The Saccharomyces cerevisiae suppressor of choline sensitivity (SCS2) gene is a multicopy Suppressor of mec1 telomeric silencing defects

Mec1p is a cell cycle checkpoint protein related to the ATM protein kinase family. Certain mec1 mutations or overexpression of Mec1p lead to shortened telomeres and loss of telomeric silencing. We conducted a multicopy suppressor screen for genes that suppress the loss of silencing in strains overexpressing Mec1p. We identified SCS2 (suppressor of choline sensitivity), a gene previously isolated as a suppressor of defects in inositol synthesis. Deletion of SCS2 resulted in decreased telomeric silencing, and the scs2 mutation increased the rate of cellular senescence observed for mec1-21 tel1 double mutant cells. Genetic analysis revealed that Scs2p probably acts through a different telomeric silencing pathway from that affected by Mec1p.     

Poliovirus mutant that does not selectively inhibit host cell protein synthesis.

A poliovirus type I (Mahoney strain) mutant was obtained by inserting three base pairs into an infectious cDNA clone. The extra amino acid encoded by the insertion was in the amino-terminal (protein 8) portion of the P2 segment of the polyprotein. The mutant virus makes small plaques on HeLa and monkey kidney (CV-1) cells at all temperatures. It lost the ability to mediate the selective inhibition of host cell translation which ordinarily occurs in the first few hours after infection. As an apparent consequence, the mutant synthesizes far less protein than does wild-type virus. In mutant-infected CV-1 cells enough protein was produced to permit a normal course of RNA replication, but the yield of progeny virus was very low. In mutant-infected HeLa cells there was a premature cessation of both cellular and viral protein synthesis followed by a premature halt of viral RNA synthesis. This nonspecific translational inhibition was distinguishable from wild-type-mediated inhibition and did not appear to be part of an interferon or heat shock response. Because the mutant is recessive, our results imply that (at least in HeLa cells) wild-type poliovirus not only actively inhibits translation of cellular mRNAs, but also avoids early inhibition of its own protein synthesis. Cleavage of the cap-binding complex protein P220, which has been associated with the selective inhibition of capped mRNA translation, did not occur in mutant-infected cells. This result supports the hypothesis that cleavage of P220 plays an important role in normal poliovirus-mediated translational inhibition.     

Protein isoaspartate methyltransferase is a multicopy suppressor of protein aggregation in Escherichia coli

We used preS2-S'-beta-galactosidase, a three-domain fusion protein that aggregates extensively at 43 degrees C in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli, to search for multicopy suppressors of protein aggregation and inclusion body formation and took advantage of the known differential solubility of preS2-S'-beta-galactosidase at 37 and 43 degrees C to develop a selection procedure for the gene products that would prevent its aggregation in vivo at 43 degrees C. First, we demonstrate that the differential solubility of preS2-S'-beta-galactosidase results in a lactose-positive phenotype at 37 degrees C as opposed to a lactose-negative phenotype at 43 degrees C. We searched for multicopy suppressors of preS2-S'-beta-galactosidase aggregation by selecting pink lactose-positive colonies on a background of white lactose-negative colonies at 43 degrees C after transformation of bacteria with an E. coli gene bank. We discovered that protein isoaspartate methyltransferase (PIMT) is a multicopy suppressor of preS2-S'-beta-galactosidase aggregation at 43 degrees C. Overexpression of PIMT reduces the amount of preS2-S'-beta-galactosidase found in inclusion bodies at 43 degrees C and increases its amount in soluble fractions. It reduces the level of isoaspartate formation in preS2-S'-beta-galactosidase and increases its thermal stability in E. coli crude extracts without increasing the thermostability of a control protein, citrate synthase, in the same extracts. We could not detect any induction of the heat shock response resulting from PIMT overexpression, as judged from amounts of DnaK and GroEL, which were similar in the PIMT-overproducing and control strains. These results suggest that PIMT might be overburdened in some physiological conditions and that its overproduction may be beneficial in conditions in which protein aggregation occurs, for example, during biotechnological protein overproduction or in protein aggregation diseases.     

A cell cycle G0-ts mutant, tsJT60, becomes lethal at the nonpermissive temperature after transformation with adenovirus 12 E1B 19K mutant

tsJT60, a temperature-sensitive (ts) cell-cycle mutant of Fischer rats, is viable at both the permissive (34 degrees C) and nonpermissive (40 degrees C) temperatures. The cells grow normally in exponential growth phase at both temperatures, but when stimulated with serum from G0 phase they enter S phase at 34 degrees C but not at 40 degrees C. tsJT60 cells transformed with human adenovirus (Ad) 12 dl205, which lacks the E1B 19-kDa polypeptide gene, were lethal at 40 degrees C, whereas tsJT60 cells transformed with Ad12 wt, dl207, which lacks E1B 58-kDa protein gene, or in206B, which produces 19- to 58- kDa fused protein, were viable. Degradation of cell DNA occurred in dl205-transformed tsJT60 cultured at both 34 degrees C and 40 degrees C. Neither cytocidal phenotype nor degradation of DNA occurred in 3Y1 cells (a parental line of tsJT60) transformed with dl205. These results suggest that the lethal phenotype and degradation of DNA are related to the ts mutation in tsJT60 and also to the lack of Ad12 E1B 19kDa polypeptide.     

Isolation and characterization of a mitochondrially synthesized polypeptide from Neurospora crassa cni-1 mutant.

A polypeptide with a molecular weight of 8 500 (HP 8 500) was isolated from the mitochondrial membrane of the nuclear mutant cni-1 of Neurospora crassa. This mutant is characterized by a cyanide-insensitive respiration and by a deficiency in the cytochromes aa3 and b. The polypeptide is synthesized on mitochondrial ribosomes. It has an extremely hydrophobic character; it is insoluble in aqueous media in the absence of sodium dodecylsulfate and is soluble in acid chloroform/methanol. It lacks histidine. The polar amino acids lysine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine and threonine make up only 25% of the total amino acids on a mole-percent basis. The N-terminal amino acid is tyrosine. The possible function of this polypeptide in the mitochondrial membrane is discussed.     

Modelling and simulation of mutant alleles of breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1 (BRMS1) gene

Computational tools occupy the prime position in the analysis of large volume of post-genomic data. These tools have advantage over the wet lab experiments in terms of high coverage, cost and time. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females worldwide. It is a genetically heterogeneous disorder and many genes are involved in the pathway of the disease. Mutations in metastasis suppressor gene are the major cause of the disease. In this study, the effects of mutations in breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1gene upon protein structure and function were examined by means of computational tools and information from databases.This study can be useful to predict the potential effect of every allelic variant, devise new biological experiments and to interpret and predict the patho-physiological impact of new mutations or non-synonymous polymorphisms.     

hsp70 interacting protein Hip does not affect glucocorticoid receptor folding by the hsp90-based chaperone machinery except to oppose the effect of BAG-1

Reticulocyte lysate contains a chaperone system that assembles glucocorticoid receptor (GR).hsp90 heterocomplexes. Using purified proteins, we have prepared a five-protein heterocomplex assembly system consisting of two proteins essential for heterocomplex assembly-hsp90 and hsp70-and three proteins that act as co-chaperones to enhance assembly-Hop, hsp40, p23 [Morishima, Y., Kanelakis, K. C., Silverstein, A. M., Dittmar, K. D., Estrada, L., and Pratt, W. B. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 6894-6900]. The hsp70 co-chaperone Hip has been recovered in receptor.hsp90 heterocomplexes at an intermediate stage of assembly in reticulocyte lysate, and Hip is also thought to be an intrinsic component of the assembly machinery. Here we show that immunodepletion of Hip from reticulocyte lysate or addition of high levels of Hip to the purified five-protein system does not affect GR.hsp90 heterocomplex assembly or the activation of steroid binding activity that occurs with assembly. Despite the fact that Hip does not affect assembly, it is recovered in GR.hsp90 heterocomplexes assembled by both systems. In the five-protein system, Hip prevents inhibition of assembly by the hsp70 co-chaperone BAG-1, and cotransfection of Hip with BAG-1 opposes BAG-1 reduction of steroid binding activity in COS cells. We conclude that Hip is not a component of the assembly machinery but that it could play a regulatory role in opposition to BAG-1.     

Regulators of pseudohyphal differentiation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae identified through multicopy suppressor analysis in ammonium permease mutant strains.

Nitrogen-starved diploid cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae differentiate into a filamentous, pseudohyphal growth form. Recognition of nitrogen starvation is mediated, at least in part, by the ammonium permease Mep2p and the Galpha subunit Gpa2p. Genetic activation of the pheromone-responsive MAP kinase cascade, which is also required for filamentous growth, only weakly suppresses the filamentation defect of Deltamep2/Deltamep2 and Deltagpa2/Deltagpa2 strain. Surprisingly, deletion of Mep1p, an ammonium permease not previously thought to regulate differentiation, significantly enhances the potency of MAP kinase activation, such that the STE11-4 allele induces filamentation to near wild-type levels in Deltamep1/Deltamep1 Deltamep2/Deltamep2 and Deltamep1/Deltamep1 Deltagpa2/Deltagpa2 strains. To identify additional regulatory components, we isolated high-copy suppressors of the filamentation defect of the Deltamep1/Deltamep1 Deltamep2/Deltamep2 mutant. Multicopy expression of TEC1, PHD1, PHD2 (MSS10/MSN1/FUP4), MSN5, CDC6, MSS11, MGA1, SKN7, DOT6, HMS1, HMS2, or MEP2 each restored filamentation in a Deltamep1/Deltamep1 Deltamep2/Deltamep2 strain. Overexpression of SRK1 (SSD1), URE2, DAL80, MEP1, or MEP3 suppressed only the growth defect of the Deltamep1/Deltamep1 Deltamep2/Deltamep2 mutant strain. Characterization of these genes through deletion analysis and epistasis underscores the complexity of this developmental pathway and suggests that stress conditions other than nitrogen deprivation may also promote filamentous growth.     

Expression of multiple copies of mitochondrially targeted catalase or genomic Mn superoxide dismutase transgenes does not extend the life span of Drosophila melanogaster

The simultaneous overexpression of multiple copies of Mn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ectopic catalase (mtCat) transgenes in the mitochondria of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, was shown previously to diminish the life span. The hypothesis tested in this study was that this effect was due primarily to the presence of one or the other transgene. An alternative hypothesis was that both transgenes have additive, negative effects. Crosses were performed between five pairs of transgenic lines containing single-copy insertions of mtCat, Mn SOD, or P element vector control transgenes at unique loci, and the life spans of progeny containing two mtCat, Mn SOD, or vector insertions were determined. Increasing amounts of mitochondrial catalase activity tended to be associated with decreases in mean life span. Overexpression of two copies of the genomic Mn SOD transgene had no effect on life span. The results do not support the hypothesis that enhanced mitochondrial SOD or catalase activity promotes longevity in flies.     

A multicopy suppressor of a cell cycle defect in S. pombe encodes a heat shock-inducible 40 kDa cyclophilin-like protein.

Cyclophilins are peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerases (PPIases) which have been implicated in intracellular protein folding, transport and assembly. Cyclophilins are also known as the intracellular receptors for the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (CsA). The most common type of cyclophilins are the 18 kDa cytosolic proteins containing only the highly conserved core domain for PPIase and CsA binding activities. The wis2+ gene of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was isolated as a multicopy suppressor of wee1-50 cdc25-22 win1-1, a triple mutant strain which exhibits a cell cycle defect phenotype. Sequence analysis of wis2+ reveals that it encodes a 40 kDa cyclophilin-like protein, homologous to the mammalian cyclophilin 40. The 18 kDa cyclophilin domain (CyP-18) of wis2 is followed by a C-terminal region of 188 amino acids. The C-terminal region of wis2 is essential for suppression of the triple mutant defect. Furthermore this region of the protein is able to confer suppression activity on the 18 kDa S.pombe cyclophilin, cyp1, since a hybrid protein consisting of an 18 kDa S.pombe cyclophilin (cyp1) fused to the C-terminus of wis2 shows suppression activity. We also demonstrate that the level of wis2+ mRNA increases 10- to 20-fold upon heat shock of S.pombe cells suggesting a role for wis2+ in the heat-shock response.     

Sce3, a suppressor of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe septation mutant cdc11, encodes a putative RNA-binding protein.

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the cdc11 gene is required for the initiation of septum formation at the end of mitosis. The sce3 gene was cloned as a multi-copy suppressor of the heat-sensitive mutant cdc11-136. When over-expressed, it rescues all mutants of cdc11 and also a heat-sensitive allele of cdc14, but not the cdc14 null mutant. Deletion shows that sce3 is not essential for cell proliferation. It encodes a putative RNA-binding protein which shows homology to human eIF4B. Immunolocalisation indicates that Sce3p is located predominantly in the cytoplasm. Elevated expression of sce3 increases the steady-state level of cdc14 mRNA. Possible mechanisms of its action are discussed.     

Heterologous complementation reveals that mutant alleles of QSR1 render 60S ribosomal subunits unstable and translationally inactive.

QSR1 is a highly conserved gene which encodes a 60S ribosomal subunit protein that is required for joining of large and small ribosomal subunits. In this report we demonstrate heterologous complementation of a yeast QSR1 deletion strain with both the human and corn homologs and show that the human and corn proteins are assembled into hybrid yeast/human and yeast/corn ribosomes. While the homologous genes complement lethality of the QSR1 deletion, they also result in a diminished growth rate. Analyses of the translation rates of ribosomes containing the human and corn proteins reveal a partial loss of function. Velocity gradient analyses of the hybrid ribosomes after exposure to high concentrations of salt indicate that the decreased activity is due to lability of the hybrid 60S subunits.     

Viral coat protein is targeted to, but does not gate, plasmodesmata during cell-to-cell movement of potato virus X

The coat protein (CP) of potato virus X was localized immunocytochemically in infected leaves of susceptible Nicotiana species and shown to be targeted to the central cavity of plasmodesmata in virus-infected cells. A viral deletion mutant, in which the CP gene was replaced with the gene for the green fluorescent protein (GFP), was restricted to single, inoculated cells. However, movement of the mutant virus was rescued on transgenic plants constitutively expressing the CP gene, and the CP was again targeted to plasmodesmata. The CP was not localized to plasmodesmata in uninfected transgenic plants and, in contrast to the plasmodesmata of PVX-infected cells, the plasmodesmata of the transgenic plants did not allow the passage of 10 kDa fluorescent dextrans. We propose that the CP is not involved in plasmodesmal gating per se , but is necessary for transport of the viral RNA to, and possibly through, plasmodesmata.