A Novel Plasmid Gene Involved in Bacteriophage PRD1 Infection and Conjugative Host-Range

PRD1 infects bacteria carrying IncN plasmids by binding to their conjugative pili. Mutations in a plasmid locuskikAclose to the pilus region result in PRD1 resistance and reduced conjugation proficiency toKlebsiellabut not toEscherichia coli.One of the two genes ofkikAis sufficient to restore both normal phenotypes. PRD1 binds to cells carrying the mutant plasmid but fails to inject its genome.     

Incomplete Lambda Bacteriophage Heads Produced by a Gene F Mutant

The defective head subassembly produced when lambdasusF423 grows in a nonpermissive host is made functional by a factor in other mutant lysates.     

一个耐高温酵母菌株的tps1基因克隆及序列分析

葡萄汁酵母的菌株YY具有耐高温特性,研究其可能的耐高温机理具有重要的理论和实践意义。其在37℃能正常生长,致死温度为68℃。通过克隆其tps1基因序列,体外扩增后测序,分析蛋白序列的突变。发现在这一菌株的tps1基因序列有13个突变,TPS1蛋白序列存在有三个位点的变异,分别是67位(Gly／Ala)、69位(Glu／Gln)、387位(Val／Leu),这三个变异均增加了海藻糖-6-磷酸合成酶的疏水性,从而增加了酶在高温下的稳定性性。通过这一发现,可以部分解释菌株YY的耐高温机理。     

Gene A Protein of Bacteriophage S13 Is Required for Single-Stranded DNA Synthesis

The product of gene A of the small icosahedral DNA phage S13 has been found to be needed for single-stranded DNA synthesis in vivo in addition to its previously known role in progeny replicative-form DNA synthesis.     

Hop1: A Yeast Meiotic Pairing Gene

The recessive mutation, hop1-1, was isolated by use of a screen designed to detect mutations defective in homologous chromosomal pairing during meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mutants in HOP1 displayed decreased levels of meiotic crossing over and intragenic recombination between markers on homologous chromosomes. In contrast, assays of the hop1-1 mutation in a spo13-1 haploid disomic for chromosome III demonstrated that intrachromosomal recombination between directly duplicated sequences was unaffected. The spores produced by SPO13 diploids homozygous for hop1 were largely inviable, as expected for a defect in interhomolog recombination that results in high levels of nondisjunction. HOP1 was cloned by complementation of the spore lethality phenotype and the cloned gene was used to map HOP1 to the LYS11-HIS6 interval on the left arm of chromosome IX. Electron microscopy revealed that diploids homozygous for hop1 fail to form synaptonemal complex, which normally provides the structural basis for homolog pairing. We propose that HOP1 acts in meiosis primarily to promote chromosomal pairing, perhaps by encoding a component of the synaptonemal complex.     

A Naturally Occurring Novel Allele of Escherichia coli Outer Membrane Protein A Reduces Sensitivity to Bacteriophage

A novel Escherichia coli outer membrane protein A (OmpA) was discovered through a proteomic investigation of cell surface proteins. DNA polymorphisms were localized to regions encoding the protein's surface-exposed loops which are known phage receptor sites. Bacteriophage sensitivity testing indicated an association between bacteriophage resistance and isolates having the novel ompA allele.     

Properties of Bacteriophage T4 Baseplate Protein Encoded by Gene 8

Gene product 8 (gp8, 344 amino acids per monomer) of bacteriophage T4 is one of the baseplate structural proteins. We constructed an expression vector of gp8 and developed a method for purification of recombinant protein. CD spectroscopy showed that gp8 is an / type structural protein. Its polypeptide chain consists of nearly 40% -structure and 15% -helix. These data agree with results of prediction of secondary structure based on the amino acid sequence of the protein. The sedimentation coefficient under standard conditions (S_20,w) is 4.6S. Analytical ultracentrifugation results demonstrated that gp8 in solution has two types of oligomers—dimer and tetramer. The tetramer of gp8 may be included in the wedge (1/6 of the baseplate), and the dimer may be an intermediate product of association.     

一种基于基因表达模型识别酵母细胞周期条件特异调控子网的方法

由高通量微阵列技术产生的数据集可以用于解释生物系统基因调控的未知机制.生物过程是动态的,所以很有必要关注某些条件下特异的基因调控子网络.细胞周期是一个基本的细胞过程,识别酵母的细胞周期特异调控子网是理解细胞周期过程的基础,并且有助于揭示其他细胞条件的基因调控机理.使用一个基因表达微分方程模型(GEDEM),从静态网络中识别了动态的细胞周期相关调控关系.与已经报道的细胞周期相关调控相互作用相比,该方法识别了更多的真实存在的条件特异调控关系,取得了比当前的方法更好的性能.在大数据集上,GEDEM 识别了具有高敏感性和特异性的调控子网.组合调控的深入分析显示,条件特异调控子网的转录因子之间的相关性呈现出比静态网络中转录因子相关性更强,这说明条件特异网络比静态网络更加接近真实情况.另外,GEDEM 方法还识别更多潜在的共调控转录因子.     

A Novel Yeast Screen for Mitotic Arrest Mutants Identifies DOC1, a New Gene Involved in Cyclin Proteolysis

B-type cyclins are rapidly degraded at the transition between metaphase and anaphase and their ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis is required for cells to exit mitosis. We used a novel enrichment to isolate new budding mutants that arrest the cell cycle in mitosis. Most of these mutants lie in the CDC16, CDC23, and CDC27 genes, which have already been shown to play a role in cyclin proteolysis and encode components of a 20S complex (called the cyclosome or anaphase promoting complex) that ubiquitinates mitotic cyclins. We show that mutations in CDC26 and a novel gene, DOC1, also prevent mitotic cyclin proteolysis. Mutants in either gene arrest as large budded cells with high levels of the major mitotic cyclin (Clb2) protein at 37°C and cannot degrade Clb2 in G₁-arrested cells. Cdc26 associates in vivo with Doc1, Cdc16, Cdc23, and Cdc27. In addition, the majority of Doc1 cosediments at 20S with Cdc27 in a sucrose gradient, indicating that Cdc26 and Doc1 are components of the anaphase promoting complex.     

A Rapid Method for Protein Extraction from Fission Yeast

Researchers working with fission yeast conduct protein extraction widely and frequently, but this includes the handling of glass beads, and hence is laborious and cumbersome, especially when dealing with a large number of samples. Here we describe a rapid and reliable method for preparing protein extract from fission yeast, one which is applicable to routine western blotting.     

酵母蛋白质相互作用与基因表达谱和亚细胞定位的相关性

研究酵母（yeast）蛋白质相互作用与基因表达谱和蛋白质亚细胞定位的关系.首先,构建了蛋白质相互作用正样本集、负样本集、随机组对负样本集和混合样本集.然后,对于4个数据集中的所有蛋白质对,通过比较它们的基于距离的基因共表达的分布以及它们中具有已知亚细胞定位的蛋白质对的共定位出现率,实现了这些高通量数据的交叉量化分析.结果揭示,与非相互作用蛋白质对相比,相互作用蛋白质对的基因表达谱具有较高的相似性;相互作用蛋白质对更倾向于具有相同的亚细胞定位.结果还揭示出这些蛋白质特征相关的总体趋势.     

Expression of 135-kDa Insecticidal Protein Gene from Bacillus thuringiensis in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. aizawai produces 130-kDa and 135-kDa (CrylA(a)) insecticidal proteins. When Saccharomyces cerevisiae was transformed by the vector carrying a cryIA(a) gene, the gene expression could not be observed. When the 5′-upstream region from the initiation codon was removed using a synthetic oligonucleotide, the CryIA(a) protein was successfully synthesized in yeast. The yeast extract containing CryIA(a) protein had insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella larvae.     

Identification and Characterization of a Novel Trans-membrane Protein Gene, pdh1, from Schizosaccharomyces pombe

We have cloned a new gene, pdh1, from genomic DNA of fissionyeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. pdh1 is actively transcribedas 1400-nucleotide mRNA in vegetatively growing cells and cancode for a 226 amino acid polypeptide (pdh1p). Computationalstructural prediction has revealed that the pdh1p is a highlyhydrophobic protein with seven transmembrane domains. The predictionhas also detected a possible C-kinase phosphorylation site withinthe longest hydrophilic loop.     

BIM1 Encodes a Microtubule-binding Protein in Yeast

A previously uncharacterized yeast gene (YER016w) that we have named BIM1 (binding to microtubules) was obtained from a two-hybrid screen of a yeast cDNA library using as bait the entire coding sequence of TUB1 (encoding α-tubulin). Deletion of BIM1 results in a strong bilateral karyogamy defect, hypersensitivity to benomyl, and aberrant spindle behavior, all phenotypes associated with mutations affecting microtubules in yeast, and inviability at extreme temperatures (i.e., ≥37°C or ≤14°C). Overexpression of BIM1 in wild-type cells is lethal. A fusion of Bim1p with green fluorescent protein that complements the bim1Δ phenotypes allows visualization in vivo of both intranuclear spindles and extranuclear microtubules in otherwise wild-type cells. A bim1 deletion displays synthetic lethality with deletion alleles of bik1, num1, and bub3 as well as a limited subset of tub1 conditional-lethal alleles. A systematic study of 51 tub1 alleles suggests a correlation between specific failure to interact with Bim1p in the two-hybrid assay and synthetic lethality with the bim1Δ allele. The sequence of BIM1 shows substantial similarity to sequences from organisms across the evolutionary spectrum. One of the human homologues, EB1, has been reported previously as binding APC, itself a microtubule-binding protein and the product of a gene implicated in the etiology of human colon cancer.     

酵母豆蔻酰辅酶A：蛋白质N端转酰基酶基因的克隆与表达

利用ＰＣＲ技术,从酵母染色体中扩增得到酵母豆蔻酰－ＣｏＡ：蛋白质Ｎ端转酰基酶（ＹＳＣＮＭＴ）基因,并克隆到ｐＢｌｕｅｓｃｒｉｐｔＫＳ＋载体中。由ＤＮＡ全序测定表明,获得了ＹＳＣＮＭＴ编码基因。进一步构建了Ｔ７Ｐｒｏｍｏｔｅｒ控制下的含上述完整ＹＳＣＮＭＴ编码基因的表达质粒ｐＭＦＴ７－５－ＮＭＴ,转化大肠杆菌ＢＬ２１（ＤＥ３）,进行ＩＰＴＧ诱导表达研究。通过ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ分析,观察到一与理论分子量一致的诱导条带（约５３ｋＤ）,占全菌蛋白的３９％左右,且可溶性部分约占上清液中全部蛋白的３４％。经一步Ｐ１１磷酸纤维素阳离子交换柱层析,将其纯化到纯度达９７％以上．纯化的表达产物经Ｎ端氨基酸序列分析,所测定的Ｎ端５个氨基酸的序列,与从克隆的ＹＳＣＮＭＴ基因推出的氨基酸序列完全一致（不含Ｎ端Ｍｅｔ）。对所得的ＹＳＣＮＭＴ进行酶活力鉴定,观察到了明显的活力。     

Synthesis of the Major Bacteriophage f1 Coat Protein

A method which allows one to follow the synthesis of the major f1 coat protein in normal, unirradiated f1-infected cells is reported. The N-terminal tryptic peptide of this protein, labeled with (14)C-lysine, has a negative charge at pH 4.5 and is readily separated from the contaminating peptides of host cell proteins. This technique was used to study several aspects of the synthesis of the major f1 coat protein in infected cells.