Eukaryotic Cell最新文献

As a result of ancestral whole-genome and small-scale duplication events, the genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and many eukaryotes still contain a substantial fraction of duplicated genes. In all investigated organisms, metabolic pathways, and more particularly glycolysis, are specifically enriched for functionally redundant paralogs. In ancestors of the Saccharomyces lineage, the duplication of glycolytic genes is purported to have played an important role leading to S. cerevisiae's current lifestyle favoring fermentative metabolism even in the presence of oxygen and characterized by a high glycolytic capacity. In modern S. cerevisiae strains, the 12 glycolytic reactions leading to the biochemical conversion from glucose to ethanol are encoded by 27 paralogs. In order to experimentally explore the physiological role of this genetic redundancy, a yeast strain with a minimal set of 14 paralogs was constructed (the "minimal glycolysis" [MG] strain). Remarkably, a combination of a quantitative systems approach and semiquantitative analysis in a wide array of growth environments revealed the absence of a phenotypic response to the cumulative deletion of 13 glycolytic paralogs. This observation indicates that duplication of glycolytic genes is not a prerequisite for achieving the high glycolytic fluxes and fermentative capacities that are characteristic of S. cerevisiae and essential for many of its industrial applications and argues against gene dosage effects as a means of fixing minor glycolytic paralogs in the yeast genome. The MG strain was carefully designed and constructed to provide a robust prototrophic platform for quantitative studies and has been made available to the scientific community.

Candida glabrata is reported as the second most prevalent human opportunistic fungal pathogen in the United States. Over the last decades, its incidence increased, whereas that of Candida albicans decreased slightly. One of the main reasons for this shift is attributed to the inherent tolerance of C. glabrata toward the commonly used azole antifungal drugs. Despite a close phylogenetic distance to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, homologous recombination works with poor efficiency in C. glabrata compared to baker's yeast, in fact limiting targeted genetic alterations of the pathogen's genome. It has been shown that nonhomologous DNA end joining is dominant over specific gene targeting in C. glabrata. To improve the homologous recombination efficiency, we have generated a strain in which the LIG4 gene has been deleted, which resulted in a significant increase in correct gene targeting. The very specific function of Lig4 in mediating nonhomologous end joining is the reason for the absence of clear side effects, some of which affect the ku80 mutant, another mutant with reduced nonhomologous end joining. We also generated a LIG4 reintegration cassette. Our results show that the lig4 mutant strain may be a valuable tool for the C. glabrata research community.

A biochemical pathway for the incorporation of cell wall protein into the cell wall of Neurospora crassa was recently proposed. In this pathway, the DFG-5 and DCW-1 endo-α-1,6-mannanases function to covalently cross-link cell wall protein-associated N-linked galactomannans, which are structurally related to the yeast outer chain mannans, into the cell wall glucan-chitin matrix. In this report, we demonstrate that the mannosyltransferase enzyme Och1p, which is needed for the synthesis of the N-linked outer chain mannan, is essential for the incorporation of cell wall glycoproteins into the Candida albicans cell wall. Using endoglycosidases, we show that C. albicans cell wall proteins are cross-linked into the cell wall via their N-linked outer chain mannans. We further demonstrate that the Dfg5p and Dcw1p α-1,6-mannanases are needed for the incorporation of cell wall glycoproteins into the C. albicans cell wall. Our results support the hypothesis that the Dfg5p and Dcw1p α-1,6-mannanases incorporate cell wall glycoproteins into the C. albicans cell wall by cross-linking outer chain mannans into the cell wall glucan-chitin matrix.

Candida albicans is a major fungal pathogen whose virulence is associated with its ability to transition from a budding yeast form to invasive hyphal filaments. The kinesin-14 family member CaKar3 is required for transition between these morphological states, as well as for mitotic progression and karyogamy. While kinesin-14 proteins are ubiquitous, CaKar3 homologs in hemiascomycete fungi are unique because they form heterodimers with noncatalytic kinesin-like proteins. Thus, CaKar3-based motors may represent a novel antifungal drug target. We have identified and examined the roles of a kinesin-like regulator of CaKar3. We show that orf19.306 (dubbed CaCIK1) encodes a protein that forms a heterodimer with CaKar3, localizes CaKar3 to spindle pole bodies, and can bind microtubules and influence CaKar3 mechanochemistry despite lacking an ATPase activity of its own. Similar to CaKar3 depletion, loss of CaCik1 results in cell cycle arrest, filamentation defects, and an inability to undergo karyogamy. Furthermore, an examination of the spindle structure in cells lacking either of these proteins shows that a large proportion have a monopolar spindle or two dissociated half-spindles, a phenotype unique to the C. albicans kinesin-14 homolog. These findings provide new insights into mitotic spindle structure and kinesin motor function in C. albicans and identify a potentially vulnerable target for antifungal drug development.

The supply and intracellular homeostasis of trace metals are essential for every living organism. Therefore, the struggle for micronutrients between a pathogen and its host is an important determinant in the infection process. In this work, we focus on the acquisition of zinc by Candida dubliniensis, an emerging pathogen closely related to Candida albicans. We show that the transcription factor Csr1 is essential for C. dubliniensis to regulate zinc uptake mechanisms under zinc limitation: it governs the expression of the zinc transporter genes ZRT1, ZRT2, and ZRT3 and of the zincophore gene PRA1. Exclusively, artificial overexpression of ZRT2 partially rescued the growth defect of a csr1Δ/Δ mutant in a zinc-restricted environment. Importantly, we found that, in contrast to what is seen in C. albicans, Csr1 (also called Zap1) is not a major regulator of dimorphism in C. dubliniensis. However, although a csr1Δ/Δ strain showed normal germ tube formation, we detected a clear attenuation in virulence using an embryonated chicken egg infection model. We conclude that, unlike in C. albicans, Csr1 seems to be a virulence factor of C. dubliniensis that is not coupled to filamentation but is strongly linked to zinc acquisition during pathogenesis.

NDR (nuclear Dbf2-related) kinases are essential components for polarized morphogenesis, cytokinesis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. The NDR kinase Cbk1 is required for the hyphal growth of Candida albicans; however, the molecular functions of Cbk1 in hyphal morphogenesis are largely unknown. Here, we report that Cbk1 downregulates the transcriptional repressor Nrg1 through the mRNA-binding protein Ssd1, which has nine Cbk1 phosphorylation consensus motifs. We found that deletion of SSD1 partially suppressed the defective hyphal growth of the C. albicans cbk1Δ/Δ mutant and that Ssd1 physically interacts with Cbk1. Cbk1 was required for Ssd1 localization to polarized growth sites. The phosphomimetic SSD1 allele (ssd1-9E) allowed the cbk1Δ/Δ mutant to form short hyphae, and the phosphodeficient SSD1 allele (ssd1-9A) resulted in shorter hyphae than did the wild-type SSD1 allele, indicating that Ssd1 phosphorylation by Cbk1 is important for hyphal morphogenesis. Furthermore, we show that the transcriptional repressor Nrg1 does not disappear during hyphal initiation in the cbk1Δ/Δ mutant but is completely absent in the cbk1Δ/Δ ssd1Δ/Δ double mutant. Deletion of SSD1 also increased Als3 expression and internalization of the cbk1Δ/Δ mutant in the human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293T. Collectively, our results suggest that one of the functions of Cbk1 in the hyphal morphogenesis of C. albicans is to downregulate Nrg1 through Ssd1.

The echinocandins are a class of antifungal drugs that includes caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin. Gene clusters encoding most of the structural complexity of the echinocandins provided a framework for hypotheses about the evolutionary history and chemical logic of echinocandin biosynthesis. Gene orthologs among echinocandin-producing fungi were identified. Pathway genes, including the nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs), were analyzed phylogenetically to address the hypothesis that these pathways represent descent from a common ancestor. The clusters share cooperative gene contents and linkages among the different strains. Individual pathway genes analyzed in the context of similar genes formed unique echinocandin-exclusive phylogenetic lineages. The echinocandin NRPSs, along with the NRPS from the inp gene cluster in Aspergillus nidulans and its orthologs, comprise a novel lineage among fungal NRPSs. NRPS adenylation domains from different species exhibited a one-to-one correspondence between modules and amino acid specificity that is consistent with models of tandem duplication and subfunctionalization. Pathway gene trees and Ascomycota phylogenies are congruent and consistent with the hypothesis that the echinocandin gene clusters have a common origin. The disjunct Eurotiomycete-Leotiomycete distribution appears to be consistent with a scenario of vertical descent accompanied by incomplete lineage sorting and loss of the clusters from most lineages of the Ascomycota. We present evidence for a single evolutionary origin of the echinocandin family of gene clusters and a progression of structural diversification in two fungal classes that diverged approximately 290 to 390 million years ago. Lineage-specific gene cluster evolution driven by selection of new chemotypes contributed to diversification of the molecular functionalities.

The plasma membrane aquaglyceroporin Fps1 is responsible for glycerol transport in yeast in response to changes in extracellular osmolarity. Fps1 functions as a homotetramer, and control of its channel activity in response to hyperosmotic shock involves a redundant pair of fungus-specific regulators, Rgc1 and Rgc2 (regulators of the glycerol channel), and the mitogen-activatd protein kinase (MAPK) Hog1 (high-osmolarity glycerol response). Rgc1 and Rgc2 maintain Fps1 in an open-channel state by binding to its C-terminal cytoplasmic domain. Phosphorylation of Rgc1 and Rgc2 by Hog1 induces their eviction from Fps1 and consequent channel closure. In the absence of Fps1 channel function, cells experience chronic cell wall stress, which may be exploited for antifungal drug development. We show here that Rgc1 and Rgc2 form homodimers and heterodimers with each other and that dimer formation of Rgc2 is mediated by its N-terminal domain. Mutations that prevent Rgc2 dimerization block its ability to open Fps1. Therefore, the Rgc-Rgc dimer interface might be an attractive drug target.

Phosphotransacetylase (Pta), a key enzyme in bacterial metabolism, catalyzes the reversible transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl phosphate to coenzyme A (CoA) to produce acetyl-CoA and Pi. Two classes of Pta have been identified based on the absence (Pta(I)) or presence (Pta(II)) of an N-terminal regulatory domain. Pta(I) has been fairly well studied in bacteria and one genus of archaea; however, only the Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica Pta(II) enzymes have been biochemically characterized, and they are allosterically regulated. Here, we describe the first biochemical and kinetic characterization of a eukaryotic Pta from the oomycete Phytophthora ramorum. The two Ptas from P. ramorum, designated PrPta(II)1 and PrPta(II)2, both belong to class II. PrPta(II)1 displayed positive cooperativity for both acetyl phosphate and CoA and is allosterically regulated. We compared the effects of different metabolites on PrPta(II)1 and the S. enterica Pta(II) and found that, although the N-terminal regulatory domains share only 19% identity, both enzymes are inhibited by ATP, NADP, NADH, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), and pyruvate in the acetyl-CoA/Pi-forming direction but are differentially regulated by AMP. Phylogenetic analysis of bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic sequences identified four subtypes of Pta(II) based on the presence or absence of the P-loop and DRTGG subdomains within the N-terminal regulatory domain. Although the E. coli, S. enterica, and P. ramorum enzymes all belong to the IIa subclass, our kinetic analysis has indicated that enzymes within a subclass can still display differences in their allosteric regulation.