Expression of a chromosomally integrated, single-copy GFP gene in Candida albicans, and its use as a reporter of gene regulation

Genetically engineered versions of the GFP gene, which encodes the green fluorescent protein of Aequorea victoria, were placed under the control of the constitutively active Candida albicansACT1 promoter and integrated in single copy into the genome of this pathogenic yeast. Integrative transformants in which one of the two ACT1 alleles had been replaced by a GFP gene exhibited a homogeneous, constitutive fluorescent phenotype. Cells expressing GFP with the wild-type chromophore exhibited very weak fluorescence compared to those GFP proteins with the S65T or S65A, V68L, S72A (GFPmut2) chromophore mutations. Substitution of the CTG codon, which specifies serine instead of leucine in C. albicans, by TTG was absolutely necessary for GFP expression. Although GFP mRNA levels in cells containing a GFP gene with the CTG codon were comparable to those of transformants containing GFP with the TTG substitution, only the latter produced GFP protein, as detected by Western blotting, suggesting that the frequent failure to express heterologous genes in C. albicans is principally due to the non-canonical codon usage. Transformants expressing the modified GFP gene from the promoter of the SAP2 gene, which encodes one of the secreted acid proteinases of C. albicans, showed fluorescence only under conditions which promote proteinase expression, thereby demonstrating the utility of stable, chromosomally integrated GFP reporter genes for the study of gene activation in C. albicans.     

白念珠菌CaGDT1基因的功能研究

人类跨膜蛋白TMEM165与酿酒酵母Sc Gdt1均属于阳离子/钙离子交换器家族的成员,在本研究中,通过序列比对在白念珠菌中发现了Sc GDT1的同源基因Ca GDT1,表型互补实验显示Ca GDT1基因的表达能够抑制Sc GDT1基因缺失所造成的钙离子敏感性,证明Ca GDT1是Sc GDT1的同功基因。此外,通过同源重组原理敲除了Ca GDT1的2个等位基因。表型筛选结果表明gdt1/gdt1缺失株对钙离子、细胞壁和内质网3种胁迫均不敏感,而对酮康唑和特比萘芬2种抗真菌药物具有耐受性。     

白念珠菌耐药的分子机制研究进展

近年来,免疫受损人群不断增多,该人群念珠菌病发病率呈上升趋势。随着抗真菌药物的广泛应用,临床分离到的白念珠菌耐药株增多,有关白念珠菌对抗真菌药物的耐药机制的研究又有了进一步的进展。就白念珠菌对唑类、多烯类、5-氟胞嘧啶、棘白菌素类等抗真菌药物的耐药机制方面的研究进展,作了介绍。     

白念珠菌CaSPO75基因的敲除与功能研究

酿酒酵母中ScCsc1是一个最近鉴定的钙离子通透性压力门控阳离子通道蛋白,参与调控胞内离子稳态。ScSpo75是ScCsc1的一个同源蛋白,可能参与孢子壁的装配过程。在白念珠菌中存在一个与ScSPO75同源的基因CaSPO75,其功能尚不清楚,因此采用SAT1-flipper方法敲除CaSPO75的两个等位基因以研究其功能。通过表型筛选,发现该基因的缺失导致白念珠菌对特比萘芬(Teb)、荧光增白剂(CFW)、氯化锰和氯化锌耐受,对酮康唑(KCZ)敏感。因此,CaSPO75基因可能参与白念珠菌耐药性和细胞壁压力反应的调控,以及胞内锰离子和锌离子稳态的调控。     

Analysis of a Candida albicans gene that encodes a novel mechanism for resistance to benomyl and methotrexate

Summary The pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans, is insensitive to the anti-mitotic drug, benomyl, and to the dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, methotrexate. Genes responsible for the intrinsic drug resistance were sought by transforming Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a yeast sensitive to both drugs, with genomic C. albicans libraries and screening on benomyl or methotrexate. Restriction analysis of plasmids isolated from benomyl- and methotrexate-resistant colonies indicated that both phenotypes were encoded by the same DNA fragment. Sequence analysis showed that the fragments were nearly identical and contained a long open reading frame of 1694 bp (ORF1) and a small ORF of 446 bp (ORF2) within ORF1 on the opposite strand. By site-directed mutagenesis, it was shown that ORF1 encoded both phenotypes. The protein had no sequence similarity to any known proteins, including -tubulin, dihydrofolate reductase, and the P-glycoprotein of the multi-drug resistance family. The resistance gene was detected in several C. albicans strains and in C. stellatoidea by DNA hybridization and by the polymerase chain reaction.     

一种强力霉素诱导型白念珠菌基因敲除与筛选标记再循环工具包

【目的】在白念珠菌中建立一个快捷方便经济的基因敲除与筛选标记再循环的DNA操作系统。【方法】通过ExoIII介导的不依赖于连接酶的克隆策略,在异源筛选标记基因CmLEU2、CdHIS1和CdARG4基因的两侧分别插入了loxP位点,成为筛选标记基因盒扩增的模板。全基因合成了经过白念珠菌密码子优化的rTetR元件,并组装成Tet-on启动子。将密码子优化的重组酶Cre基因置于该启动子控制下。然后将他们插入筛选标记基因CdHIS1和CdARG4的CDS区域,形成筛选标记基因再循环载体。【结果】构建了3个用于白念珠菌基因敲除的侧翼含有loxP位点的筛选标记基因载体,以及2个含有Tet-on启动子控制的Cre酶的载体用于筛选标记基因的再循环。【结论】成功构建了一个白念珠菌中可诱导的基因敲除和筛选标记再循环的载体系统并成功应用于多个基因缺失株构建。这个系统有助于快速构建白念珠菌的单基因和多基因敲除菌株。     

海洋中分离的抗白念珠菌芽胞杆菌性状特征及系统鉴定

对筛选自中国南海、黄海、渤海4个地区近海海水样品的7株有抗白念珠菌活性,且稳定性较强的芽胞杆菌的形态特征、培养特征及生理生化试验等进行系统分析比较,结果表明,LU-B02为凝结芽胞杆菌(Bacillus coagulans),LU-B13为蜡样芽胞杆菌(Bacillus cereus),其他各菌株为短小芽胞杆菌(Bacillius pumilus),除LU-B02耐盐度5%外,其他耐盐度达10%以上。它们均属于芽胞杆菌的第一群。16S r DNA基因同源性序列比较进一步证实LU-B02为凝结芽胞杆菌,它与凝结芽胞杆菌标准菌株ATCC15950在鉴定特征上虽然相同,但与后者相比,最高生长温度较低,耐盐性较强,可以利用阿拉伯糖、木糖、甘露醇等碳源,可水解酪素,并可稳定地产生抗白念珠菌活性物质,将其命名为Bacillus coagulans subsp.heishijiaosis。尚未见抗白念珠菌的凝结芽胞杆菌菌株的有关报道。     

Candida albicans exoglucanase as a reporter gene in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The Candida albicans XOG1 gene, previously shown to be a good reporter gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and C. albicans, was tested in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Unlike the budding yeast, S. pombe does not produce exoglucanase activity and hence this system would be applicable to any given strain of this organism. The XOG1 gene was located under the control of the nmt1 promoter and its functionality could be demonstrated even at high temperatures (37 degrees C). The exoglucanase activity can be measured both in vivo and in vitro by either a simple biochemical reaction (on cells or media) or by flow cytometry, because the cells remain viable after the assay.     

EGFP-LacZ双报告基因真核表达载体的构建及体外表达

构建(β-半乳糖苷酶与增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)双报告基因的真核表达载体,并在真核细胞中表达。采用PCR方法从质粒pLenti6/V5-GW/LacZ 中获取LacZ全基因,与pEGFP-C1重组后构建真核表达载体pEGFP-C1-LacZ。该重组质粒经PCR和酶切方法鉴定后,在脂质体介导下转染293FT细胞株及鸡胚成纤维细胞,通过荧光观察和组织化学方法检测Egfp和LacZ基因的表达。结果表明,LacZ基因被克隆到pEGFP-C1,成功构建了双报告基因真核表达载体。该重组质粒转染后的细胞呈现绿色荧光,组织化学方法检测到呈蓝色的细胞,表明两个报告基因均能在细胞内正确表达。     

表达GFP/mCherry白色念珠菌的构建及其在与巨噬细胞互作中的应用

白色念珠菌(Candida albicans)被巨噬细胞吞噬的效率与被吞噬后的形态观察是研究白色念珠菌与巨噬细胞互作的重要内容。【目的】以野生型菌株SC5314为母本,构建能够表达绿色荧光蛋白(green fluorescent protein, GFP)/mCherry的白色念珠菌,应用于巨噬细胞与白色念珠菌互作的研究。【方法】通过生长与形态观察、细胞活性检测及小鼠系统性感染模型确定荧光蛋白的表达对菌株生长、形态与毒力的影响;在共培养条件下,通过流式细胞术及荧光显微镜检测巨噬细胞的吞噬率及白色念珠菌的形态变化。【结果】构建的菌株在表型上与野生型菌株一致,并可用于在共培养下测定巨噬细胞吞噬率的流式细胞术以及观察白色念珠菌的形态变化。【结论】表达荧光蛋白的菌株为研究巨噬细胞与白色念珠菌的互作提供了新方法。     

Isolation of Hem3 mutants from Candida albicans by sequential gene disruption

Summary Molecular methods for directed mutagenesis in Candida albicans have relied on a combination of gene disruption by transformation to inactivate one allele and UV-induced mitotic recombination or point mutation to produce lesions in the second allele. An alternate method which uses two sequential gene disruptions was developed and used to construct a C. albicans mutant defective in a gene essential for synthesizing tetrapyrrole (uroporphyrinogen I synthase). The Candida gene was cloned from a random library by complementation of the hem3 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The complementing region was limited to a 2.0 kb fragment by subcloning and a BglII site was determined to be within an essential region. Linear fragments containing either the Candida URA3 or LEU2 gene inserted into the BglII site were used to disrupt both alleles of a leu2, ura3 mutant by sequential transformation. Ura⁺, Leu⁺ heme-requiring strains were recovered and identified as hem3 mutants by Southern hybridization, transformation to heme independence by the cloned gene, and enzyme assays.     

新型瞬时报告载体pRSET-EGFP的构建及表达

目的：利用分子生物学技术和方法将pRSET-B质粒改建为带有绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)突变体基因(GFP-S65T)的新型瞬时表达载体pRSET-EGFP,并在E．coli．BL21中得到GFP基因的高效表达。方法：PCR法从pEGFP质粒克隆GFP-S65T cDNA并在5’末端引入KpnⅠ的位点。将扩增出来的GFP-S65T基因和pRSEY-B质粒用HindⅢ和KpnⅠ双酶切后连接构成重组质粒。用化学法把重组质粒转化到E．coli．BL21中,培养发酵液。OD540=0．4时加入IPTG诱导GFP-S65T基因转录和表达,合成绿色荧光蛋白。还对诱导条件进行了优化,发酵液OD540=0．4加入IPTG可以得到最优表达。结果：通过Ni^2 柱亲和层析,纯化得到绿色荧光蛋白,SDS-PAGE电泳检测,分子量为27kDa,与文献报道值一致。这说明Ni^2 柱能够有效的纯化表达产物。结论：成功构建了新型瞬时表达载体pRSET-EGFP,并且在E．coli．BL21中得到高效表达。     

Toxicity of a heterologous leucyl-tRNA (anticodon CAG) in the pathogen Candida albicans: in vivo evidence for non-standard decoding of CUG codons

Plasmids containing derivatives of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae leucyl-tRNA (tRNA3 ₃ ^Leu ) gene that vary in anticodon sequence were constructed and transformed into the pathogen Candida albicans and S. cerevisiae. C. albicans could readily be transformed with plasmids encoding leucyl-tRNA genes with the anticodons CAA and UAA (recognizing the codons UUG and UUA) and expression of the heterologous tRNA^Leu could be demonstrated by Northern RNA blotting. In contrast, no transformants were obtained if the anticodons were UAG (codons recognized CUN, UUR) and CAG (codon CUG), indicating that the insertion of leucine at CUG codons is toxic for C. albicans. All tRNA^Leu-encoding plasmids transformed S. cerevisiae with equally high efficiencies. These results provide in vivo evidence that non-standard decoding of CUG codons is essential for the viability of C. albicans.     

白色念珠菌胞外囊泡的组成及其功能研究进展

念珠菌病指念珠菌属引起的急性、亚急性或慢性感染,通常累及皮肤、黏膜,也可累及内脏和各个系统器官,可造成严重后果,是目前发病率最高的深部真菌病.白色念珠菌是念珠菌种中最为常见的一种机会致病性真菌,近来,越来越多的研究证实了白色念珠菌的细胞外囊泡对其致病性具有重要的作用,它参与重要蛋白、遗传物质的转运,影响白色念珠菌的耐药...     

Promoter regulation in Candida albicans and related species

Regulation of gene expression has been studied extensively in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe . Some, but by far not all, of the findings are also applicable to Candida albicans , an important ascomycete fungal pathogen of humans. Areas of research in C. albicans include the influence of key signal transduction cascades on morphology, and the response to host-generated influences, such as host immune effector cells, blood, pH or elevated carbon dioxide. The resistance to antifungal agents and response to stress are also well researched. Conditional gene expression and reporter genes adapted to the codon usage of C. albicans are now widely used in C. albicans . Here we present a comprehensive overview of the current techniques used to investigate regulation mechanisms for promoters in C. albicans and other Candida species. In addition, we discuss reporter genes used for the study of gene expression.     

Construction of the mobilizable plasmid pMV158GFP,a derivative of pMV158 that carries the gene encoding the green fluorescent protein

Plasmid pMV158 has been employed to construct cloning non-mobilizable vectors for various Gram-positive organisms. Here we report the construction of a mobilizable pMV158-based plasmid that harbors the gene encoding the green fluorescent protein under the control of a promoter inducible by maltose. The plasmid was mobilized between strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae as well as from S. pneumoniae to Lactococcus lactis or Enterococcus faecalis at the same frequency as its parental. Transconjugant that received the GFP-tagged plasmid could be detected by their fluorescence, which was especially high in E. faecalis cells.