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The role of GPI-PLC in Trypanosoma brucei.

The glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (GPI-PLC) from Trypanosoma brucei exhibits exquisite specificity for the GPI-anchor of the variant specific glycoprotein (VSG). However the evidence that it is involved in VSG metabolism in the living trypanosome is circumstantial; it shows the same life cycle stage regulated expression as the VSG, no feasible alternative substrate has been identified, and it metabolises the VSG efficiently in vitro and in vivo on hypotonic lysis. Against these considerations are the observations that the GPI-PLC is found on the cytoplasmic face of vesicles so it could not gain access to the VSG through normal vesicle fusion and that the accelerated loss of VSG from bloodstream forms on differentiation to procyclic forms occurs through the action of a protease. To try to determine the role of the GPI-PLC, a homozygous null mutant T. brucei has been constructed. The null mutant was created by replacement of the entire gene at both alleles with selectable antibiotic resistance markers in procyclic form trypanosomes. The GPI-PLC gene is not usually expressed in procyclic forms and so, as would be expected, the null procyclics display no obvious phenotype. The null procyclics have been used to infect tsetse flies and it remains to be seen whether it is possible for them to differentiate to bloodstream forms and, if so, what the antigenic variation phenotype of the null bloodstream forms would be.

Animals↗

The search for HLA-compatible bone marrow donors. Procedure currently used in the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Prague.

The search for compatible donors is based on the HLA types of donors and recipients. HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 antigens or alleles must be unequivocally typed in donors and recipients. The typing of HLA-DQB, -DPB and -C gene products is also useful to characterize the HLA phenotype, but it is not absolutely necessary in the donor selection. The standard serological methods using alloantisera and one-dimensional isoelectric focusing are used for the typing of HLA class I antigens. Recently, DNA analysis of class I alleles has been introduced. In HLA class II typing the serological analysis was generally replaced by DNA analysis. In addition to typing techniques that determine the individual HLA alleles or HLA gene products, the cellular matching techniques are used in the selection procedure (mixed lymphocyte culture, cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursor frequency assay, and IL-2-producing helper T lymphocyte precursor frequency assay). The cellular matching techniques determine the compatibility in the regions of HLA comprising several HLA loci; some of them may detect minor histocompatibility (non-HLA) gene disparities as well.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗

Structure of allelic variants of subtype 5 of histone H1 in pea Pisum sativum L.

The pea genome contains seven histone H1 genes encoding different subtypes. Previously, the DNA sequence of only one gene, His1, coding for the subtype H1-1, had been identified. We isolated a histone H1 allele from a pea genomic DNA library. Data from the electrophoretic mobility of the pea H1 subtypes and their N-bromosuccinimide cleavage products indicated that the newly isolated gene corresponded to the H1-5 subtype encoded by His5. We confirmed this result by sequencing the gene from three pea lines with H1-5 allelic variants of altered electrophoretic mobility. The allele of the slow H1-5 variant differed from the standard allele by a nucleotide substitution that caused the replacement of the positively charged lysine with asparagine in the DNA-interacting domain of the histone molecule. A temperature-related occurrence had previously been demonstrated for this H1-5 variant in a study on a worldwide collection of pea germplasm. The variant tended to occur at higher frequencies in geographic regions with a cold climate. The fast allelic variant of H1-5 displayed a deletion resulting in the loss of a duplicated pentapeptide in the C-terminal domain.

Alleles↗

Type III hyperlipoproteinemia and spontaneous atherosclerosis in mice resulting from gene replacement of mouse Apoe with human Apoe*2.

To study isoform-specific effects of apolipoprotein E (apoE) in vivo, we generated mice with a human APOE*2 allele in place of the mouse Apoe gene via targeted gene replacement in embryonic stem cells. Mice expressing human apoE2 (2/2) have virtually all the characteristics of type III hyperlipoproteinemia. Their plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels are both twice to three times those in (normolipidemic) mice that are expressing human apoE3 (3/3) made in an identical manner. The 2/2 mice are markedly defective in clearing beta-migrating VLDL particles, and spontaneously develop atherosclerotic plaques, even on a regular diet. An atherogenic diet, high in fat and cholesterol, exacerbates development of atherosclerosis and xanthomas in the 2/2 mice. Thus, comparisons between the 2/2 and 3/3 mice unequivocally demonstrate that a single amino acid difference (Arg158 Cys) in the apoE protein is sufficient to cause type III HLP and spontaneous atherosclerosis in mice.

Animals↗

Targeted transformation of Ascobolus immersus and de novo methylation of the resulting duplicated DNA sequences.

To develop a method to modify genomic sequences in Ascobolus immersus by precisely reintroducing defined DNA segments previously manipulated in vitro, we investigated the effect of transforming DNA conformation on recombination with chromosomal sequences. Circular single-stranded DNA carrying the met2 gene and double-stranded DNA linearized by cutting within the met2 gene both transformed protoplasts of a met2 mutant strain of A. immersus to prototrophy. In contrast to the equivalent circular double-stranded DNA, which chiefly integrated at nonhomologous chromosomal sites, single-stranded and double-stranded cut DNAs recombined primarily with the homologous chromosomal met2 sequence. Of the single-stranded DNA transformants, 65% resulted from replacement of the resident met2 mutation by the exogenous wild-type allele. In 70% of the double-stranded-cut DNA transformants, one or more copies of the transforming DNA had integrated at the met2 locus, leading to tandem duplications of the met2 target region separated by plasmid DNA. These duplicated sequences could recombine, leading to progeny containing only one copy of the met2 region. This resulted in a precise gene replacement if the wild-type allele had been retained. In addition, we show that newly duplicated sequences were most often de novo methylated at the cytosine residues during the sexual phase. Cytosine methylation was associated with inactivation of the integrated met2 gene(s) in segregants of crosses. However, methylation was not accurately maintained at each DNA replication cycle, so that Met- segregants recovered a wild-type phenotype through successive mitotic divisions. This finding indicated that met2 genes were silenced by methylation alone.

Alleles↗

Adh nucleotide variation in Drosophila willistoni: high replacement polymorphism in an electrophoretically monomorphic protein.

Drosophila willistoni was the subject of intensive allozyme studies and the locus coding for alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) was found to be virtually monomorphic. DNA sequence analysis of 18 alleles throughout the distribution of the species has revealed six replacement polymorphisms. The ratio of replacement to silent polymorphisms is higher in D. willistoni than in any other Drosophila species studied for Adh nucleotide variation. Also in contrast to other species, the variation in introns and noncoding DNA is about the same as in the coding region. We speculate that both these differences indicate D. willistoni has historically had a small population size possibly related to Pleistocene refugia in the Neotropics.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

RecTL: a complex allele of the glucocerebrosidase gene associated with a mild clinical course of Gaucher disease.

We describe 4 Jewish patients with type 1 Gaucher disease and the genotype N370S/recTL. They present either asymptomatic or mild Gaucher disease. RecTL is a complex allele that contains 4 single point mutations in the glucocerebrosidase gene: D409H, L444P, A456P, and V460V. Since patients who have the genotype N370S/L444P usually develop a moderate to severe course of Gaucher disease, and those who are homozygous for the D409H or the L444P mutations develop aggressive disease accompanied by neurological signs, it is of great importance to distinguish between the severe single base pair mutations and the mild complex recTL allele. This distinction should prove useful in assessing the natural history of Gaucher disease and in considering the indications for early enzyme replacement therapy.

Adult↗

Epsilon-tubulin is an essential component of the centriole.

Centrioles and basal bodies are cylinders composed of nine triplet microtubule blades that play essential roles in the centrosome and in flagellar assembly. Chlamydomonas cells with the bld2-1 mutation fail to assemble doublet and triplet microtubules and have defects in cleavage furrow placement and meiosis. Using positional cloning, we have walked 720 kb and identified a 13.2-kb fragment that contains epsilon-tubulin and rescues the Bld2 defects. The bld2-1 allele has a premature stop codon and intragenic revertants replace the stop codon with glutamine, glutamate, or lysine. Polyclonal antibodies to epsilon-tubulin show peripheral labeling of full-length basal bodies and centrioles. Thus, epsilon-tubulin is encoded by the BLD2 allele and epsilon-tubulin plays a role in basal body/centriole morphogenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Phenotypic effect of substitution of allelic variants for a histone H1 subtype specific for growing tissues in the garden pea (Pisum sativum L.).

In pea, subtype H1-7 of histone H1 is specific for young actively growing tissues and disappears from chromatin of mature tissues. We sequenced the alleles coding for three main variants, numbered according to the increase of the electrophoretic mobility. Allele 1 differs from the most common allele 2 by eight nucleotide substitutions, two of them associated with amino acid replacements, His->Tyr in the globular domain and Ala->Val in the C-terminal domain. Allele 3 differs from alleles 1 and 2 by a 24-bp deletion in the part coding for the C-terminal domain. In three greenhouse experiments, we compared quantitative traits in nearly isogenic lines differing by these H1-7 variants. In experiment 1, three lines bearing either of the three allelic variants were compared, the other experiments involved pairs of lines bearing variants 1 and 3. In all experiments, statistically significant differences between the lines were registered, mostly related to the plant size. The most prominent effect was associated with plant growth dynamics. Plants of line 3, carrying the 8-amino acid deletion in histone H1-7, on average grew slower. In two experiments, the differences of the mean stem length persisted throughout plant growth while in experiment 2 differences disappeared upon maturity. The H1-7 subtype is supposed to be related to maintenance of chromatin state characteristic for cell growth and division.

Alleles↗

Molecular mechanisms of polymorphic CYP3A7 expression in adult human liver and intestine.

Human CYP3A enzymes play a pivotal role in the metabolism of many drugs, and the variability of their expression among individuals may have a strong impact on the efficacy of drug treatment. However, the individual contributions of the four CYP3A genes to total CYP3A activity remain unclear. To elucidate the role of CYP3A7, we have studied its expression in human liver and intestine. In both organs, expression of CYP3A7 mRNA was polymorphic. The recently identified CYP3A7*1C allele was a consistent marker of increased CYP3A7 expression both in liver and intestine, whereas the CYP3A7*1B allele was associated with increased CYP3A7 expression only in liver. Because of the replacement of part of the CYP3A7 promoter by the corresponding region of CYP3A4, the CYP3A7*1C allele contains the proximal ER6 motif of CYP3A4. The pregnane X and constitutively activated receptors were shown to bind with higher affinity to CYP3A4-ER6 than to CYP3A7-ER6 motifs and transactivated only promoter constructs containing CYP3A4-ER6. Furthermore, we identified mutations in CYP3A7*1C in addition to the ER6 motif that were necessary only for activation by the constitutively activated receptor. We conclude that the presence of the ER6 motif of CYP3A4 mediates the high expression of CYP3A7 in subjects carrying CYP3A7*1C.

Adult↗

Construction and analyses of mutant ftsH alleles of Bacillus subtilis involving the ATPase- and Zn-binding domains.

The ftsH gene, present in all eubacterial species, is anchored in the cytoplasmic membrane and contains an ATP- and a Zn-binding domain that are both part of a metalloprotease activity. The Bacillus subtilis ftsH is not essential, but null mutants exhibit a pleiotropic phenotype including filamentous growth; hypersensitivity towards heat and salt stress and a failure to sporulate. To find out whether one or the other functional domain is involved in these different phenotypes, point mutations were introduced into the coding region for both domains leading to a replacement of conserved amino acid residues. The mutant alleles were fused to a xylose-inducible promoter and integrated ectopically into two different strains, one expressing the wild-type ftsH allele and the other carrying a ftsH knockout. While none of the strains exhibited a growth defect in rich medium at 37 degrees C, those strains expressing only the mutant alleles did not resume growth after heat or salt stress challenge. Furthermore, none of the mutant alleles promoted sporulation. While only those purified mutant FtsH proteins with an intact Walker A box exhibited ATPase activity, all of them failed to degrade beta-casein.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation by a nifA deletion mutant of Rhizobium meliloti: the role of an unusual ntrC allele.

In the N2-fixing alfalfa symbiont Rhizobium meliloti, the three sigma 54 (NTRA)-dependent positively acting regulatory proteins NIFA, NTRC, and DCTD are required for activation of promoters involved in N2 fixation (pnifHDKE and pfixABCX), nitrogen assimilation (pglnII), and C4-dicarboxylate transport (pdctA), respectively. Here, we describe an allele of ntrC which results in the constitutive activation of the above NTRC-, NIFA-, and DCTD-regulated promoters. The expression and activation of wild-type NTRC occur in response to nitrogen availability, whereas in cells carrying the ntrC283 allele, the NTRC283 protein appears constitutively active and is constitutively expressed. The ntrC283 allele was shown to carry a single mutation resulting in the replacement of an Asp by a Tyr residue in the helix-turn-helix motif of ntrC283. Introduction of the ntrC283 allele into a nifA deletion mutant restores the N2-fixation ability to 70 to 80% of the wild-type level. Thus, the nifA gene is dispensable for symbiotic N2 fixation.

Alleles↗

Genetic modifiers of streptomycin resistance in Pneumococcus.

Bryan, Betty E. (University of Rochester, Rochester, N. Y.). Genetic modifiers of streptomycin resistance in pneumococcus. J. Bacteriol. 82:461-470. 1961.-Streptomycin-resistant mutants arising spontaneously in pneumococcus vary widely with respect to the maximal concentrations of streptomycin which they resist. A small random sample of these mutations tested for linkage are allelic or closely linked. One single-step mutant resisting a relatively low level of streptomycin undergoes the following changes: (i) replacement (by a secondary mutation) of the original mutation by an allele conferring a high level of resistance; (ii) reversion to complete sensitivity by back mutation at the originally mutated site; (iii) enhancement by an unlinked modifier gene which confers no resistance by itself but raises the level of resistance of the mutant strain approximately 10-fold. This modifier may have some specificity in its action on the different mutations occurring at a gene locus.The possibility is discussed that multi-step resistance may often originate by acquisition of modifiers.

Drug Resistance, Microbial↗

Introduction of a point mutation into the mouse genome by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells using a replacement type vector with a selectable marker.

The introduction of small mutations instead of null alleles into the mouse genome has broad applications to the study of protein structure-function relationships and the creation of animal models of human genetic diseases. To test a simple mutational strategy we designed a targeting vector for the mouse proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene containing a single nucleotide insertion that converts the initial tyrosine codon of beta-endorphin 1-31 to a premature translational termination codon and introduces a unique Hpal endonuclease restriction site. The targeting vector also contains a neo cassette immediately 3' to the last POMC exon and a herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase cassette to allow positive and negative selection. Homologous recombination occurred at a frequency of 1/30 clones of electroporated embryonic stem cells selected in G418 and gancyclovir. 10/11 clones identified initially by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) strategy had the predicted structure without evidence of concatemer formation by Southern blot analysis. We used a combination of Hpa I digestion of PCR amplified fragments and direct nucleotide sequencing to further confirm that the point mutation was retained in 9/10 clones. The POMC gene was transcriptionally silent in embryonic stem cells and the targeted allele was not activated by the downstream phosphoglycerate kinase-1 promoter that transcribed the neo gene. Under the electroporation conditions used, we have demonstrated that a point mutation can be introduced with high efficiency and precision into the POMC gene using a replacement type vector containing a retained selectable marker without affecting expression of the allele in the embryonic stem cells. A similar strategy may be useful for a wide range of genes.

Alleles↗

Integrating biogeographic and genetic approaches to investigate the history of bioluminescent colour alleles in the Jamaican click beetle, Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus.

Bioluminescent colour in the Jamaican click beetle, Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus, is an ideal system for studies moving from gene to landscape to gain a holistic understanding of the molecular, ecological, and historical bases for adaptation. Previous studies have established the genetics of bioluminescent colour variation in the beetle to the level of the nucleotide base pair in the target gene luciferase. Three different luciferase colour alleles affecting ventral light organ colour [yellow-green (vYG), yellow (vYE), and orange (vOR)] were found segregating in P. plagiophthalamus populations. These alleles differ from each other in a number of replacement mutations (14 total), the majority of which (11) have a measurable effect on colour. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a long-term adaptive trend on Jamaica towards longer wavelength bioluminescence, culminating in the most recently derived vOR allele. Here, we further investigate the historical and geographic context of adaptive colour evolution by testing a vicariance model for the origins of the extant ventral light organ polymorphism: that the vOR allele arose and differentiated in an isolated deme on the east side of Jamaica before spreading westward. Comparisons of colour phenotypes, luciferase coding sequences, the third intron of the gene, mtDNA, and microsatellite data provided evidence for past population subdivision on Jamaica and ongoing gene flow, as has been found for other island endemics. However, the pattern of differentiation supported the allopatric divergence of vYG and vYE alleles. The vOR gene appears to have arisen relatively recently from a vYE precursor and postdates the period of major biogeographic isolation. We discuss the implications of the results for discerning ecological causation in the adaptive sequence from nucleotide to landscape to population change for bioluminescent colour.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Molecular evolution of two linked genes, Est-6 and Sod, in Drosophila melanogaster.

We have obtained 15 sequences of Est-6 from a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster to test whether linkage disequilibrium exists between Est-6 and the closely linked Sod, and whether natural selection may be involved. An early experiment with allozymes had shown linkage disequilibrium between these two loci, while none was detected between other gene pairs. The Sod sequences for the same 15 haplotypes were obtained previously. The two genes exhibit similar levels of nucleotide polymorphism, but the patterns are different. In Est-6, there are nine amino acid replacement polymorphisms, one of which accounts for the S-F allozyme polymorphism. In Sod, there is only one replacement polymorphism, which corresponds to the S-F allozyme polymorphism. The transversion/transition ratio is more than five times larger in Sod than in Est-6. At the nucleotide level, the S and F alleles of Est-6 make up two allele families that are quite different from each other, while there is relatively little variation within each of them. There are also two families of alleles in Sod, one consisting of a subset of F alleles, and the other consisting of another subset of F alleles, designed F(A), plus all the S alleles. The Sod F(A) and S alleles are completely or nearly identical in nucleotide sequence, except for the replacement mutation that accounts for the allozyme difference. The two allele families have independent evolutionary histories in the two genes. There are traces of statistically significant linkage disequilibrium between the two genes that, we suggest, may have arisen as a consequence of selection favoring one particular sequence at each locus.

Animals↗

Biochemical and molecular characterization of hereditary myeloperoxidase deficiency.

Hereditary myeloperoxidase (MPO) deficiency is a neutrophil disorder characterized by the lack of peroxidase activity. Cytochemical, biochemical, spectroscopic, immunocytochemical, and genetic studies were carried out on a 5-year-old MPO-deficient subject and on her parents. The father was also MPO-deficient, whereas the mother had 24% of normal MPO activity. Although the typical absorption spectrum of MPO was absent in both the father and daughter, the father's neutrophils, and not those of the daughter, contained material antigenically related to MPO. In the MPO gene of the father, two mutations were found, each located in a different allele: a T --> C transition, causing the nonconservative replacement M251T and a 14-base deletion within exon 9. The M251T substitution occurred in the carboxy-terminal region of the light chain that is included in the heme pocket. The daughter inherited the 14-base deletion from her father. The study of the MPO mRNAs present in liquid cultures of granulocyte precursors surprisingly showed that the same genetic defect, ie, the 14-base deletion, seemed to exhibit different mRNA phenotypes in the father and the daughter. In fact, mRNA derived from the 14-base-deleted allele was not found in the father and an aberrantly spliced MPO mRNA with a 77-base deletion of exon 9, which includes the 14-base deletion and leads to the generation of a premature stop codon, was found in the daughter. The possibility that Delta77 mRNA could derive from other mutations linked to the Delta14 allele was dismissed because no sequence differences were found in the region (exons and exon-intron junctions). Our data indicate that the alteration of the mRNA context caused by the 14-base deletion provide a basis for the 77-base deletion in the mRNA processing. Since the granulocyte precursors from the liquid cultures of the father were more differentiated than those from the daughter, the observed different behavior of the 14-base-deleted allele in the father and daughter may be the result of a differentiation-stage dependent control of altered spliced mRNA, which may be tolerated during the early stages of differentiation but degraded at later stages. In the liquid cultures of the daughter's cells, in addition to the mRNA with the 77-base deletion, a mRNA with the wild type sequence was also found. This mRNA was inherited from the mother, since no mutations were found in her MPO cDNA and MPO gene. The MPO defect might be caused by a regulatory mutation that induces the MPO gene switch off at an early stage of granulocyte differentiation.

Adult↗

One-step gene replacement in yeast by cotransformation.

A general method to replace chromosomal DNA sequences of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by any in vitro modified DNA sequence has been developed and was applied to the PHO5 locus on chromosome II. A recipient strain was constructed in which part of the chromosomal PHO5 sequence was substituted by the URA3 gene. Replacement of this pho5-URA3 substitution by pho5 mutant alleles was achieved in one step by cotransformation with a pho5 DNA fragment and the self-replicating plasmid YEp13, which contains the LEU2 gene as a selectable marker. Leu+ transformants were selected, and the replacement events at the PHO5 locus were detected by their Ura- phenotype (1-4% of the Leu+ were Ura-). In a similar way the PHO5 coding sequence was replaced by the sequence coding for human tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA).

Alleles↗