The tamA gene of Aspergillus nidulans contains a putative zinc cluster motif which is not required for gene function.

Expression of many nitrogen catabolic enzymes is controlled by nitrogen metabolite repression in Aspergillus nidulans. Although the phenotypes of tamA mutants have implicated this gene in nitrogen regulation, its function is unknown. We have cloned the tamA gene by complementation of a new tamA allele. The tamA sequence shares significant homology with the UGA35/DAL81/DURL gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In vitro mutagenesis of sequences encoding a putative zinc cluster DNA binding domain indicated that this motif is not required for in vivo TamA function.     

The DAL81 gene product is required for induced expression of two differently regulated nitrogen catabolic genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We demonstrate that the DAL81 gene, previously thought to be specifically required for induced expression of the allantoin pathway genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, functions in a more global manner. The data presented show it to be required for utilization of 4-aminobutyrate as a nitrogen source and for 4-aminobutyrate-induced increases in the steady-state levels of UGA1 mRNA. The DAL81 gene encodes a 970-amino-acid protein containing sequences homologous to the Zn(II)2Cys6 motif and two stretches of polyglutamine residues. Deletion of sequences homologous to the Zn(II)2Cys6 motif did not result in a detectable loss of function. On the other hand, loss of one of the polyglutamine stretches, but not the other, resulted in a 50% loss of DAL81 function.     

Identification and characterization of the asperthecin gene cluster of Aspergillus nidulans

The sequencing of Aspergillus genomes has revealed that the products of a large number of secondary metabolism pathways have not yet been identified. This is probably because many secondary metabolite gene clusters are not expressed under normal laboratory culture conditions. It is, therefore, important to discover conditions or regulatory factors that can induce the expression of these genes. We report that the deletion of sumO, the gene that encodes the small ubiquitin-like protein SUMO in A. nidulans, caused a dramatic increase in the production of the secondary metabolite asperthecin and a decrease in the synthesis of austinol/dehydroaustinol and sterigmatocystin. The overproduction of asperthecin in the sumO deletion mutant has allowed us, through a series of targeted deletions, to identify the genes required for asperthecin synthesis. The asperthecin biosynthesis genes are clustered and include genes encoding an iterative type I polyketide synthase, a hydrolase, and a monooxygenase. The identification of these genes allows us to propose a biosynthetic pathway for asperthecin.     

调控通路内基因表达的相关性分析

本研究从基因表达调控通路的角度分析了基因功能与基因表达之间的关系,利用7套酿酒酵母基因芯片表达谱数据和通路数据库（KEGG和CYGD）所提供的信息,应用我们研制的Genehub软件分析研究了同一基因表达调控通路内的基因在mRNA表达水平上的相关性,共涉及16条通路,495个基因。通过Pearson相关系数和Spearman相关系数两种相似性测度的分析,我们发现有94%（15条）的基因表达调控通路内的基因在大于等于4套的表达谱数据中是共表达的,以上结果从基因表达调控通路的角度,证实了基因功能与基因表达之间存在着一定的相关性。     

Regulation of growth and metabolism by imprinted genes

A small sub-set of mammalian genes are subject to regulation by genomic imprinting such that only one parental allele is active in at least some sites of expression. Imprinted genes have diverse functions, notably including the regulation of growth. Much attention has been devoted to the insulin-like growth factor signalling pathway that has a major influence on fetal size and contains two components encoded by the oppositely imprinted genes, Igf2 (a growth promoting factor expressed from the paternal allele) and Igf2r (a growth inhibitory factor expressed from the maternal allele). These genes fit the parent-offspring conflict hypothesis for the evolution of genomic imprinting. Accumulated evidence indicates that at least one other fetal growth pathway exists that has also fallen under the influence of imprinting. It is clear that not all components of growth regulatory pathways are encoded by imprinted genes and instead it may be that within a pathway the influence of a single gene by each of the parental genomes may be sufficient for parent-offspring conflict to be enacted. A number of imprinted genes have been found to influence energy homeostasis and some, including Igf2 and Grb10, may coordinate growth with glucose-regulated metabolism. Since perturbation of fetal growth can be correlated with metabolic disorders in adulthood these imprinted genes are considered as candidates for involvement in this phenomenon of fetal programming.     

硒蛋白的分子生物学研究进展

已有35种硒蛋白被分离和表征,但许多硒蛋白及其功能仍未完全阐明.硒半胱氨酸(Sec)作为参入蛋白质的第21种氨基酸,由硒蛋白mRNA上的UGA编码.在原核生物,Sec参入硒蛋白的复杂机制已经较为明确,需要四种基因产物（SELA、SELB、SELC和SELD）和一个存在于硒蛋白mRNA上的被称为Sec插入序列(SECIS)的茎环(stem loop)样二级结构.在真核生物,硒蛋白生物合成途径可能在SECIS的结构和位置、特异的延伸因子及其他RNA-RNA或RNA-蛋白质因子之间的相互作用等方面与原核生物不同.另外,哺乳动物硒蛋白mRNA上的UGA翻译为Sec的过程低效,特定位点的UGA密码子不同功能(终止密码和Sec密码)的调控可能是硒蛋白表达低效的关键.     

A Global Metabolic Shift Is Linked to Salmonella Multicellular Development

Bacteria can elaborate complex patterns of development that are dictated by temporally ordered patterns of gene expression, typically under the control of a master regulatory pathway. For some processes, such as biofilm development, regulators that initiate the process have been identified but subsequent phenotypic changes such as stress tolerance do not seem to be under the control of these same regulators. A hallmark feature of biofilms is growth within a self-produced extracellular matrix. In this study we used metabolomics to compare Salmonella cells in rdar colony biofilms to isogenic csgD deletion mutants that do not produce an extracellular matrix. The two populations show distinct metabolite profiles. Even though CsgD controls only extracellular matrix production, metabolite signatures associated with cellular adaptations associated with stress tolerances were present in the wild type but not the mutant cells. To further explore these differences we examine the temporal gene expression of genes implicated in biofilm development and stress adaptations. In wild type cells, genes involved in a metabolic shift to gluconeogenesis and various stress-resistance pathways exhibited an ordered expression profile timed with multicellular development even though they are not CsgD regulated. In csgD mutant cells, the ordered expression was lost. We conclude that the induction of these pathways results from production of, and growth within, a self produced matrix rather than elaboration of a defined genetic program. These results predict that common physiological properties of biofilms are induced independently of regulatory pathways that initiate biofilm formation.     

Genetic regulation of differentiation towards meiosis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Normally, meiosis and sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae occur only in diploid strains and only when the cells are exposed to starvation conditions. Diploidy is determined by the mating-type system (the genes MAT, RME1, IME1), whereas the starvation signal is transmitted through the adenylate cyclase - protein kinase pathway (the genes CDC25, RAS2, CDC35 (CYR1), BCY1, TPK1, TPK2, TPK3). The two regulatory pathways converge at the gene IME1, which is a positive regulator of meiosis and whose early expression in sporulating cells correlates with the initiation of meiosis. Sites upstream (5') of IME1 appear to mediate in the repression of the gene by repressors originating from both the mating-type and the cyclase--kinase pathways.