The Sites for Degradation of Blasticidin S

The sites for degradation of blasticidin S was investigated using radioactive compounds which were biosynthetically prepared by a blasticidin S producing organism, St. griseochromogenes.

The antibiotic sprayed was located on the surface of the rice plant and little was diffused or transported into the tissue. From the wound or infected part, however, the compound was incorporated and translocated mainly to upper part. In the plant the antibiotic was decomposed at a slow rate, and a small amount of cytomycin and trace of deaminohydroxyblasticidin S were observed as the products. The compound located at the plant surface was efficiently decomposed by sunlight.

A considerable quantity of blasticidin S sprayed fell to the ground and was adsorbed on the soil surface tightly. Microbes such as Pseudomonas marginalis, Ps. ovalis and Fusarium oxysporum, which are usually present in the paddy field, decreased the biological activity of blasticidin S. Especially a fungal strain isolated from soil showed marked inactivation of blasticidin S by converting the antibiotic to deaminohydroxyblasticidin S mainly.     

Mechanism of Inhibition of Translation Termination by Blasticidin S

Understanding the mechanisms of inhibitors of translation termination may inform development of new antibacterials and therapeutics for premature termination diseases. We report the crystal structure of the potent termination inhibitor blasticidin S bound to the ribosomal 70S?release factor 1 (RF1) termination complex. Blasticidin S shifts the catalytic domain 3 of RF1 and restructures the peptidyl transferase center. Universally conserved uridine 2585 in the peptidyl transferase center occludes the catalytic backbone of the GGQ motif of RF1, explaining the structural mechanism of inhibition. Rearrangement of domain 3 relative to the codon-recognition domain 2 provides insight into the dynamics of RF1 implicated in termination accuracy.     

稻瘟净（Blasticidin S）脱氨酶基因的克隆

从一株抗稻瘟净（ＢＳ）的Ａｓｐｅｒｇｉｌｌｕｓ ｔｅｒｒｅｕｓ菌中克隆到一个ｂｌａｓｔｉｅｉｄｉｎＳ脱氨酶基因,命名为ｂｓｒＡＳ。ＤＮＡ序列分析表明ｂｓｒＡＳ不含内含子。编码区长３９０ｂｐ,编码１３０个氨基酸。将ｂｓｒＡＳ转化到稻瘟菌中,能使受体菌表达出ＢＳ脱氨酶的活性,从而产生抗药性。该基因可作为抗药标记基因使用,建立稻瘟菌的基因转化系统。     

Active Center and Mode of Reaction of Blasticidin S Deaminase

Blasticidin S deaminase (EC 3.5.4.23) was purified by affinity chromatography using a column of Sepharose 4B coupled with pyrimidinoblasticidin S as a ligand. The Michaelis constant Km and the maximum velocity F_max varied with pH, which suggests that enzyme ionization is important either for substrate binding or for catalytic activity. The inflection point at pH 8.6 ~ 8.9 in the plot of pKm versus pH was attributed to an enzyme amino group which corresponded to the carboxyl group of substrates, and an inflection at pH 5.3 in the log V_max-pH plot was assigned to the imidazole group of histidine, which appeared to be critical for catalytic deaminohydroxylation. The binding of substrates by the enzyme was inferred to be promoted thermodynamically, and activation of the substrate-enzyme complex was presumed to proceed endothermically. From the results obtained, a hypothetical mode of reaction for blasticidin S deaminase is proposed.     

氨肽酶PepN1在细胞外催化杀稻瘟菌素的成熟

【背景】肽核苷类抗生素杀稻瘟菌素(BlasticidinS,BS)生物合成途径的最后一步是亮氨酰杀稻瘟菌素(Leucylblasticidin S,LBS)水解成熟为BS,BS原始产生菌灰色产色链霉菌和异源表达菌株变铅青链霉菌WJ2清洗过的细胞均能催化这一步反应。前期我们确定在这两种菌中都含有编码3个氨肽酶Pep N同源蛋白的基因,其中编码产物Pep N1主要负责水解LBS和亮氨酰脱甲基杀稻瘟菌素(Leucyldemethylblasticidin S,LDBS),且催化效率相当。但是,相比于原始产生菌只积累BS这一种组分,异源表达菌株变铅青链霉菌WJ2还积累了LBS和LDBS,这意味着原始产生菌与WJ2中Pep N1的水解活性存在差异。【目的】研究Pep N1在两个菌株中的表达和分泌对BS组分的影响。【方法】利用Pep N1的多克隆抗体,通过蛋白免疫印迹法(Western blot)比较不同生长时间的原始产生菌和异源表达菌株在细胞内、细胞培养液中Pep N1的表达水平。硫酸铵沉淀收集两种菌株培养液中的蛋白,通过Westernblot检测Pep N1的存在并在体外检测水解活性。【结果】原始产生菌第2-6天细胞内Pep N1水平基本没有变化,而异源表达菌株自第4天起细胞内Pep N1开始减弱,到第6天完全消失;另一方面,Western blot在原始产生菌细胞培养液中检测到Pep N1,而在异源表达菌株中却没有检测到。细胞培养液水解LDBS的活性与Western blot检测到的Pep N1表达水平相一致。【结论】BS原始产生菌能持续表达合成Pep N1并将一部分Pep N1分泌到细胞外,而异源表达菌株WJ2从第4天起则停止合成Pep N1,第2-6天的细胞均不能将Pep N1分泌到细胞外,这导致WJ2中积累亮氨酰化的产物。两个菌株清洗过的细胞均可以水解LDBS和LBS,推测在WJ2体内消失的Pep N1分泌到细胞壁上但没有释放到溶液中,这部分Pep N1可以在WJ2中将部分LDBS和LBS水解成对应的DBS和BS。     

Biological Transformation of Blasticidin S by Aspergillus fumigatus sp.

A strain of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from soil, transformed blasticidin S into four substances designated U1, U2, U3 and U4 respectively. U1 is less toxic and retains biological activities. Structural elucidation of these compounds comes to the conclusion that they differ from blasticidin S in pyrimidine base, e.g., uracil instead of cytosine nucleus. The structures of U2, U3 and U4 are elucidated.     

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Lignin

We have been further studying on the specific lignification in the gourd fruits as shown in the previous paper. During the process of lignification, the both activities of peroxidase and β-glucosidase were decreased, and so were shikimic acid, while some organic acids including quinic acid were detected by paper chromatography.     

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Kanamycins

Streptomyces kanamyceticus produces ¹⁴C-kanamycin and other labeled kanamycin-related compounds in the presence of ¹⁴C-glucose or ¹⁴C-glucosamine. One of the latter is paromamine. In order to find a condition to obtain high incorporation rate of radioactive precursors, the culture phase for the addition of labeled compounds was studied. The maximal incorporation rate was obtained by addition of ¹⁴C-glucosamine in the later phase of the culture and the specific activity of resultant kanamycin A was found to be much higher than in the case of the addition of ¹⁴C-glucose. In some experiments one third of radioactivity of the added ¹⁴C-glucosamine was taken into kanamycin, and the distribution was limited only in 6-amino-6-deoxy-D-glucose moiety of kanamycin A when ¹⁴C-glucosamine was added. In contrast, when ^1JC-glucose was added, approximately equal distribution of radioactivity was observed in each of three moieties of kanamycin A molecule.     

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Kanamycins

Incorporation of the radioactive degradation products of kanamycin A or related metabolites into kanamycin A by growing cells of Streptomyces kanamyceticus was examined. ³H-Deoxystreptamine was incorporated into deoxystreptamine moiety of kanamycin, but neither ¹⁴C-3-amino-3-deoxy-d-glucose nor ¹⁴C-6-amino-6-deoxy-d-glucose was incorporated. ³H-Kanamycin A added to medium was modified and inactivated.     

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Streptomycin

Myo-inositol, especially in combination with arginine, enhances streptomycin production. Compounds which show structural relationship with myo-inositol are ineffective.

Myo-inositol decreases the incorporation of C¹⁴-glucose into streptomycin, particularly into streptidine. This effect suggests that myo-inositol is a precursor of the streptidine ring.

Methionine stimulates antibiotic production in a synthetic medium but proves to be unfavorable in a complex medium.

The γ- and δ-isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane inhibit streptomycin formation.

The formation of streptomycin by washed mycelium was studied. Essentially the same results were here obtained as with growing cultures.

     

绵羊皮肤成纤维细胞对G418及Blasticidin S抗性的研究

抗生素常被用于对转基因动物、植物及微生物细胞进行筛选。在进行抗生素抗性筛选前,需要摸索合适的抗生素使用浓度,其原因在于:过低的筛选浓度无法抑制非转基因细胞的生长;反之,过高的筛选浓度会导致转基因细胞死亡。为了摸索绵羊皮肤成纤维细胞(sheep skin fibroblasts, SSFs)对G418及Blasticidin S的抗性,本实验以体外培养的SSFs为实验材料,采用不同浓度的上述两种抗生素处理SSFs,采用活细胞计数的方式检测SSFs对上述两种抗生素的抗性。单独使用G418或Blasticidin S导致SSFs全部死亡的最低致死浓度分别为200μg/mL及4μg/mL;当两种抗生素联合使用时,其最低致死浓度为100μg/mL G418+3μg/mL Blasticidin S或150μg/mL G418+2μg/mL Blasticidin S。该实验为采用这两种抗生素筛选转基因SSFs提供了理论基础。     

Studies on Biosynthesis of Brassinosteroids

Biosynthesis of steroidal plant hormones, brassinosteroids, was studied using the cell culture system of Catharanthus roseus. Feeding labeled compounds of possible intermediates to the cultured cells, followed by analyzing the metabolites by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry disclosed the pathways from a plant sterol, campesterol, to brassinolide. There are two pathways, named the early C6-oxidation pathway and late C6-oxidation pathway, both of which would be operating in a wide variety of plants. Recent findings of brassinosteroid-deficient mutants of Arabidopsis and the garden pea by several groups, and the possible blocked steps of the mutants in the biosynthetic pathways are also introduced.     

Detection,characterization, and phytotoxic activity of the nucleoside antibiotics,Blasticidin S and 5-Hydroxylmethyl-Blasticidin S

Screening for herbicidal compounds carried out on culture broths of Streptomyces strains isolated from soil resulted in the detection of potent phytotoxic activity. The active principles were isolated, and identified as the nucleoside antibiotics Blasticidin S (Bl-S) and 5-Hydroxymethyl-Blasticidin S (H-M-Bl-S). Bl-S was more active than H-M-Bl-S on seedling germination in petri dishes and in postemergence greenhouse tests. Moreover both antibiotics were more phytotoxic to dicotyledonous than to monocotyledonous plants. The increased sensitivity of dicots was confirmed in carrot and rice cell cultures. Both compounds also inhibited [¹⁴C]amino acid incorporation into proteins of rice and carrot cell cultures. Protein synthesis was more affected in carrot than rice.     

Studies on the Biosynthesis of Vitamin B6

The production of vitamin B₆ (B₆) compounds with a cell-suspension of Achromobacter cycloclastes A.M.S. 6201 under various conditions were examined. An obvious accumulation of B₆ compounds in the incubation medium with a cell-suspension of the organism harvested at the middle to later part of exponential phase of growth was observed. γ-Aminobutyric acid or β-alanine was found to stimulate the B₆ production markedly, when they were added to the incubation mixture together with glycerol. Some discussion on the implication of these compounds as precursors of B₆ was presented.     

Studies on the Biosynthesis of the ergosterol side chain

1. A convenient synthesis of 24-methylene[23,25-(3)H(3)]dihydrolanosterol is described. 2. A general anaerobic-aerobic method for the incorporation of sterols into whole yeast cells is also described and illustrated by experiments with (3)H-labelled lanosterol. 3. The method was used to convert labelled 24-methylene-dihydrolanosterol into ergosterol, in good yield, by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 4. Degradation of the biosynthetic ergosterol provided confirmation of the conversion, which supports the proposed mechanism for the biosynthesis of the ergosterol side chain. 5. Mechanisms for the further conversion of the 24-methylene side chain into the ergosterol side chain are discussed and it was shown that a compound, [3alpha-(3)H(1)]-ergost-7-en-3beta-ol, with a fully saturated side chain, can also be efficiently incorporated into ergosterol. 6. This result was confirmed by a procedure involving formation of the 5,8-epidioxide and subsequently the 5,8-epidioxy-22,23-epoxide of the biosynthetic ergosterol.