive mutants belonging to different subtypes. In each cross, one parent possessed a gr mutation. Recombinants were isolated by selection at the nonpermissive temperature and assayed for the ability to grow in the presence of guanidine. From the progeny of three crosses, four different types of recombinant were distinguished on the basis of protein composition and RNA fingerprint. The sequences of the RNase T1-resistant oligonucleotides were determined and located in the full-length sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus. The resulting maps show that (i) each recombinant was generated by a single genetic crossover, and (ii) both of the gr mutations studied were located within an internal 2.9-kilobase region which spans the P34 gene. This supports our hypothesis that guanidine inhibits the growth of foot-and-mouth disease virus by acting on nonstructural polypeptide P34. Additional evidence was provided by RNA fingerprinting gr mutants. In two of four cases the gr mutation was associated with a change in an oligonucleotide located near the 3' end of the P34 gene; in one of these the nucleotide substitution was identified.     

Guanidine-selected mutants of poliovirus: mapping of point mutations to polypeptide 2C.

Sequence analysis of the genomic RNA of interstrain guanidine-resistant and antibody-resistant variant recombinants of poliovirus type 1 mapped the resistance of mutants capable of growth in 2.0 mM guanidine hydrochloride to a region located 3' of nucleotide 4444. This region of the viral genome specifies the nonstructural protein 2C. The sequence of genomic RNA encoding 2C from six independently isolated mutants resistant to 2.0 mM guanidine was determined. All six isolates contained a mutation in 2C at the same position in all cases, resulting in two types of amino acid changes. Dependent mutants were examined and found to contain two amino acid changes each within 2C. Mutants resistant to 0.53 mM guanidine were isolated and found to lack the mutations seen in variants resistant to 2.0 mM guanidine. A comparison of the amino acid sequences of the 2C proteins of poliovirus, foot-and-mouth disease virus, rhinovirus types 2 and 14, and encephalomyocarditis virus revealed a strong homology over regions totaling 115 residues. All of the mutations observed in guanidine-selected mutants were contained within this region. The amino acid region containing the mutations observed in poliovirus mutants resistant to 2.0 mM guanidine was compared with the homologous region in the other picornaviruses; a strong correlation was found between the amino acid present at this position and the sensitivity of the virus to 2.0 mM guanidine.     

Guanidine-resistant poliovirus mutants produce modified 37-kilodalton proteins

Eighteen spontaneous, guanidine-resistant mutants of poliovirus were obtained by plaque selection. Isoelectric focusing demonstrated charge changes in a 37-kilodalton protein, pX, among three of the mutants. The precursor of pX, NCVP5b , also exhibited charge changes among the three mutants. pX of 12 mutants was also examined by peptide mapping with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. Nine of the mutants presented modified maps, and seven of these maps were identical. The demonstration of mutational changes in pX in 12 of 18 mutants suggests a role for this protein in determining the guanidine trait of poliovirus and corroborates studies with foot-and-mouth disease virus.     

Assembly of bacteriophage T4 tail fibers : III. Genetic control of the major tail fiber polypeptides

Purified preparations of complete T4 bacteriophage, tail fiberless particles, whole tail fibers and four tail fiber precursors were dissociated by heating briefly at 100 °C in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate containing 1% mercaptoethanol. Analysis of the dissociated structures by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and mercaptoethanol revealed two high molecular weight (150,000 and 123,000 daltons) polypeptides as major tail fiber components. These two components could be easily identified by autoradiography of sodium dodecyl sulfate gels of radioactively labeled infected cell extracts. The larger of the two was missing from extracts of cells infected with gene 34 amber mutants, and the smaller from extracts of cells infected with gene 37 amber mutants. It is concluded that the two components represent the products of genes 34 and 37 (P34 and P37), respectively. Molecular weight calculations indicate that two copies of each polypeptide are present in each complete tail fiber. Amber mutations in genes 38 and 57 were found to affect the apparent solubility of P34 and P37 and their resistance to dissociation in cold sodium dodecyl sulfate, but not their synthesis. Based on these results, the previously reported pathway of tail fiber assembly (King & Wood, 1969) has been reformulated in more detail.     

Nuclear and chloroplast mutations affect the synthesis or stability of the chloroplast psbC gene product in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

The psbC gene of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii encodes P6, the 43 kd photosystem II core polypeptide. The sequence of P6 is highly homologous to the corresponding protein in higher plants with the exception of the N-terminal region where the first 12 amino acids are missing. Translation of P6 is initiated at GUG in C. reinhardtii. The chloroplast mutant MA16 produces a highly unstable P6 protein. The mutation in this strain maps near the middle of the psbC gene and consists of a 6 bp duplication that creates a Ser-Leu repeat at the end of one transmembrane domain. Two nuclear mutants, F34 and F64, and one chloroplast mutant, FuD34, are unable to synthesize P6. All of these mutants accumulate wild-type levels of psbC mRNA. The FuD34 mutation has been localized near the middle of the 550 bp 5' untranslated region of psbC where the RNA can be folded into a stem-loop structure. A chloroplast suppressor of F34 has been isolated that partially restores synthesis of the 43 kd protein. The mutation of this suppressor is near that of FuD34, in the same stem-loop region. These chloroplast mutations appear to define the target site of a nuclear factor that is involved in P6 translation.     

Spectra of molecular changes induced in DNA of Drosophila spermatozoa by 1-ethyl-1-nitrosourea and X-rays

Mutations induced in Drosophila spermatozoa at the alcohol dehydrogenase Adh locus by 1-ethyl-1-nitrosourea (ENU) were compared to X-ray-induced mutations using genetic tests for complementation, southern blotting, western blotting and northern blotting. 8 of 10 ENU-induced mutations complemented all known adjacent loci and were presumed to be intragenic. In contrast, 8 of 30 X-ray-induced mutations were intragenic. Southern blot analysis showed that 2 of 7 intragenic mutations induced by X-rays were altered at the Adh locus, whereas all 8 intragenic ENU mutants appeared normal. Western blot analysis showed 4 of 7 intragenic mutants induced by X-rays produced a detectable polypeptide; 1 of the 4 had normal molecular weight and charge. In contrast, 7 of the 8 intragenic mutants induced by ENU produced a polypeptide of normal molecular weight and charge. One ENU and two X-ray-induced mutants, which had normal southern blots and no detectable polypeptide, produced normal molecular weight mRNA by northern blots. The interpretation of these results is that in spermatozoa X-rays induce primarily deletions that either produce deficiencies of the Adh locus or nonsense mutations within the locus, whereas ENU induces primarily missense mutations. This forward mutation assay based on loss of enzymatic activity efficiently recovered a broad spectrum of mutations ranging from missense to intragenic deletions and multi-locus deficiencies. Only 3 of these 40 mutations produced a polypeptide detectable as an electrophoretic variant.     

Insertion mutations in the promiscuous IncP-1 plasmid R18 which affect its host range between Pseudomonas species

Fifty-one host range mutants of the promiscuous plasmid R18 were isolated by Tn7 insertion mutagenesis by using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the permissive, and P. stutzeri as the nonpermissive, host. Endonuclease cleavage mapping of 40/51 mutants showed that 37 mutations mapped to kilobase coordinates 40.3-43.8 in the two overlapping genes encoding plasmid DNA primase. Thus by this procedure it has been possible readily to isolate a large number of primase mutants. The majority of these mutations mapped to the overlapping DNA whereas a few also mapped to the nonoverlap region encoding the larger 118-kDa polypeptide. Among these mutants were four which had long deletions within the overlapping segment and extending to varying lengths anticlockwise of it. The genetic defect in these mutants has been correlated with greatly reduced in vitro primase enzyme activity. The primase mutations drastically affected the mutant's ability to mobilize a nonconjugative, wide-host-range IncP-4(Q) plasmid from P. aeruginosa to P. stutzeri although mobilization within P. aeruginosa was affected to a lesser degree. Other insertion mutations were mapped to the regions of plasmid origin of transfer (oriT) and origin of replication (oriV), but their physical location was different to previously identified similar mutations obtained using Escherichia coli as the nonpermissive host. Their physically distinct locations were correlated with differences in their transmissibility from P. aeruginosa into enteric bacterial species and into other Pseudomonas species.     

Very high frequency of reversion to guanidine resistance in clonal pools of guanidine-dependent type 1 poliovirus.

We have carefully examined the frequency of guanidine-resistant revertants in six different clonal pools of guanidine-dependent mutants of type 1 poliovirus. The mutation frequency was (6.5 +/- 6.3) x 10(-4) (with all amino acid substitutions occurring at position 227). The minimal corrected base substitution frequency per single nucleotide site in the codon for amino acid 227 was (2.1 +/- 1.9) x 10(-4).     

Isolation of suppressors of temperature-sensitive folding mutations.

Mutations in the tailspike gene (gene 9) of Salmonella typhimurium phage P22 have been used to identify amino acid interactions during the folding of a polypeptide chain. Since temperature-sensitive folding (tsf) mutations cause folding defects in the P22 tailspike polypeptide chain, it is likely that mutants derived from these and correcting the original tsf defects (second-site intragenic suppressors) identify interactions during the folding pathway. We report the isolation and identification of second-site revertants to tsf mutants.     

Temperature-sensitive mutants blocked in the folding or subunit assembly of the bacteriophage P22 tail spike protein: III. Inactive polypeptide chains synthesized at 39 °C

Salmonella typhimurium cells infected by temperature-sensitive mutants in gene 9 of bacteriophage P22 at the restrictive temperature (39 °C) fail to accumulate functional tail spike protein. We report here studies of the inactive mutant tail spike polypeptide chains synthesized at 39 °C by temperature-sensitive mutants at 15 different sites of gene 9. For all 15 mutants, the gene 9 polypeptide chains were synthesized at 39 °C at rates similar to wild type. The mutant polypeptide chains were stable within the infected cells.The inactive polypeptide chains were tested for three functions displayed by the mature tail spike protein: irreversible binding to phage heads, endorhamnosidase activity, and reaction with anti-tail antibody. The 15 mutant proteins that accumulated at 39 °C lacked all three functions. Since the amino acid substitutions do not affect these functions of the mature protein, the mutant polypeptide chains synthesized at 39 °C have a conformation very different from the wild type, and different from the same proteins when matured at 30 °C. The fact that amino acid substitutions throughout the 76,000 M_r polypeptide chain prevent all three functions suggests that the mutations prevent the correct folding of the gene 9 polypeptide chain at restrictive temperature. Thus, these mutations identify sites in the polypeptide chain critical for protein maturation.Many of the mutant proteins could be activated in the absence of new protein synthesis by shifting infected cells from restrictive to permissive temperature before cell lysis. For these mutants, the immature chains accumulating at high temperature must be reversibly related to intermediates in protein folding or subunit assembly.     

An essential and specific subunit of RNA polymerase III (C) is encoded by gene RPC34 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The RPC34 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned by immunological screening, using antibodies raised against the C34 polypeptide of the RNA polymerase III (C). This single copy gene was located near the centromere of chromosome XIV. It included a coding sequence of 317 amino acids that strictly matched two internal oligopeptides of C34. This polypeptide is a specific component of RNA polymerase III, with no significant homology to any other RNA polymerase subunit known so far. It is an essential subunit, since inactivation by deletion or nonsense mutations led to a recessive lethal phenotype. Moreover, a partially blocked mutant, rpc34-F297, had a reduced tRNA synthesis in vivo but no detectable effect on 5 S RNA synthesis. The latter phenotype was observed for all conditionally defective RNA polymerase III mutants isolated so far.     

Pathogenic missense MAPT mutations differentially modulate tau aggregation propensity at nucleation and extension steps

Mutations in the MAPT gene encoding tau protein lead to neurofibrillary lesion formation, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration. While some pathogenic mutations affect MAPT introns, resulting in abnormal splicing patterns, the majority occur in the tau coding sequence leading to single amino acid changes in tau primary structure. Depending on their location within the polypeptide chain, tau missense mutations have been reported to augment aggregation propensity. To determine the mechanisms underlying mutation-associated changes in aggregation behavior, the fibrillization of recombinant pathogenic mutants R5L, G272V, P301L, V337M, and R406W prepared in a full-length four-repeat human tau background was examined in vitro as a function of time and submicromolar tau concentrations using electron microscopy assay methods. Kinetic constants for nucleation and extension phases of aggregation were then estimated by direct measurement and mathematical simulation. Results indicated that the mutants differ from each other and from wild-type tau in their aggregation propensity. G272V and P301L mutations increased the rates of both filament nucleation and extension reactions, whereas R5L and V337M increased only the nucleation phase. R406W did not differ from wild-type in any kinetic parameter. The results show that missense mutations can directly promote tau filament formation at different stages of the aggregation pathway.     

Effects of suppressor mutations on nonallelic glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase mutants of Neurospora crassa

Suppressor mutations have been isolated for bal and col-2, two slow-growing and nonallelic morphological mutants of Neurospora that carry defective G6PDs. Both suppressor mutations are located on linkage group I but are unlinked to the particular mutant that they suppress. The bal suppressor (su-B) increases the growth rate of bal and produces a more spreading morphology. su-B also decreases the G6P K _m of G6PD in bal;su-B double mutants. The col-2 suppressor (su-C) has similar positive effects on the morphology of col-2 and influences the electrofocusing pattern of the col-2 G6PD. su-C is an unusual type of suppressor mutation in that, when present in a wild-type background, it affects the electrofocusing pattern and kinetic properties of the normal enzyme. The nature of the su-C mutation, plus the complex genetic control of the Neurospora G6PD, is discussed.This work has been supported in part by the National Science Foundation (GB 21227), by the National Institutes of Health (GM 16224), and by a grant-in-aid from the Research Corporation.     

Intragenic suppressors reveal long distance interactions between inactivating and reactivating amino acid replacements generating three-dimensional constraints in the structure of mitochondrial cytochrome b

Revertants of nonfunctional cytochrome b mutants were isolated and characterized to determine how specific deleterious mutations in cytochrome b can be suppressed by secondary mutations not restoring a wild type protein. It was recently shown that the cytochrome b function can be recovered following various pseudo-wild type reversions at the level of the original site mutation or adjacent positions (di Rago, J.-P., Netter, P., and Slonimski, P. P. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 3332-3339). In the present study, we describe how the cytochrome b function can be recovered by secondary mutations in positions which are removed from the original mutation by up to more than 100 amino acids. Such revertant mutants are useful for the study of the three-dimensional structure of cytochrome b. The results of the analysis of four deficient mutations which affect a short region of the protein (positions 131-138 of the polypeptide chain) lead us to propose a possible mode of interactive combination between the first five putative transmembrane segments of cytochrome b within the membrane.     

Nuclear functions required for cytochrome c oxidase biogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Characterization of mutants in 34 complementation groups

To identify nuclear functions required for cytochrome c oxidase biogenesis in yeast, recessive nuclear mutants that are deficient in cytochrome c oxidase were characterized. In complementation studies, 55 independently isolated mutants were placed into 34 complementation groups. Analysis of the content of cytochrome c oxidase subunits in each mutant permitted the definition of three phenotypic classes. One class contains three complementation groups whose strains carry mutations in the COX4, COX5a, or COX9 genes. These genes encode subunits IV, Va, and VIIa of cytochrome c oxidase, respectively. Mutations in each of these structural genes appear to affect the levels of the other eight subunits, albeit in different ways. A second class contains nuclear mutants that are defective in synthesis of a specific mitochondrial-encoded cytochrome c oxidase subunit (I, II, or III) or in both cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and apocytochrome b. These mutants fall into 17 complementation groups. The third class is represented by mutants in 14 complementation groups. These strains contain near normal amounts of all cytochrome c oxidase subunits examined and therefore are likely to be defective at some step in holoenzyme assembly. The large number of complementation groups represented by the second and third phenotypic classes suggest that both the expression of the structural genes encoding the nine polypeptide subunits of cytochrome c oxidase and the assembly of these subunits into a functional holoenzyme require the products of many nuclear genes.     

Temperature-sensitive mutants of foot-and-mouth disease virus with altered structural polypeptides. I. Identification by electrofocusing

The structural polypeptides of foot-and-mouth disease virus were analyzed by electrofocusing in a polyacrylamide gel containing 9 M urea. Three versions of the technique were used to accomodate the widely differing isoelectric points of the four polypeptides. VP2 was identified by comparing mature virus with procapsids. The selective actions of proteases on virions of two serotypes and on their 12S particles were examined. From this emerged a simple test for distinguishing the similarly sized polypeptides: VP1, VP2, and VP3. The effects of carbamylation and succinylation on the charge of the polypeptides were investigated. From the properties of polypeptides modified either chemically or by mutation, it was concluded that all amino acid substitutions that might be expected to cause a charge change would be detected except for neutral-to-histidine substitutions in the most basic polypeptide, VP1. In a sample of 73 temperature-sensitive mutants, 11 classes of variant polypeptides were distinguished on the basis of charge. Their molecular weights were unchanged. Alterations were found in all structural polypeptides except VP4. Mutations affecting VP2 caused similar shifts in the precursor, VP0.