Shuttle cloning vectors for the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans.

Hybrid plasmids capable of acting as shuttle cloning vectors in Escherichia coli and the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2 were constructed by in vitro ligation. DNA from the small endogenous plasmid of A. nidulans was combined with two E. coli vectors, pBR325 and pDPL13, to create vectors containing either two selectable antibiotic resistance markers or a single marker linked to a flexible multisite polylinker. Nonessential DNA was deleted from the polylinker containing plasmid pPLAN B2 to produce a small shuttle vector carrying part of the polylinker (pCB4). The two polylinker-containing shuttle vectors, pPLAN B2 and pCB4, transform both E. coli and A. nidulans efficiently and provide seven and five unique restriction enzyme sites, respectively, for the insertion of a variety of DNA fragments. The hybrid plasmid derived from pBR325 (pECAN1) also transforms both E. coli and A. nidulans, although at a lower frequency, and contains two unique restriction enzyme sites.     

A hybrid plasmid is a stable cloning vector for the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2.

Anacystis nidulans R2 is a highly transformable strain which is suitable as a recipient for molecular cloning in cyanobacteria. In an effort to produce an appropriate cloning vector, we constructed a hybrid plasmid molecule, pSG111, which contained pBR328 from Escherichia coli and the native pUH24 plasmid of A. nidulans. pSG111 replicated in and conferred ampicillin and chloramphenicol resistance to both hosts. It contained unique sites for the restriction enzymes EcoRI, SalI, SphI, and XhoI, which could be used for the insertion of exogenous DNA. To demonstrate that a molecule like pSG111 could serve as a shuttle vector for the cloning of A. nidulans genes, we constructed a hybrid plasmid, pRNA404, containing an A. nidulans rRNA operon. This recombinant molecule was genetically and structurally stable during passage through A. nidulans and E. coli. The stability of the hybrid plasmid and the inserted rRNA operon demonstrates the feasibility of cloning in A. nidulans with hybrid vectors, with the subsequent retrieval of cloned sequences.     

A new approach for molecular cloning in cyanobacteria: cloning of an Anacystis nidulans met gene using a Tn901-induced mutant

A new strategy for molecular cloning in the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R-2 is described. This strategy involved the use of a transposon and was developed for the cloning of a gene encoding methionine biosynthesis. A met::Tn901 mutant was isolated. Chromosomal DNA fragments were cloned in the Escherichia coli plasmid vector pACYC184. A recombinant plasmid carrying the inactivated met::Tn901 gene was selected after transformation to E. coli. The cloned met::Tn901 DNA fragment was used as a probe to select the corresponding A. nidulans R-2 wild-type met gene from a gene library prepared in E. coli, using the newly constructed shuttle cosmid vector pPUC29. When transformed into A. nidulans Met- mutants, this cloned gene allowed the mutants to grow prototrophically.     

Versatile shuttle cloning vectors for the unicellular cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2

Abstract 3 new shuttle cloning vectors for gene transfer into Escherichia coli and Anacystis nidulans have been constructed by utilizing the cyanobacterial origin of replication of the small plasmid pANS from A. nidulans . 2 of these new vectors, pXB7 (pDPL13 derivative) and pECAN8 (pUC8 derivative), convey ampicillin resistance, and transform A. nidulans with relatively high frequencies. Vector pXB7 has 10 unique cloning sites; pECAN8 contains 4 cloning sites within the lacZ gene permitting rapid detection of DNA inserts in the presence of Xgal. The third vector, pKBX, has a lower transformation frequency but adds kanamycin resistance as a selectable gene for shuttle vectors of cyanobacteria.     

瑞氏木霉表达黑曲霉葡萄糖氧化酶

利用高表达分泌纤维素酶的真菌瑞氏木霉表达重组的黑曲霉葡萄糖氧化酶。在大肠杆菌DH5α中构建瑞氏木霉纤维素酶CBHI启动子和CBHI信号肽基因黑曲霉葡萄糖氧化酶基因瑞氏木霉纤维素酶CBHI终止子构巢曲霉的甘油醛3磷酸脱氢酶启动子大肠杆菌抗潮霉素B磷酸转移酶基因构巢曲霉色氨酸C终止子pUC19(命名为pCBHGOD)质粒,线性化后用瑞氏木霉纤维素酶CBHI启动子和CBHI信号肽基因黑曲霉葡萄糖氧化酶基因瑞氏木霉纤维素酶CBHI终止子构巢曲霉的甘油醛3磷酸脱氢酶启动子大肠杆菌抗潮霉素B磷酸转移酶基因构巢曲霉色氨酸C终止子(命名为CBHGOD)核酸片段转化瑞氏木霉QM9414原生质体。用PCR扩增方法筛选出同源重组葡萄糖氧化酶基因的瑞士木霉突变株。用麦杆诱导瑞氏木霉突变株,生产黑曲霉葡萄糖氧化酶,Westernblot分析重组的葡萄糖氧化酶分子量与Sigma公司的天然黑曲霉葡萄糖氧化酶一致,生产的重组酶活性25umL,相当于Sigma公司葡萄糖氧化酶标准品的产量为0.5gL。瑞氏木霉可用于生产黑曲霉葡萄糖氧化酶。     

Construction of a hybrid plasmid capable of replication in the bacterium Escherichia coli and the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans.

A hybrid plasmid was constructed between the 5.3-megadalton plasmid (pUH24) of Anacystis nidulans R2 and the Escherichia coli plasmid pBR322. This was accomplished by adding a transposon to pBR322 and transforming this DNA into A. nidulans. One resultant hybrid, pLS103, had a molecular weight of 6.8 x 10(6), replicated in both organisms, had unique sites for two restriction endonucleases, conferred ampicillin resistance on both organisms, and could be used as a cloning vector in A. nidulans.     

Deletion of <Emphasis Type="Italic"> Aspergillus nidulans </Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">aroC</Emphasis> using a novel blaster module that combines ET cloning and marker rescue

Blaster cassettes are of significant value in functional genomics, as they represent tools with which to inactivate duplicated or homologous genes in an individual organism. We have constructed a novel blaster module which allows repeated gene deletion in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Because bacterial resistance marker cassettes are employed as flanking repeats in direct orientation, the blaster cassette is suited for recombinogenic engineering by ET cloning in Escherichia coli. The functionality of the blaster module was demonstrated by deleting the chorismate mutase-encoding gene aroC of A. nidulans, followed by marker rescue based on mitotic recombination. The resulting aroCDelta strains are auxotrophic for phenylalanine but not tyrosine, and display a limited capacity for fruit body formation and ascosporogenesis, which depends on the phenylalanine/tyrosine supply. The data support the notion that amino acid status has a strong impact on cleistothecium development in A. nidulans.     

Cloning and mapping of fourteen different DNA fragments containing Aspergillus nidulans 5S rRNA genes

Fourteen different plasmids hybridizing to Aspergillus nidulans 5S rRNA were isolated from a gene bank obtained after cloning Sau3A partial digests of A. nidulans DNA in a yeast--Escherichia coli vector, pBB29. The restriction maps of these plasmids were determined. The size of the cloned fragments was 2.7-9.5 kb, 12 of the plasmids were found to code for single 5S rRNA genes and 2 coded for 2 genes. No similarity of the sequences surrounding the 5S rRNA genes was found by restriction mapping.     

Transformation of a mycoparasitic Trichoderma harzianum strain with the argB gene of Aspergillus nidulans

A transformation system was developed for the mycoparasitic filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum, based upon complementation of auxotrophic mutants. Prototrophic transformants were obtained using plasmids pSal23 and pAN5-41B, carrying the Aspergillus nidulans argB gene, and both the Aspergillus nidulans argB and Escherichia coli lacZ genes, respectively.     

Transformation of Aspergillus based on the hygromycin B resistance marker from Escherichia coli

A new, heterologous, dominant marker for selection of Aspergillus transformants is described. This marker is based on the Escherichia coli hygromycin B (HmB) phosphotransferase gene (hph). Expression of the hph gene is controlled by A. nidulans gpd and trpC expression signals. An Aspergillus transformation vector was constructed which contains this marker and confers HmB resistance to Aspergillus species. With both A. niger and A. nidulans, transformation frequencies of 5-20 transformants per micrograms vector DNA were obtained. Cotransformation with other vectors was shown to be very efficient in both species, when selection for HmB resistance was applied.     

Heterologous transformation of Cochliobolus lunatus

A DNA mediated transformation system has been developed for the filamentous fungus Cochliobolus lunatus. Transformants were obtained by using plasmid pAN 7-1 carrying the Escherichia coli hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene (hph) fused to an Aspergillus nidulans promoter. The integration of plasmid pAN 7-1 into the fungal genome altered the ability of this microorganism to transform progesterone.     

Thioredoxin is essential for photosynthetic growth. The thioredoxin m gene of Anacystis nidulans

We have taken advantage of the transformation properties of the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2 to investigate the importance of thioredoxin for photosynthetic growth. The gene encoding thioredoxin m, designated trxM, was cloned from A. nidulans using a synthetic oligonucleotide probe. Based on the nucleotide sequence, thioredoxin m of A. nidulans is composed of 107 amino acids and shares 84, 48, and 48% sequence identity with thioredoxins from Anabaena, spinach, and Escherichia coli, respectively. The trxM gene is single copy and is transcribed on a 510-nucleotide mRNA. We demonstrate that disruption of the trxM gene with a kanamycin resistance gene cartridge is a lethal mutation. Although dispensable in E. coli, thioredoxin is essential for the photosynthetic growth of A. nidulans.     

The complete nucleotide sequence of a 16S ribosomal RNA gene from a blue-green alga, Anacystis nidulans

The complete nucleotide sequence of a 16S ribosomal RNA gene from a blue-green alga, Anacystis nidulans, has been determined. Its coding region is estimated to be 1,487 base pairs long, which is nearly identical to those reported for chloroplast 16S rRNA genes and is about 4% shorter than that of the Escherichia coli gene. The 16S rRNA sequence of A. nidulans has 83% homology with that of tobacco chloroplast and 74% homology with that of E. coli. Possible stem and loop structures of A. nidulans 16S rRNA sequences resemble more closely those of chloroplast 16S rRNAs than those of E. coli 16S rRNA. These observations support the endosymbiotic theory of chloroplast origin.     

Nucleotide sequence of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene of the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans

Nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene (ppc) of the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans was determined. The ORF consists of 3159 bp and codes for 1053 amino acid (aa) residues. The codon usage of the ppc of A. nidulans is not so markedly different from that of the Escherichia coli ppc, yet, in A. nidulans the preferred codons are AAG for lysine and CCC for proline, whereas those are seldom used in the E. coli ppc.     

Construction of a new high-copy number shuttle vector of Bacillus thuringiensis

AIMS: Construction and characterization of a new cloning shuttle vector for gene transfer and expression in Bacillus thuringiensis. METHODS AND RESULTS: A novel short and high-copy number shuttle vector called pHBLBIV, was constructed for gene transfer and expression in Bacillus thuringiensis. A 1.6-kbp replicon of a relatively high-copy number endogenous plasmid of a selected B. thuringiensis strain was ligated to Escherichia coli pUC18 replicon containing the ampicillin and the erythromycin resistance genes used for the selection of respectively E. coli and B. thuringiensis transformants. The constructed vector was shown to have a high copy number compared with the conventional B. thuringiensis vectors, and used successfully for the transfer of vegetative insecticidal protein-encoding gene (vip) in between B. thuringiensis strains. CONCLUSIONS: A new shuttle vector of B. thuringiensis-E. coli named pHBLBIV was constructed. It was characterized by its high copy number, small size and segregational stability. This vector was successfully used for vip gene cloning and transfer in B. thuringiensis. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: A novel shuttle vector has been constructed, which has demonstrated potential for the cloning and expression of genes in B. thuringiensis.     

The role of the N-terminus of the large subunit of ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase investigated by construction and expression of chimaeric genes

The genes for the large and small subunits of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) from Anacystis nidulans have been expressed in Escherichia coli under the control of the lac promoter to produce active enzyme. The enzyme can be purified from the cells to yield up to 200 mg Rubisco/l cultured bacteria, and is indistinguishable from the enzyme extracted from A. nidulans. In order to investigate the role of the N-terminus of the large subunit in catalysis, chimaeric genes were constructed where the DNA coding for the 12 N-terminal amino acids in A. nidulans was replaced by DNA encoding the equivalent, but poorly conserved, region of either the wheat or maize large subunit. These genes, in constructs also containing the gene for the A. nidulans small subunit, were expressed in E. coli and produced enzymes with similar catalytic properties to the wild-type Rubisco of A. nidulans. In contrast, when the N-terminal region of the large subunit was replaced by unrelated amino acids encoded by the pUC8 polylinker, enzyme activity of the expressed protein was reduced by 90% under standard assay conditions, due to an approximately tenfold rise in the Km for ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate. This confirms that the N-terminus of the large subunit has a function in catalysis, either directly in substrate binding or in maintaining the integrity of the active site.     

Cloning of a third nitrate reductase gene from the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2 using a shuttle cosmid library

A strategy for gene cloning in the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2 was developed which made use of a gene library constructed in a shuttle cosmid vector. The method involved phenotypic complementation of mutants with pooled cosmid DNA. The development of the procedure and its application to the cloning of a third gene involved in nitrate reduction are described.