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Two novel DRB alleles detected by PCR-SSO and confirmed by sequencing: DRB1*0317 and DRB3*0210.

We here describe two new DRB alleles (DRB1*0317 and DRB3*0210) which were detected by polymerase chain reaction using sequence-specific oligonucleotides (PCR-SSO) and confirmed by direct sequencing. The exon 2 sequence of DRB1*0317 is the result of an intergenic recombination event yielding a hybrid allele between 5'DRB1 and 3' DRB3 sequences with the recombination breakpoint located between codons 39-51. The new DRB3*0210 allele is closest related to DRB3*02021 except for a single nucleotide position at codon 51. Here, the sequence AGG at codon 51 which was a group-specific motif for all DRB3*02 alleles described previously, is replaced by the DRB consensus sequence ACG.

Alleles↗

Polymorphism of the 5'-flanking region of the CYP2E1 gene: an association study with alcoholism.

BACKGROUND: Recently, a restriction fragment length polymorphism in the regulatory region of the CYP2E1 gene was identified. It has been suggested that the polymorphism is associated with the elevated activity of the cytochrome P-450 2E1 (CYP2E1) enzyme in obese or alcoholic subjects. However, significance of the polymorphism in connection with alcoholism has not been studied. In the present study, we have characterized these repeated sequences in the 5'-untranslated region of the CYP2E1 gene in Japanese subjects and North American white subjects and investigated whether these polymorphisms are associated with drinking habits and alcoholism. METHODS: DNAs were isolated from blood samples of 192 Japanese nonalcoholics and 202 alcoholics as well as 125 North American white nonalcoholics. DNA samples were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and subjected to a fluorescent-based single-strand conformational change polymorphism analysis, DNA fragment analysis, and polymerase chain reaction-direct sequencing. RESULTS: Four alleles (A1-A4) were found, which were differentiated by the six subunits (L1, L2, L3, L4, S1, S2) based on the size difference and nucleotide replacement. A2 and A4 alleles were observed in the two ethnic groups (A2: Japanese subjects, 0.752; white subjects, 0.976; A4: Japanese subjects, 0.227; white subjects, 0.016). However, A1 allele was found only in North American white subjects (0.008), and A3 allele was detected only in Japanese subjects (0.021). Allele frequencies were significantly different between the two ethnic groups (p < 0.0001). Distribution of genotypes between Japanese nonalcoholics and alcoholics were not significantly different. Also, no significant difference for the allele frequencies was observed between Japanese moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggested no association among the polymorphic repeats, drinking behavior, and alcoholism. Allele frequencies were significantly different between Japanese subjects and North American white subjects.

5' Untranslated Regions↗

Leishmania major Hsp100 is required chiefly in the mammalian stage of the parasite.

In Leishmania major a 100-kDa heat shock protein, Hsp100, is abundant in the intracellular amastigote stage which persists in the mammalian host. A replacement of both clpB alleles which encode Hsp100 does not affect promastigote viability under standard culture conditions but impairs thermotolerance in vitro. In experimental infections of BALB/c inbred mice, the lack of Hsp100 in the gene replacement mutants results in a markedly delayed lesion development compared with that in infections with wild-type L. major. Overexpression of exogenous clpB gene copies can partly restore virulence to the gene replacement mutants. Genetic-selection experiments also reveal a strong pressure for Hsp100 expression in the mammalian stage. This requirement for Hsp100 was also observed in in vitro infection experiments with mouse peritoneal macrophages. These experiments indicated a role for Hsp100 during the development from the promastigote to the amastigote stage. Our results suggest an important role for this parasite heat shock protein during the initial stages of a mammalian infection.

Animals↗

Antigenic divergence between Bordetella pertussis clinical isolates from Moscow, Russia, and vaccine strains.

We analyzed temporal changes in the frequencies of the ptxA, prn, fim2, and fim3 alleles in Bordetella pertussis strains isolated from pertussis patients in Moscow, Russia, from 1948 to 2004. The three strains used for the whole-cell vaccine harbored the alleles ptxA2, ptxA4, prn1, fim2-1, and fim3A. Vaccine-type alleles of ptxA (ptxA2 and ptxA4) were characteristic for all prevaccination strains and for 96% of the strains isolated in the 1960s and 1970s. At the beginning of the 1970s, ptxA2 and ptxA4 were replaced by the ptxA1 allele. In the 1980s and to the present, strains with ptxA1 were predominant in the B. pertussis population. All prevaccination strains harbored the prn1 allele, which corresponds to the vaccine-type allele. In subsequent years, the proportion of strains with the prn1 allele decreased and the proportion of prn3 and prn2 strains increased. From 2002 to 2004 strains with prn2 or prn3 were predominant in the B. pertussis population. The vaccine-type alleles fim2-1 and fim3A were found in all prevaccination strains and in 92% of the strains isolated from 1960 to 1989. The fim2-2 and fim3B alleles were first observed at the beginning of the 1980s. In subsequent years, these strains became predominant. Together with waning immunity, the antigenic divergence between vaccine strains and clinical isolates observed in the Moscow area may explain the persistence of pertussis, despite the high rates of vaccine coverage. The results demonstrate that the selection of B. pertussis strains for vaccine manufacturing must be based on a thorough study of the B. pertussis population.

Antigenic Variation↗

Factors influencing recombination frequency and distribution in a human meiotic crossover hotspot.

Little is known about the factors that influence the frequency and distribution of meiotic recombination events within human crossover hotspots. We now describe the detailed analysis of sperm recombination in the NID1 hotspot. Like the neighbouring MS32 hotspot, the NID1 hotspot is associated with a minisatellite, suggesting that hotspots predispose DNA to tandem repetition. Unlike MS32, crossover resolution breakpoints in NID1 avoid the minisatellite, producing a cold spot within the hotspot. This avoidance may be related to the palindromic nature of the minisatellite interfering with the generation and/or processing of recombination intermediates. The NID1 hotspot also contains a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) close to the centre, which appears to directly influence the frequency of crossover initiation. Quantitative gene conversion assays show that this SNP affects the frequency of gene conversion and crossover to a very similar extent, providing evidence that conversions and crossovers are triggered by the same recombination initiating events. The recombination-suppressing allele is over-transmitted to recombinant progeny, and provides the most dramatic example to date of recombination-mediated meiotic drive, of a magnitude sufficient to virtually guarantee that the recombination suppressor will eventually replace the more active allele in human populations.

Base Sequence↗

clap1, a gene encoding a copper-transporting ATPase involved in the process of infection by the phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum.

A screen for insertional mutants of Colletrichum lindemuthianum, the causative agent of common bean anthracnose, led to the identification of a non-pathogenic, lightly colored transformant. This mutant is unable to induce disease symptoms on intact or wounded primary leaves of seedlings and plantlets of Phaseolus vulgaris. In vitro, it exhibits normal vegetative growth, sporulation and conidial germination, but the cultures remain beige instead of becoming black. Microscopic examination revealed that this mutant forms fewer appressoria than the wild-type strain, and these are misshapen and poorly melanized. Molecular analyses indicated that the mutagenic plasmid had targeted clap1, a gene encoding a putative copper-transporting ATPase sharing 35% identity with the human Menkes and Wilson proteins and the product of the CCC2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Complementation of the non-pathogenic beige mutant with a wild-type allele of clap1 restored both pathogenicity and pigmentation. Conversely, replacement of the wild-type allele with a disrupted clap1 gene gave rise to non-pathogenic beige transformants. Compared with the wild-type strain, extracts from clap1 mutants were found to have very low levels of phenol oxidase activity. These observations suggest that the clap1 gene product may be involved in the pathogenicity of C. lindemuthianum strains because of its role in delivering copper to secreted cuproenzymes, such as the phenol oxidases that mediate the polymerization of 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene to melanin.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

The sir locus of Escherichia coli: a gene involved in SOS-independent repair of mitomycin C-induced DNA damage.

A Mud1 (lac Apr) insertion has been isolated in a delta (lac)recA+ lexA3(Ind-)rpoB87 gyrA87 mutant of Escherichia coli resulting in a decrease in mitomycin C tolerance and an increase in post-mitomycin C DNA degradation. The mitomycin C sensitivity of the insertion mutant is not further increased by substituting either the rpoB87 or the gyrA mutation by the respective wild-type alleles. However, when both rpoB87 and gyrA87 mutations are replaced by rpoB+ and gyrA+ the strain becomes hypersensitive to mitomycin C. Inactivation of recA in the insertion mutant has no effect on its mitomycin C sensitivity provided both rpoB87 and gyrA87 are present. When either or both of the mutations is/are replaced by the wild-type allele inactivation of recA renders the strain hypersensitive to mitomycin C. The locus of Mud1 (lac Apr) insertion, designated sir (SOS-independent repair), has been mapped between 57 and 61 min on the E. coli linkage map. Expression of the sir gene seems to be constitutive and not enhanced by mitomycin C. These results are discussed in relation to the SOS-independent repair of mitomycin C-induced DNA damage reported earlier.

Bacteriophage lambda↗

HLA-B alleles of the Cayapa of Ecuador: new B39 and B15 alleles.

Recent data suggest that HLA-B locus alleles can evolve quickly in native South American populations. To investigate further this phenomenon of new HLA-B variants among Amerindians, we studied samples from another South American tribe, the Cayapa from Ecuador. We selected individuals for HLA-B molecular typing based upon their HLA class II typing results. Three new variants of HLA-B39 and one new variant of HLA-B15 were found in the Cayapa: HLA-B*3905, HLA-B*3906, HLA-B*3907, and HLA-B*1522. A total of thirteen new HLA-B alleles have now been found in the four South American tribes studied. Each of these four tribes studied, including the Cayapa, had novel alleles that were not found in any of the other tribes, suggesting that many of these new HLA-B alleles may have evolved since the Paleo-Indians originally populated South America. Each of these 13 new alleles contained predicted amino acid replacements that were located in the peptide binding site. These amino acid replacements may affect the sequence motif of the bound peptides, suggesting that these new alleles have been maintained by selection. New allelic variants have been found for all common HLA-B locus antigenic groups present in South American tribes with the exception of B48. In spite of its high frequency in South American tribes, no evidence for variants of B48 has been found in all the Amerindians studied, suggesting that B48 may have unique characteristics among the B locus alleles.

Alleles↗

Molecular basis of five apolipoprotein B gene polymorphisms in noncoding regions.

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) are useful in linkage and clinical association studies of human diseases. In this report, we characterize the molecular basis and frequencies of two new RFLPs, AvaII and BalI, two previously reported RFLPs, HincII and PvuII, and one new sequence polymorphism in the human apolipoprotein B gene. For the AvaII RFLP, the two alleles yield either a 1 kb fragment or 0.7 and 0.3 kb fragments, and have frequencies of 20% and 80%, respectively. The polymorphic site is about 4 kb upstream of exon 1. For the BalI RFLP, the two alleles yield either a 4.9 or 6.2 kb fragment, and have about equal frequencies. The polymorphic site is within an Alu sequence in intron 20, 146 bp 5' to exon 21. The BalI recognition sequence TGGCCA is replaced by TAGCCA. For the HincII RFLP, the two alleles yield either a 1.7 or 1.3 kb fragment and have frequencies of 80% and 20%, respectively. The polymorphic site is in intron 4, 171 bp 3' to exon 4. The HincII recognition sequence GTTAAC, present in the minor allele, is replaced by GTTACC. HincII fragments of 7.4 and 7.0 kb, previously reported for this polymorphism, are the result of partial digestion at the invariant HincII site in intron 3, 334 bp 3' to exon 3. For the PvuII RFLP, the two alleles yield either a 7.5 or 5.5 kb fragment and have frequencies of 96% and 4%, respectively. The polymorphic site is within an Alu sequence in intron 4, 523 bp 5' to exon 5.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alleles↗

Escherichia coli can tolerate insertions of up to 16 amino acids in the RNA polymerase alpha subunit inter-domain linker.

The C-terminal domain of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase alpha subunit (alphaCTD) plays a key role in transcription initiation at many activator-dependent promoters and at UP element-dependent promoters. This domain is connected to the alpha N-terminal domain (alphaNTD) by an unstructured linker. To investigate the requirements of the alpha inter-domain linker to support growth of E. coli, we utilised a recently described technique for the substitution of the chromosomal rpoA gene, encoding alpha, by mutant rpoA alleles. We found that it was possible to replace wild-type rpoA by mutant alleles encoding alpha subunits containing inter-domain linkers that were longer by as many as 16 amino acids. However, using this method, it was not possible to transfer to the chromosome rpoA alleles encoding alpha subunits that contained an insertion of 32 amino acids or short deletions within the inter-domain linker. The effect of lengthening the alpha linker on activator-dependent and UP element-dependent transcription in the "haploid" rpoA system was shown to be qualitatively the same as observed previously in the diploid system. The ability of E. coli to tolerate insertions within the alpha inter-domain linker suggests that lengthening the alpha linker does not severely impair transcription of essential genes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

An overview of the evolution of overproduced esterases in the mosquito Culex pipiens.

Insecticide resistance genes have developed in a wide variety of insects in response to heavy chemical application. Few of these examples of adaptation in response to rapid environmental change have been studied both at the population level and at the gene level. One of these is the evolution of the overproduced esterases that are involved in resistance to organophosphate insecticides in the mosquito Culex pipiens. At the gene level, two genetic mechanisms are involved in esterase overproduction, namely gene amplification and gene regulation. At the population level, the co-occurrence of the same amplified allele in distinct geographic areas is best explained by the importance of passive transportation at the worldwide scale. The long-term monitoring of a population of mosquitoes in southern France has enabled a detailed study to be made of the evolution of resistance genes on a local scale, and has shown that a resistance gene with a lower cost has replaced a former resistance allele with a higher cost.

Alleles↗

BRO beta-lactamase alleles, antibiotic resistance and a test of the BRO-1 selective replacement hypothesis in Moraxella catarrhalis.

OBJECTIVES: The hypothesis that BRO-1 selectively replaced the BRO-2 isoform of the Moraxella catarrhalis BRO beta-lactamase was tested by examining the temporal distribution, antibiotic resistance and epidemiological characteristics of isolates from a long-term collection at a single locale. METHODS: A rapid, one-step PCR assay conducted on 354 isolates spanning 1984-1994 distinguished bro alleles in over 97% of the beta-lactamase-producing isolates. Probes of dot blots were used to distinguish PCR failure from non-beta-lactamase-mediated penicillin resistance. RESULTS: BRO-2 isolates comprised 0-10% of the population per year with no evidence of a decline over time. All beta-lactamase producers exceeded the clinical threshold for penicillin resistance. Bimodality of penicillin MICs for beta-lactamase producers was caused by variation within BRO-1 rather than differences between BRO-1 and BRO-2. Non-beta-lactamase factors also confer resistance to penicillin and may contribute to the BRO-1 bimodality. The 13 BRO-2 isolates were associated with diverse genotypes within which there was evidence of epidemiologically linked clusters. The exclusive association of BRO-2 with four unrelated genotypes suggested maintenance of BRO-2 by recurrent mutation or horizontal exchange. CONCLUSIONS: The relative rarity of BRO-2 throughout the study, the absence of a declining temporal trend, and genetic diversity within BRO-2 all failed to support the hypothesis that BRO-2 was more common in the past and has been selectively replaced by BRO-1.

Alleles↗

The Helicobacter pylori pyrB gene encoding aspartate carbamoyltransferase is essential for bacterial survival.

The production of defined isogenic Helicobacter pylori pyrB mutants was undertaken to investigate the role of aspartate carbamoyltransferase (encoded by pyrB) in the survival of the bacterium. The complete structural gene for aspartate carbamoyltransferase from H. pylori strain RU1 was cloned into Escherichia coli by complementation of a pyrB auxotrophic mutant to facilitate the construction of a pyrB-disrupted copy in E. coli. The H. pylori pyrB gene had high similarity to other bacterial pyrB genes, and the phylogenetic clustering with different species was consistent with functional characteristics of the ACTase. The transcription initiation site for H. pylori pyrB-mRNA was mapped 25 bp upstream of the ATG start codon, and potential promoter regions were identified. In order to construct an isogenic pyrB H. pylori mutant by natural transformation and allelic exchange, the plasmid insert containing pyrB was disrupted by insertional mutagenesis of a chloramphenicol transferase gene cassette. In multiple transformations of H. pylori cells, no chloramphenicol-resistant pyrB mutants were isolated. Successful mutagenesis of other H. pylori genes and PCR amplification of the recombined gene demonstrated that the ACTase-negative mutants had been constructed by allelic exchange involving simultaneous replacement of the pyrB gene with the chloramphenicol-pyrB-disrupted copy. These findings suggested that the ACTase enzyme is essential for the survival of H. pylori.

Alleles↗

Inferring the fitness effects of DNA mutations from polymorphism and divergence data: statistical power to detect directional selection under stationarity and free recombination.

The fitness effects of classes of DNA mutations can be inferred from patterns of nucleotide variation. A number of studies have attributed differences in levels of polymorphism and divergence between silent and replacement mutations to the action of natural selection. Here, I investigate the statistical power to detect directional selection through contrasts of DNA variation among functional categories of mutations. A variety of statistical approaches are applied to DNA data simulated under Sawyer and Hartl's Poisson random field model. Under assumptions of free recombination and stationarity, comparisons that include both the frequency distributions of mutations segregating within populations and the numbers of mutations fixed between populations have substantial power to detect even very weak selection. Frequency distribution and divergence tests are applied to silent and replacement mutations among five alleles of each of eight Drosophila simulans genes. Putatively "preferred" silent mutations segregate at higher frequencies and are more often fixed between species than "unpreferred" silent changes, suggesting fitness differences among synonymous codons. Amino acid changes tend to be either rare polymorphisms or fixed differences, consistent with a combination of deleterious and adaptive protein evolution. In these data, a substantial fraction of both silent and replacement DNA mutations appear to affect fitness.

Adaptation, Biological↗

General method for site-directed mutagenesis in Escherichia coli O18ac:K1:H7: deletion of the inducible superoxide dismutase gene, sodA, does not diminish bacteremia in neonatal rats.

A defined deletion in the Escherichia coli K-12 sodA gene (encoding manganese-superoxide dismutase) linked to a nontransposable selectable marker was generated by transposon Tn5 insertion in combination with in vitro mutagenesis. This mutant allele was used to replace the wild-type sodA gene in an E. coli clinical isolate of serotype O18ac:K1:H7 by bacteriophage P1 transduction. The O18ac:K1:H7 sodA mutant contained no manganese-superoxide dismutase and no hybrid manganese-iron-superoxide dismutase. The sodA mutant was more sensitive to paraquat toxicity than were the parental strain and an isogenic mutant bearing an analogously constructed sodA+ Tn5 insertion allele. In a suckling rat model for bacteremia following oral inoculation of E. coli K1, the sodA mutant was undiminished in its capabilities both to colonize the gastrointestinal tract and, surprisingly, to cause bacteremia. In conjunction with the rat model for E. coli K1 pathogenesis, the method for site-directed mutagenesis described in this paper permits determination of the role played in colonization and bacteremia by any K1 gene which either has a homolog in E. coli K-12 or can be cloned and manipulated therein.

Animals↗

Exchange of chromosomal and plasmid alleles in Escherichia coli by selection for loss of a dominant antibiotic sensitivity marker.

Transfer of an allele from a donor DNA to a recipient DNA molecule was selected by the loss of a dominant conditional lethal mutation previously incorporated ito the gene of interest in the recipient DNA. Both the Escherichia coli chromosome and plasmids carrying E. coli genes were used successfully as donor molecules. Recipient molecules for these exchanges were constructed in vitro by using the rpsL gene, which confers sensitivity to streptomycin, to replace segments of specific E. coli genes located either on multicopy plasmids or in the E. coli chromosome. Plasmids carrying such replacements were capable of acquiring chromosomal alleles of the gene(s) of interest, and strains carrying rpsL replacements in the chromosome were capable of acquiring plasmid-encoded alleles at the sight of the rpsL replacement. In both situations, these allele transfers resulted in loss of the rpsL gene from the recipient DNA molecule. The desired transfer events constituted a large percentage of these events, which gave rise to viable colonies when appropriate donor-recipient pairs were subjected to streptomycin selection. Thus, this is a useful approach for transferring alleles of interest from plasmids to the E. coli chromosome and vice versa.

Alleles↗

Recombinational inactivation of the gene encoding nitrate reductase in Aspergillus parasiticus.

Functional disruption of the gene encoding nitrate reductase (niaD) in Aspergillus parasiticus was conducted by two strategies, one-step gene replacement and the integrative disruption. Plasmid pPN-1, in which an internal DNA fragment of the niaD gene was replaced by a functional gene encoding orotidine monophosphate decarboxylase (pyrG), was constructed. Plasmid pPN-1 was introduced in linear form into A. parasiticus CS10 (ver-1 wh-1 pyrG) by transformation. Approximately 25% of the uridine prototrophic transformants (pyrG+) were chlorate resistant (Chlr), demonstrating their inability to utilize nitrate as a sole nitrogen source. The genetic block in nitrate utilization was confirmed to occur in the niaD gene by the absence of growth of the A. parasiticus CS10 transformants on medium containing nitrate as the sole nitrogen source and the ability to grow on several alternative nitrogen sources. Southern hybridization analysis of Chlr transformants demonstrated that the resident niaD locus was replaced by the nonfunctional allele in pPN-1. To generate an integrative disruption vector (pSKPYRG), an internal fragment of the niaD gene was subcloned into a plasmid containing the pyrG gene as a selectable marker. Circular pSKPYRG was transformed into A. parasiticus CS10. Chlr pyrG+ transformants were screened for nitrate utilization and by Southern hybridization analysis. Integrative disruption of the genomic niaD gene occurred in less than 2% of the transformants. Three gene replacement disruption transformants and two integrative disruption transformants were tested for mitotic stability after growth under nonselective conditions. All five transformants were found to stably retain the Chlr phenotype after growth on nonselective medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aflatoxins↗

ApoE isoform affects LTP in human targeted replacement mice.

Inheritance of the epsilon4 allele for apolipoprotein E (apoE) increases the risk of Alzheimer disease and memory impairment, whereas epsilon2 decreases these risks compared with the most common epsilon3 allele, but the mechanism for these effects is unknown. Long-term potentiation (LTP) is an experimentally induced increase in synaptic efficacy that models memory. Using hippocampal slices from wild type (WT), apoE knockout (apoE-KO), and targeted replacement mice expressing human apoE2, E3, or E4 (apoE-TR) we found that although all strains had comparable basal synaptic transmission, LTP was significantly greater in WT and apoE3-TR than in apoE-KO, apoE2-TR or apoE4-TR. This novel system may be used to investigate the mechanisms of apoE isoform dependent modulation of susceptibility to memory impairment.

Analysis of Variance↗