Mutations affecting extracellular protease production in the filamentous fungusAspergillus nidulans

The extracellular proteases ofAspergillus nidulans are known to be regulated by carbon, nitrogen and sulphur metabolite repression. In this study, a mutant with reduced levels of extracellular protease was isolated by screening for loss of halo production on milk plates. Genetic analysis of the mutant showed that it contains a single, recessive mutation, in a gene which we have designatedxprE, located on chromosome VI. ThexprE1 mutation affected the production of extracellular proteases in response to carbon, nitrogen and, to a lesser extent, sulphur limitation. Three reversion mutations,xprF1, xprF2 andxprG1, which suppressxprE1, were characterised. BothxprF andxprG map to chromosome VII but the two genes are unlinked. ThexprF1, xprF2 andxprG1 mutants showed high levels of milk-clearing activity on medium containing milk as a carbon source but reduced growth on a number of nitrogen sources. Evidence is presented that thexprE1 andxprG1 mutations alter expression of more than one protease and affect levels of alkaline protease gene mRNA.     

The Aspergillus nidulans xprF gene encodes a hexokinase-like protein involved in the regulation of extracellular proteases

The extracellular proteases of Aspergillus nidulans are produced in response to limitation of carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur, even in the absence of exogenous protein. Mutations in the A. nidulans xprF and xprG genes have been shown to result in elevated levels of extracellular protease in response to carbon limitation. The xprF gene was isolated and sequence analysis indicates that it encodes a 615-amino-acid protein, which represents a new type of fungal hexokinase or hexokinase-like protein. In addition to their catalytic role, hexokinases are thought to be involved in triggering carbon catabolite repression. Sequence analysis of the xprF1 and xprF2 alleles showed that both alleles contain nonsense mutations. No loss of glucose or fructose phosphorylating activity was detected in xprF1 or xprF2 mutants. There are two possible explanations for this observation: (1) the xprF gene may encode a minor hexokinase or (2) the xprF gene may encode a protein with no hexose phosphorylating activity. Genetic evidence suggests that the xprF and xprG genes are involved in the same regulatory pathway. Support for this hypothesis was provided by the identification of a new class of xprG(-) mutation that suppresses the xprF1 mutation and results in a protease-deficient phenotype.     

Dominant mutations affecting expression of pH-regulated genes inYarrowia lipolytica

In the yeastYarrowia lipolytica the levels of the alkaline extracellular protease (AEP) and acid extracellular protease (AXP) are controlled by the pH of the growth medium. When the pH of growth medium is kept close to 4.0, levels of AXP are high and those of AEP are low, whereas at pH above 6.0 the opposite is true. Mutations which mimic the effects on the protease system of growth at alkaline pH have been identified in two genes,RPH1 andRPH2, inY. lipolytica. Detailed genetic studies showed that mutations in these two genes are dominant in heterozygous diploids, and that their effects are additive in haploid double mutants. These mutants show that pH regulates AEP expression independently from other metabolic signals. These mutants are not detectably affected in their growth rates, nor in internal pH homeostasis.     

A new mutation inEscherichia coli K12,isfA, which is responsible for inhibition of SOS functions

A new mutation inEscherichia coli K12,isfA, is described, which causes inhibition of SOS functions. The mutation, discovered in a ΔpolA ⁺ mutant, is responsible for inhibition of several phenomena related to the SOS response inpolA ⁺ strains: UV- and methyl methanesulfonate-induced mutagenesis, resumption of DNA replication in UV-irradiated cells, cell filamentation, prophage induction and increase in UV sensitivity. TheisfA mutation also significantly reduces UV-induced expression of β-galactosidase fromrecA::lacZ andumuC′::lacZ fusions. The results suggest that theisfA gene product may affect RecA^* coprotease activity and may be involved in the regulation of the termination of the SOS response after completion of DNA repair. TheisfA mutation was localized at 85 min on theE. coli chromosome, and preliminary experiments suggest that it may be dominant to the wild-type allele.     

sarA‐mediated repression of protease production plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus USA300 isolates

Mutation of staphylococcal accessory regulator (sarA) results in increased production of extracellular proteases in Staphylococcus aureus, which has been correlated with decreased biofilm formation and decreased accumulation of extracellular toxins. We used murine models of implant‐associated biofilm infection and S. aureus bacteraemia (SAB) to compare virulence of USA300 strain LAC, its isogenic sarA mutant, and derivatives of each of these strains with mutations in all 10 of the genes encoding recognized extracellular proteases. The sarA mutant was attenuated in both models, and this was reversed by eliminating production of extracellular proteases. To examine the mechanistic basis, we identified proteins impacted by sarA in a protease‐dependent manner. We identified 253 proteins where accumulation was reduced in the sarA mutant compared with the parent strain, and was restored in the sarA/protease mutant. Additionally, in SAB, the LAC protease mutant exhibited a hypervirulent phenotype by comparison with the isogenic parent strain, demonstrating that sarA also positively regulates production of virulence factors, some of which are subject to protease‐mediated degradation. We propose a model in which attenuation of sarA mutants is defined by their inability to produce critical factors and simultaneously repress production of extracellular proteases that would otherwise limit accumulation of virulence factors.     

Tissue-Specific Repression of Starvation and Stress Responses of theNeurospora crassa con-10Gene Is Mediated by RCO1

TheNeurospora crassa con-10gene is weakly expressed in mycelia but is induced approximately 1000-fold during macroconidiation. Studies of the promoter elements andtrans-acting factors that regulatecon-10expression are needed to gain a detailed understanding of developmental regulation. Therco-1mutant displays a 10-fold elevated basal level of expression ofcon-10.In contrast to the wild type,con-10expression in mycelia of therco-1mutant was rapidly induced to high levels by starvation for carbon or nitrogen and by heat shock. Althoughcon-10is developmentally induced late in conidiation,con-10was inducible by heat shock shortly after exposure of the wild-type mycelium to air. These findings support the view that RCO1 is a cell type-specific repressor ofcon-10.We propose that inactivation of RCO1 allows developing conidiophores to adjust the timing ofcon-10induction in response to stress.     

Genetic mapping of cadmium resistance mutations inBacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis, which accumulates cadnium via the manganese transport system, may acquire cadmium resistance by chromosomal mutations that reduce Cd²⁺ uptake without affecting Mn²⁺ transport. A cadmium resistance mutation,cdr-1, maps at about 40° on theB. subtilis chromosome. The deduced map order wasarol-narB-mtlB-cdr-dal-purB. Thecdr mutations in four other, independently isolated Cd²⁺-resistant mutants demonstrating reduced Cd²⁺ uptake also mapped betweenaroI anddal.     

NUT1, a major nitrogen regulatory gene inMagnaporthe grisea, is dispensable for pathogenicity

NUT1, a gene homologous to the major nitrogen regulatory genesnit-2 ofNeurospora crassa andareA ofAspergillus nidulans, was isolated from the rice blast fungus,Magnaporthe grisea. NUT1 encodes a protein of 956 amino acid residues and, likenit-2 andareA, has a single putative zinc finger DNA-binding domain. Functional equivalence ofNUT1 toareA was demonstrated by introducing theNUT1 gene by DNA-mediated transformation into anareA loss-of-function mutant ofA. nidulans. The introducedNUT1 gene fully complemented theareA null mutation, restoring to the mutant the ability to utilize a variety of nitrogen sources. In addition, the sensitivity ofAspergillus NUT1 transformants to ammonium repression of extracellular protease activity was comparable to that of wild-typeA. nidulans. Thus,NUT1 andareA encode functionally equivalent gene products that activate expression of nitrogen-regulated genes. A one-step gene disruption strategy was used to generatenutl ^– mutants ofM. grisea by transforming a rice-infecting strain with a disruption vector in which a gene for hygromycin B phosphotransferase (Hyg) replaced the zinc-finger DNA-binding motif ofNUT1. Of 31 hygromycin B (hyg B)-resistant transformants shown by Southern hybridization to contain a disruptedNUT1 gene (nut1::Hyg), 26 resulted from single-copy replacement events at theNUT1 locus. Althoughnut1 ^– transformants ofM. grisea failed to grown on a variety of nitrogen sources, glutamate, proline and alanine could still be utilized. This contrasts withA. nidulans where disruption of the zinc-finger region ofareA prevents utilization of nitrogen sources other than ammonium and glutamine. The role ofNUT1 and regulation of nitrogen metabolism in the disease process was evaluated by pathogenicity assays. The infection efficiency ofnut1 ^– transformants on susceptible rice plants was similar to that of the parental strain, although lesions were reduced in size. These studies demonstrate that theM. grisea NUT1 gene activates expression of nitrogen-regulated genes but is dispensable for pathogenicity.     

Characterization of three putative Lon proteases of Thermus thermophilus HB27 and use of their defective mutants as hosts for production of heterologous proteins

In the genome of a thermophilic bacterium, Thermus thermophilus HB27, three genes, TTC0418, TTC0746 and TTC1975, were annotated as ATP-dependent protease La (Lon). Sequence comparisons indicated that TTC0418 and TTC0746 showed significant similarities to bacterial LonA-type proteases, such as Escherichia coli Lon protease, especially in regions corresponding to domains for ATP-binding and hydrolysis, and for proteolysis, but TTC1975 exhibited a similarity only at the C-terminal proteolytic domain. The enzymatic analyses, using purified recombinant proteins produced by E. coli, revealed that TTC0418 and TTC0746 exhibited peptidase and protease activities against two synthetic peptides and casein, respectively, in an ATP-dependent manner, and at the same time, both the enzymes had significant ATPase activities in the presence of substrates. On the other hand, TTC1975 possessed a protease activity against casein, but addition of ATP did not enhance this activity. Moreover, a T. thermophilus mutant deficient in both TTC0418 and TTC0746 showed a similar growth characteristic to an E. coli lon mutant, i.e., a growth defect lag after a nutritional downshift. These results indicate that TTC0418 and TTC0746 are actually members of bacterial LonA-type proteases with different substrate specificities, whereas TTC1975 should not be classified as a Lon protease. Finally, the effects of mutations deficient in these proteases were assessed on production of several heterologous gene products from Pyrococcus horikoshii and Geobacillus stearothermophilus. It was shown that TTC0746 mutation was more effective in improving production than the other two mutations, especially for production of P. horikoshii α-mannosidase and G. stearothermophilus α-amylase, indicating that the TTC0746 mutant of T. thermophilus HB27 may be useful for production of heterologous proteins from thermophiles and hyperthermophiles.     

σs-dependent overexpression offtsZ in anEscherichia coli K-12 rpoB mutant that is resistant to the division inhibitors DicB and DicF RNA

TheEscherichia coli genesdicF anddicB encode division inhibitors, which prevent the synthesis and activity, respectively, of the essential division protein FtsZ. A mutation at the C-terminal end of the RNA polymerase subunit renders cells resistant to both inhibitors. In the mutant strain the level of theftsZ gene product is higher than in the wild type. Disruption ofrpoS, which encodes the stationary phase sigma factor ^S, lowers FtsZ protein levels in the mutant, and partially restores sensitivity to the inhibitors.     

Isolation and characterization of Perkinsus marinus proteases using bacitracin–sepharose affinity chromatography

Extracellular proteases were isolated from the cell-free culture supernatant of the oyster-pathogenic protozoan, Perkinsus marinus, by bacitracin–sepharose affinity chromatography. The purified protease fractions contained >75% of the protease activity initially loaded onto the column with very high specific activity that corresponded to 8–11-fold level of protease enrichment. The isolated proteases hydrolysed a variety of protein substrates including oyster plasma. All of the isolated P. marinus proteases belonged to the serine class of proteases. Inhibitor studies involving spectrophotometric assay and gelatin gel electrophoresis showed high levels of inhibition in the presence of the serine protease inhibitors PMSF, benzamidine and chymostatin, whereas inhibitors of cysteine, aspartic, and metalloproteases showed little or no inhibition. Spectrophotometric assays involving serine-specific peptide substrates further revealed that the isolated proteases belong to the class of chymotrypsin-like serine proteases. A 41.7 kDa monomeric, N-glycosylated, serine protease (designated Perkinsin) has been identified as the major P. marinus extracellular protease.     

The effect of spo0 mutations on the expression of spo0A- and spo0F-lacZ fusions

Summary We have constructedspo0A-lacZ andspo0F-lacZ fusions with a temperate phage vector and have investigated howspo0 gene products are involved in the expression of each of these genes. The expression ofspo0A-lacZ andspo0F-lacZ was stimulated at about the time of cessation of vegetative growth in Spo⁺ cells. This stimulation ofspo0A-lacZ was impaired by mutations in thespo0B, D, E, F orH genes but was not affected by mutations in thespo0J orK genes. Similar results were obtained with thespo0F-lacZ fusion. The effect of thespo0A mutation onspo0A-lacZ expression was characteristic: thespo0A-directed β-galactosidase activity found during vegetative growth was significantly enhanced in thespo0A mutant. This result suggests thatspo0A gene expression is autoregulated being repressed by its own gene product. Another remarkable observation was the effect of thesof-1 mutation, which is known to be aspo0A allele; it suppressed the sporulation deficiency ofspo0B, spo0D andspo0F mutants. Thespo0A-lacZ stimulation, which is impaired by any one of thesespo0 mutations, was restored by the additionalsof-1 mutation.     

Extracellular proteases produced by the wood-degrading fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium under ligninolytic and non-ligninolytic conditions

When subjected to nitrogen limitation, the wood-degrading fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium produces two groups of secondary metabolic, extracellular isoenzymes that depolymerize lignin in wood: lignin peroxidases and manganese peroxidases. We have shown earlier the turnover in activity of the lignin peroxidases to be due in part to extracellular proteolytic activity. This paper reports the electrophoretic characterization of two sets of acidic extracellular proteases produced by submerged cultures of P. chrysosporium. The protease activity seen on day 2 of incubation, during primary growth when nitrogen levels are not known to be limiting, consisted of at least six proteolytic bands ranging in size from 82 to 22 kDa. The activity of this primary protease was strongly reduced in the presence of SDS. Following the day 2, when nitrogen levels are known to become limiting and cultures become ligninolytic, the main protease activity (secondary protease) consisted of a major proteolytic band of 76 kDa and a minor band of 25 kDa. The major and minor secondary protease activities were inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and pepstatin A, respectively. When cultures were grown in the presence of excess nitrogen (non-ligninolytic condition), the primary protease remained the principal protease throughout the culture period. These results identify and characterize a specific proteolytic activity associated with conditions that promote lignin degradation.     

Detection of extracellular protease activity in different species and genera of ectomycorrhizal fungi

In northern forest ecosystems, most soil nitrogen (N) is in organic form and forest trees are largely dependent on ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and their degradative abilities for N uptake. The ability of ECM fungi to acquire N from organic substrates should, therefore, be a widespread trait given its ecological importance. However, little is known about the degradative abilities of most ECM fungi as they remain untested due to problems of isolation or extremely slow growth in pure culture. In this paper, we present data on extracellular protease activity of 32 species of ECM fungi, most of which have not previously been cultured. Milk powder plates and zymograms were compared for detecting protease activity in these intractable species. In total, 29/32 of the species produced extracellular protease activity, but detection was method dependent. Growth on milk powder plates detected protease activity in 28 of 32 species, while zymograms only detected proteases in Amanita muscaria, Russula chloroides, Lactarius deterrimus and Lactarius quieticolor. The study supports the hypothesis that protease excretion is a widespread physiological trait in ECM fungi and that this ability is of considerable significance for nitrogen uptake in forest ecosystems.     

Effect of aeration and agitation on the protease production by S<Emphasis Type="Italic">taphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> mutant RC128 in a stirred tank bioreactor

The modified rotating simplex method has been successfully used to determine the best combination of agitation rate and aeration rate for maximum production of extracellular proteases by Staphylococcus aureus mutant RC128, in a stirred tank bioreactor operated in a discontinuous way. This mutant has shown altered exoprotein production, specially enhanced protease production. Maximum production of proteases (15.28 UP/ml), measured using azocasein as a substrate, was obtained at exponential growth phase when the bioreactor was operated at 300 rpm and at 2 vvm with a volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (K _L a) of 175.75 h⁻¹. These conditions were found to be more suitable for protease production.     

Deletion mutation as a means of isolating avirulence genes in flax rust

Summary The interaction between flax rust,Melampsora lini, and its host, flax,Linum usitatissimum, has been extensively studied, and certain genetic features make the system an appropriate choice to utilize in isolating genes conferring avirulence in rust. A mutant that was selected for virulence on Lx plants was isolated, after treatment with gamma rays, from a strain that is genotypicallyA-L5,A-L6,A-L7,A-Lx/A-L5,A-L6,a-L7,a-Lx. These four specificities are tightly linked. Breeding tests showed that this mutant was genotypicallyA-L5,A-L6,a-L7,a-Lx/a-L5,a-L6,a-L7,a-Lx and, when made homozygous for the mutant chromosome, was virulent onL5,L6,L7, andLx. This result excludes somatic recombination as a source of the mutation and indicates deletion as a likely cause. A 250 bp genomic sequence from a strain of rust homozygous for these four linked avirulence genes (A-L5,A-L6,A-L7,A-Lx) was isolated, using a method that allows the differential cloning of the specific DNA sequences located within a deletion in the mutant genome. This clone hybridized to two EcoRI bands in genomic DNA from the strain homozygous for the four linked avirulence genes and from the strain homozygousA-L5 andA-L6 and heterozygousA-L7 andA-Lx, but showed no homology to DNA from the strain carrying the putative chromosomal deletion. The correlation between the genetically characterized deletion mutation and the isolation of a sequence from within a region of chromosome missing from this strain of rust suggests that this 250 bp tract may be part of, or closely linked to, the defined set of avirulence genes.     

The genetic analysis of regulation of amidase synthesis in Aspergillus nidulans. I. Mutants able to utilize acrylamide

Summary Aspergillus nidulans uses an acetamidase enzyme to grow on acetamide as a carbon or as a nitrogen source. Acrylamide is a substrate for the enzyme but does not induce its synthesis. Mutants capable of growing on acrylamide as a nitrogen source have been isolated. Two classes of mutant have been found —amdR ^c mutants on linkage group II andamdT ^c on linkage group III.amdR ^c mutants produce high constitutive acetamidase levels. The enzyme is still inducible by amides, but to a lesser extent than wild type, and is still subject to repression by ammonia and by carbon metabolites derived from glucose.amdR ^c mutants are semi-dominant to the wild type allele in heterozygous, diploids. TheamdT ^c mutant is not subject to carbon metabolite repression, of the acetamidase. The enzyme is inducible by amides and repressible by ammonia. TheamdT ^c mutation also results in reduced ability to grow on formamide as a nitrogen source and to lowered levels of a second amidase enzyme.amdT ^c is semi-dominant in heterozygous diploids.     

Role of an extracellular neutral protease in infection against nematodes by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brevibacillus laterosporus</Emphasis> strain G4

Proteases have been proposed as virulence factors in microbial pathogenicity against nematodes. However, what kinds of extracellular proteases from these pathogens and how they contribute to the pathogenesis of infections against nematode in vivo remain largely unknown. A previous analysis using a strain with a deletion in an extracellular alkaline protease BLG4 gene from Brevibacillus laterosporus demonstrated that BLG4 was responsible for the majority of nematicidal activity by destroying host’s cuticle. In recent studies, a neutral protease NPE-4, purified from the mutant BLG4–6, was found to be responsible for the majority of the remaining EDTA-inhibited protease activity. However, the purified NPE-4 and recombinant NPE-4 in a related species Bacillus subtilis showed little nematicidal activity in vitro and were unable to degrade the intact cuticle of the host. It is interesting to note that the addition of NPE-4 improved the pathogenicity of crude enzyme extract from wild-type B. laterosporus but had no effect on the BLG4-deficient mutant. This result suggests that NPE-4 functions in the presence of protease BLG4. Moreover, NPE-4 could degrade proteins from the inner layer of purified cuticles from nematode Panagrellus redivivus in vitro. These results indicated that the two different bacterial extracellular proteases might play differential roles at different stages of infection or a synthetic role in penetration of nematode cuticle in B. laterosporus. This is among the first reports to systematically evaluate and define the roles of different bacterial extracellular proteases in infection against nematodes.