Rapid production of gene replacement constructs and generation of a green fluorescent protein-tagged centromeric marker in Aspergillus nidulans

A method to rapidly generate gene replacement constructs by fusion PCR is described for Aspergillus nidulans. The utility of the approach is demonstrated by green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagging of A. nidulans ndc80 to visualize centromeres through the cell cycle. The methodology makes possible large-scale GFP tagging, promoter swapping, and deletion analysis of A. nidulans.     

Cloning of the nitrate-nitrite reductase gene cluster of Penicillium chrysogenum and use of the niaD gene as a homologous selection marker.

A new homologous transformation system for the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum is described. The system is based on complementation of niaD mutants using the nitrate reductase structural gene (niaD) of P. chrysogenum. Spontaneous niaD mutants were identified after selection for chlorate resistance, in growth tests and subsequent complementation with the niaD gene of Aspergillus oryzae. The P. chrysogenum niaD gene was isolated from a genomic library using the Aspergillus nidulans niaD gene as a probe. After subcloning of the hybridizing fragment, the vector obtained, pPC1-1, was capable of transforming a P. chrysogenum niaD mutant at an average of 40 transformants per micrograms of circular DNA. Southern analysis of genomic DNA from a number of transformants showed that pPC1-1 DNA was integrated predominantly at sites other than the niaD locus. Using hybridization analysis it was shown that the niaD gene of P. chrysogenum is clustered with the nitrite reductase gene (niiA). From analysis of the nucleotide sequences of parts of the niaD and niiA genes of P. chrysogenum and comparison of these sequences with nucleotide sequences of the corresponding A. nidulans genes it was deduced that the P. chrysogenum genes are divergently transcribed.     

ThePenicillium chrysogenum andAspergillus nidulans wetA developmental regulatory genes are functionally equivalent

Aspergillus nidulans andPenicillium chrysogenum are related fungi that reproduce asexually by forming multicellular conidiophores and uninucleate conidia. InA. nidulans, spore maturation is controlled by thewetA (AwetA) regulatory gene. We cloned a homologous gene (PwetA) fromP. chrysogenum to determine if spore maturation is regulated by a similar mechanism in this species. ThePwetA andAwetA genes are similar in structure and functional organization. The inferred polypeptides share 77% overall amino acid sequence similarity, with several regions having > 85% similarity. The genes also had significant, local sequence similarities in their 5′ flanking regions, including conserved binding sites for the product of the regulatory geneabaA.PwetA fully complemented anA. nidulans wetA deletion mutation, demonstrating thatPwetA and its 5′ regulatory sequences function normally inA. nidulans. These results indicate that the mechanisms controlling sporulation inA. nidulans andP. chrysogenum are evolutionarily conserved.     

Characterization of the pyruvate kinase-encoding gene (pki1) of Trichoderma reesei

The pyruvate kinase-encoding gene (pki1) from Trichoderma reesei was isolated by hybridization to the corresponding Aspergillus nidulans pkiA gene. The 1614-bp nucleotide (nt) sequence of the cloned gene codes for a 538-amino-acid protein. The coding sequence contains a single intron of 246 nt at a position identical to that of intron E in the A. nidulans gene. The PKI protein shows extensive homology to the PKIs of A. nidulans and A. niger (67%) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (59%). The 5' non-coding sequence contains a number of motifs typical for yeast glycolytic genes, but so far only rarely found in filamentous fungi.     

Cloning, characterization of the acyl-CoA : 6-amino penicillanic acid acyltransferase gene of Aspergillus nidulans and linkage to the isopenicillin N synthase gene

Summary The penDE gene encoding acyl-CoA:6-amino penicillanic acid acyltransferase (AAT), the last enzyme of the penicillin biosynthetic pathway, has been cloned from the DNA of Aspergillus nidulans. The gene contains three introns which are located in the 5 region of the open reading frame. It encodes a protein of 357 amino acids with a molecular weight of 39 240 Da. The penDE gene of A. nidulans shows 73% similarity at the nucleotide level with the penDE gene of Penicillium chrysogenum. The A. nidulans gene was expressed in P. chrysogenum and complemented the AAT deficiency of the non-producer mutants of P. chrysogenum, npe6 and npe8. The penDE gene of A. nidulans is linked to the pcbC gene, which encodes the isopenicillin N synthase, as also occurs in P. chrysogenum. Both genes show the same orientation and are separated by an intergenic region of 822 nucleotides.     

Transformation of Claviceps purpurea using a bleomycin resistance gene

Summary To develop a DNA-mediated transformation system for Claviceps purpurea a vector was constructed using a bleomycin-resistance gene (bleo ^R) fused in frame to the Aspergillus nidulans trp C promoter as a dominant selection marker. The construct was shown to be functional in Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus niger and used to transform a wild strain of Claviceps purpurea. Transformats were obtained at low frequencies; they were shown to contain transforming DNA integrated into the chromosomal DNA, probably in multimeric copies and at multiple sites. Combined Southern, Northern and resistance level analysis indicate that the A. nidulans promoter is functional in C. purpurea.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. K. Esser on the occasion of his 65^th birthday     

The isopenicillin N acyltransferases of Aspergillus nidulans and Penicillium chrysogenum differ in their ability to maintain the 40-kDa alphabeta heterodimer in an undissociated form.

The isopenicillin N acyltransferases (IATs) of Aspergillus nidulans and Penicillium chrysogenum differed in their ability to maintain the 40-kDa proacyltransferase alphabeta heterodimer in an undissociated form. The native A. nidulans IAT exhibited a molecular mass of 40 kDa by gel filtration. The P. chrysogenum IAT showed a molecular mass of 29 kDa by gel filtration (corresponding to the beta subunit of the enzyme) but the undissociated 40-kDa heterodimer was never observed even in crude extracts. Heterologous expression experiments showed that the chromatographic behaviour of IAT was determined by the source of the penDE gene used in the expression experiments and not by the host itself. When the penDE gene of A. nidulans was expressed in P. chrysogenum npe6 and npe8 or in Acremonium chrysogenum, the IAT formed had a molecular mass of 40 kDa. On the other hand, when the penDE gene originating from P. chrysogenum was expressed in A. chrysogenum, the active IAT had a molecular mass of 29 kDa. The intronless form of the penDE gene cloned from an A. nidulans cDNA library and overexpressed in Escherichia coli formed the enzymatically active 40-kDa proIAT, which was not self-processed as shown by immunoblotting with antibodies to IAT. This 40-kDa protein remained unprocessed even when treated with A. nidulans crude extract. In contrast, the P. chrysogenum penDE intronless gene cloned from a cDNA library was expressed in E. coli, and the IAT was self-processed efficiently into its alpha (29 kDa) and beta (11 kDa) subunits. It is concluded that P. chrysogenum and A. nidulans differ in their ability to self-process their respective proIAT protein and to maintain the alpha and beta subunits as an undissociated heterodimer, probably because of the amino-acid sequence differences in the proIAT which affect the autocatalytic activity.     

Development of a new transformant selection system for Penicillium chrysogenum: isolation and characterization of the P. chrysogenum acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase gene (facA) and its use as a homologous selection marker

A new transformation system for the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum is described, based on the use of the homologous acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase (facA) gene as a selection marker. Acetate-non-utilizing (Fac^–) strains of P. chrysogenum were obtained by positive selection for spontaneous resistance to fluoroacetate. Among these fac mutants putative facA strains were selected for a loss of acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase activity. The facA gene, coding for the enzyme acetyl-CoA synthetase, was isolated from a P. chrysogenum genomic library using synthetic oligonucleotides derived from conserved regions from the corresponding genes of Aspergillus nidulans and Neurospora crassa. Vector pPC2-3, comprising a genomic 6.5 kb PstI fragment, was able to complement P. chrysogenum facA strains with frequencies up to 27 transformants·g^–1 DNA. Direct selection of transformants was accomplished using acetate and low amounts (0.001%) of glucose as carbon sources. About 50% of the transformants arose by integration of pPC2-3 DNA at the homologous facA locus and 50% by integration elsewhere in the genome. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of part of the cloned fragment showed the presence of an open reading frame of 2007 nucleotides, interrupted by five putative introns. Comparison of the nucleotide and the amino acid sequence of the facA gene of P. chrysogenum with the facA gene of A. nidulans reveals similarities of 80% and 89%, respectively. The putative introns present in the P. chrysogenum facA gene appear at identical positions as those in the A. nidulans facA gene, but show no significant sequence similarity. Correspondence to: R. F. M.van Gorcom     

Transformation of Penicillium chrysogenum using dominant selection markers and expression of an Escherichia coli lacZ fusion gene

An industrial Penicillium chrysogenum strain was transformed using two dominant selection markers, namely the bacterial gene for phleomycin resistance (ble) fused to a fungal promoter, and the acetamidase (amdS) gene from Aspergillus nidulans. Transformation frequencies of up to 20 transformants per microgram of DNA were obtained with the ble system. With the amdS marker the frequency was up to 120 transformants. Cotransformation was very efficient when using amdS as a selection marker. The introduction of pAN5-41B, a plasmid carrying the Escherichia coli lacZ gene fused to the strong glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (gpd) promoter from A. nidulans, resulted in the formation of blue colonies on XGal plates indicating expression of the lacZ fusion gene in P. chrysogenum. A more detailed analysis of expression levels in several transformants showed that up to 6% of the total amount of soluble protein consists of the beta-galactosidase fusion protein.