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Recent advances in the molecular analysis of inherited disease.

Many important human genes have been cloned during the last ten years. In some cases, using reverse genetic techniques [Orkin, S. H. (1986) Cell 47, 845-850], disease-causing genes have been isolated whose product was previously unknown. Important examples include the dystrophin protein which, when mutated, gives rise to either Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy [Koenig, M., Hoffman, E. P., Bertelson, C. J., Monaco, A. P., Feener, C. and Kunkel, L. M. (1987) Cell 50, 509-517; Monaco, A. P., Bertelson, C. J., Liechti-Gallati, S. & Kunkel, L. M. (1988) Genomics 2, 90-95; Koenig, M., Monaco, A. P. & Kunkel, L. M. (1988) Cell 53, 219-228] and the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) [Riordan, J. R., Rommens, J. M., Kerem, B.-S., Alon, N., Rozmahel, R., Grzelczak, Z., Zielenski, J., Lok, S., Plavsic, N., Chou, J.-L., Drumm, M. L., Ianuzzi, M. C., Collins, F. S. & Tsui, L.-C. (1989) Science 245, 1066-1073]. Recently the technology for systematically detecting single base-pair changes by chemical methods, enzymatic methods or direct DNA sequencing has greatly expanded and simplified. In addition to providing structural information about these clinically important genes and information on disease-causing mutations, these studies have led to an increased understanding of mechanisms of mutation, to the discovery of novel genetic mechanisms and to important clinical applications of carrier detection and pre-natal diagnosis. The recent rapid progress has been made possible by the development of DNA amplification using the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) invented by Saiki and colleagues [Saiki, R. K., Chang, C-A., Levenson, C. H., Warren, T. C., Boehm, C. D., Kazazian, H. H. & Ehrlich, H. A. (1988) N. Engl. J. Med. 319, 537-541].

Chromosome Aberrations↗

Identification of a yeast peroxisomal member of the family of AMP-binding proteins.

We established a reverse-genetic approach to identify peroxisomal proteins involved in peroxisomal fatty acid metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Putative peroxisomal peripheral membrane proteins were isolated by successive extraction of purified peroxisomes and purified by HPLC and SDS/PAGE. Six proteins were identified by peptide sequence analysis, including acyl-CoA oxidase and a trifunctional enzyme of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation system as well as peroxisomal malate dehydrogenase 3 and carnitine acetyltransferase. In addition two previously unknown putative peroxisomal proteins were identified, an unknown 40-kDa protein and a protein which we named Pcs60p, both major constituent of the isolated protein fraction. Pcs60p is encoded by ORF Z36091 of chromosome II from S. cerevisiae and consists of 543 amino acids with a molecular mass of 60.5 kDa. Biochemical, immunofluorescence microscopy and immunocytochemical data confirmed that Pcs60p is a peroxisomal peripheral membrane protein but the protein is also localized in the peroxisomal matrix. Consistent with the intraperoxisomal localization, the consensus sequence for a peroxisomal-targeting signal 1 (PTS1) is present at the extreme C-terminus of Pcs60p. Deletion studies revealed that the peroxisomal localization of the protein depends on the presence of this signal sequence. Expression of Pcs60p is highly inducible by oleic acid, however, the protein is dispensable for growth on oleic acid as single carbon source. Pcs60p belongs to the family of proteins which act via an ATP-dependent covalent binding of AMP to their substrates and shows the highest degree of similarity to the Escherichia coli long chain acyl-CoA synthetase.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗

Primary structure and characterization of an exopolygalacturonase from Aspergillus tubingensis.

From the culture fluid of the hyphal fungus Aspergillus tubingensis, an exopolygalacturonase with a molecular mass of 78 kDa, an isoelectric point in the pH-range 3.7-4.4 and a pH optimum of 4.2 was purified. The enzyme has been characterized as an exopolygalacturonase [poly(1,4-alpha-D-galacturonide)galacturonohydrolase] that cleaves monomer units from the non-reducing end of the substrate molecule. K(m) and Vmax for polygalacturonic acid hydrolysis were 3.2 mg ml-1 and 3.1 mg ml-1 and 255 U mg-1 and 262 U mg-1 for the wild-type and recombinant enzymes, respectively. The kinetic data of exopolygalacturonase on oligogalacturonates of different degree of polymerization (2-7) were interpreted in terms of a subsite model to obtain more insight into catalysis and substrate binding. On oligogalacturonates of different degrees of polymerization (2-7), the Michaelis constant (K(m)) decreased with increasing chain length (n). The Vmax value increased with chain length up to n = 4, then reached a plateau value. The enzyme was competitively inhibited by galacturonic acid (Ki = 0.3 mM) as well as by reduced digalacturonate (Ki = 0.4 mM). The exopolygalacturonase gene (pgaX) was cloned by reverse genetics and shows only 13% overall amino acid sequence identity with A. niger endopolygalacturonases. The exopolygalacturonase is most related to plant polygalacturonases. Only four small stretches of amino acids are conserved between all known endogalacturonases and exopolygalacturonases. Expression of the pgaX gene is inducible with galacturonic acid and is subject to catabolite repression. A fusion between the promoter of the A. niger glycolytic gene encoding pyruvate kinase and the pgaX-coding region was used to achieve high level production of exopolygalacturonase under conditions where no endopolygalacturonases were produced.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Exclusion of the autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa gene from a substantial region of chromosome 1: study of a large Australian family.

In an attempt to map the gene(s) responsible for autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP), the technique of reverse genetics was used on a large multigenerational Australian pedigree. The family demonstrated a form of the disease which appears to be less severe than that observed in the Irish pedigree. It was typed for 10 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers on chromosome 1. The data from the linkage study was analysed using the programs LIPED 3; six markers gave informative results. The ADRP gene was excluded from this family from 102 cM using previously prepared chromosome 1 maps. This accounts for 36% of chromosome 1 which is estimated to be the longest human chromosome.

Adolescent↗

Liver invasion by malarial parasites--how do malarial parasites break through the host barrier?

Malarial transmission to the human host is established by sporozoite infection of the liver. Sporozoites are released from the mosquito salivary glands and carried by the blood flow to the liver sinusoid. In the sinusoid, sporozoites leave the blood circulation by crossing the sinusoidal cell layer to infect hepatocytes, the site for their development into the erythrocyte-invasive forms. Traversal of the sinusoidal cell layer and subsequent hepatocyte infection are the most important events in sporozoite liver invasion, but the molecular basis of both events remains to be elucidated. The present review of sporozoite liver invasion focuses on recent advances in this topic obtained by application of reverse genetics. Sporozoites traverse host cells, rupturing the host cell membrane in the process. Three microneme proteins have important roles in this motility. Disruption of one of these genes abolishes or severely impairs cell traversal without affecting other types of invasive motility. Studies using these disruptant parasites indicate that cell-traversal ability is required for crossing the sinusoidal cell layer and accessing the hepatocytes for infection. This process is homologous to midgut epithelium penetration by the malarial ookinete, because identical or paralogous genes are critically involved in both processes. After arrival at the hepatocyte, the invasion mode of the sporozoites switches from cell traversal to hepatocyte infection.

Animals↗

Guard cell metabolism and CO2 sensing.

In this review we concentrate on guard cell metabolism and CO2 sensing. Although a matter of some controversy, it is generally accepted that the Calvin cycle plays a minor role in stomatal movements. Recent data emphasise the importance of guard cell starch degradation and of carbon import from the guard cell apoplast in promoting and maintaining stomatal opening. Chloroplast maltose and glucose transporters appear to be crucial to the export of carbon from both guard and mesophyll cells. The way guard cells sense CO2 remains an unresolved question. However, a better understanding of the cellular events downstream from CO2 sensing is emerging. We now recognise that there are common as well as unique steps in abscisic acid (ABA) and CO2 signalling pathways. For example, while ABA and CO2 both trigger increases in cytoplasmic free calcium, unlike ABA, CO2 does not promote a cytoplasmic pH change. Future advances in this area are likely to result from the increased use of techniques and resources, such as, reverse genetics, novel mutants, confocal imaging, and microarray analyses of the guard cell transcriptome.

Carbon Dioxide↗

Investigation into the role of the serine protease HtrA in Yersinia pestis pathogenesis.

The HtrA stress response protein has been shown to play a role in the virulence of a number of pathogens. For some organisms, htrA mutants are attenuated in the animal model and can be used as live vaccines. A Yersinia pestis htrA orthologue was identified, cloned and sequenced, showing 86% and 87% similarity to Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium HtrAs. An isogenic Y. pestis htrA mutant was constructed using a reverse genetics approach. In contrast to the wild-type strain, the mutant failed to grow at an elevated temperature of 39 degrees C, but showed only a small increase in sensitivity to oxidative stress and was only partially attenuated in the animal model. However, the mutant exhibited a different protein expression profile to that of the wild-type strain when grown at 28 degrees C to simulate growth in the flea.

Animals↗

RNA-mediated gene silencing in the phytopathogenic fungus Bipolaris oryzae.

The Ascomycetous fungus Bipolaris oryzae is the causal agent of brown leaf spot disease in rice and is a model for studying photomorphogenetic responses by near-UV radiation. Targeted gene disruption (knockout) for functional analysis of photomorphogenesis-related genes in B. oryzae can be achieved by homologous recombination with low efficiency. Here, the applicability of RNA silencing (knockdown) as a tool for targeting endogenous genes in B. oryzae is reported. A polyketide synthase gene (PKS1), involved in fungal DHN melanin biosynthesis pathways, was targeted by gene silencing as a marker. The silencing vector encoding hairpin RNA of the PKS1 fragment was constructed in a two-step PCR-based cloning, and introduced into the B. oryzae genomic DNA. Silencing of the PKS1 gene resulted in albino phenotypes and reduction of PKS1 mRNA expression. These results demonstrate the applicability of targeted gene silencing as a useful reverse-genetics approach in B. oryzae.

Ascomycota↗

Design of expression vectors for RNA interference based on miRNAs and RNA splicing.

RNA interference (RNAi) mediates sequence-specific post-transcriptional gene silencing in many eukaryotes and is used for reverse genetic studies and therapeutics. RNAi is triggered by double-stranded small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which can be processed from small hairpin RNAs generated from an expression vector. In some recently described vectors, the siRNAs are expressed from synthetic stem-loop precursors of microRNAs (miRNAs) driven by polymerase II promoters. We have designed new RNAi vectors, designated pSM155 and pSM30, that take into consideration miRNA processing and RNA splicing by placing the miRNA-based artificial miRNA expression cassettes inside of synthetic introns. Like the original miRNA vectors, we show that the pSM155 and pSM30 constructs efficiently down-regulate expression of firefly luciferase and an endogenous gene, phospholipase D2. Moreover, the expression of a coexpressed fluorescent marker is substantially improved by this new design. Another improvement of these new vectors is incorporation of two inverted BsmBI sites placed internal to the arms of the new miRNA-based vectors, so oligos used for cloning are shorter and the cost is reduced. These RNAi vectors thus provide new tools for gene suppression.

Base Sequence↗

Knockdown of human p53 gene expression in 293-T cells by retroviral vector-mediated short hairpin RNA.

RNA interference (RNAi) is an evolutionarily conserved process of gene silencing in multiple organisms, which has become a powerful tool for investigating gene function by reverse genetics. Recently, many groups have reported to use synthesized oligonucleotides or siRNA encoding plasmids to induce RNAi in mammalian cells by transfection, but this is still limited in its application, especially when it is necessary to generate long-term gene silencing in vivo. To circumvent this problem, retrovirus- or lentivirus-delivered RNAi has been developed. Here, we described two retroviral systems for delivering short hairpin RNA (shRNA) transcribed from the H1 promoter. The results showed that retroviral vector-mediated RNAi can substantially downregulate the expression of human p53 in 293-T cells. Furthermore, the retroviral vector-mediated RNAi in our transduction system can stably inactivate the p53 gene for a long time. Compared to shRNAs transcribed from the U6 promoter, H1-driven shRNA also dramatically reduced the expression of p53. The p53 downregulation efficiencies of H1- and U6-driven shRNAs were almost identical. The results indicate that retroviral vector-delivered RNAi would be a useful tool in functional genomics and gene therapy.

Cell Line↗

Cellular mechanisms which distinguish between hormone- and antihormone-activated estrogen receptor.

The use of reverse genetics has permitted a definition of the structural features within estrogen receptor required for its productive association with the transcription apparatus. These sequences, transactivation function 1 (TAF1) in the amino terminus and TAF2 at the carboxyl terminus, display distinct transcriptional functions. Using specific receptor mutations it has been shown that on some promoters both TAF1 and TAF2 are required for maximal transcriptional activity, whereas on others, additional factors bound to the target promoter can functionally substitute for TAF1 or TAF2. Estrogen functions as an ER agonist by promoting functional synergism between TAF1 and TAF2. Conversely, 4-OH-tamoxifen inhibits TAF2 activity and functions as an antagonist in cell contexts where TAF2 is required. Alternatively, if a 'TAF2 function' is supplied by another factor, 4-OH tamoxifen can manifest ER agonist activity. These data indicate that alterations in the cellular expression of proteins which mimic TAF1 or TAF2 activity can have a profound effect on the pharmacology of ER modulators. Thus the identification of the cellular proteins which interact with ER and its TAF regions will allow a definition of the mechanism used by the cell to distinguish between hormone- and antihormone-activated estrogen receptor.

Animals↗

Current status of flavivirus vaccines.

Although there are approximately 68 flaviviruses recognized, vaccines have been developed to control very few human flavivirus diseases. Licensed live attenuated vaccines have been developed for yellow fever (strain 17D) and Japanese encephalitis (strain SA14-14-2) viruses, and inactivated vaccines have been developed for Japanese encephalitis and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. The yellow fever live attenuated 17D vaccine is one of the most efficacious and safe vaccines developed to date and has been used to immunize more than 300 million people. A number of experimental vaccines are being developed, most notably for dengue. Candidate tetravalent live attenuated dengue vaccines are undergoing clinical trials. Other vaccines are being developed using reverse genetics, DNA vaccines, and recombinant immunogens. In addition, the yellow fever 17D vaccine has been used as a backbone to generate chimeric viruses containing the premembrane and envelope protein genes from other flaviviruses. The "Chimerivax" platform has been used to construct chimeric Japanese encephalitis and dengue viruses that are in different phases of development. Similar strategies are being used by other laboratories.

Animals↗

Phylogeny, chromosomal mapping and expression analyses of wheat CLAVATA pathway components suggest differential selection on receptor-like kinases, CLEs and T3 WOXes.

Ensuring continuous global food security is a major challenge of the 21st century. Wheat contributes approximately 20% of the total calories consumed by humans, and an estimated 60% increase in production will be required by 2050 to meet forecast global demand. In cereals like wheat, inflorescence (ear) size and branching patterns determine the number of flowers (florets) and grains produced, and these aspects of plant architecture are regulated by the activity of stem cells in the growing shoot tips. CLAVATA peptide and receptor-like kinase signalling regulates angiosperm stem cell activity, and as changes in CLAVATA function can improve crop yields, CLAVATA is a key target for reverse engineering. Here, we identify components of the wheat CLAVATA pathway using genome searches against Triticum aestivum and its wild relatives Triticum turgidum ssp. durum, Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides, Triticum urartu and Aegilops tauschii. Using phylogenetic and synteny analysis, we determine the relationship between homoeologues and infer patterns of gene family evolution. Whilst CLAVATA1, BARELY ANY MERISTEM, RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEIN KINASE 2, CORYNE and CLAVATA2 receptor-like kinase homologues are mainly present as single genome copies as in other grasses, CLAVATA3-like but not TRACHEARY ELEMENT DIFFERENTIATION FACTOR (TDIF)-like peptide encoding genes and WUSCHEL-LIKE HOMEOBOX (WOX) genes have expanded copy numbers with many gene gains and losses during evolution. Our results highlight wheat CLAVATA pathway components for reverse genetic analysis and indicate potential differential selection on wheat receptor-like kinases, their peptide ligands and WOXes.

Triticum↗

Molecular basis for high virulence of Hong Kong H5N1 influenza A viruses.

In 1997, an H5N1 influenza A virus was transmitted from birds to humans in Hong Kong, killing 6 of the 18 people infected. When mice were infected with the human isolates, two virulence groups became apparent. Using reverse genetics, we showed that a mutation at position 627 in the PB2 protein influenced the outcome of infection in mice. Moreover, high cleavability of the hemagglutinin glycoprotein was an essential requirement for lethal infection.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

LysM domain receptor kinases regulating rhizobial Nod factor-induced infection.

The rhizobial infection of legumes has the most stringent demand toward Nod factor structure of all host responses, and therefore a specific Nod factor entry receptor has been proposed. The SYM2 gene identified in certain ecotypes of pea (Pisum sativum) is a good candidate for such an entry receptor. We exploited the close phylogenetic relationship of pea and the model legume Medicago truncatula to identify genes specifically involved in rhizobial infection. The SYM2 orthologous region of M. truncatula contains 15 putative receptor-like genes, of which 7 are LysM domain-containing receptor-like kinases (LYKs). Using reverse genetics in M. truncatula, we show that two LYK genes are specifically involved in infection thread formation. This, as well as the properties of the LysM domains, strongly suggests that they are Nod factor entry receptors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterization of the reconstructed 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic virus.

The pandemic influenza virus of 1918-1919 killed an estimated 20 to 50 million people worldwide. With the recent availability of the complete 1918 influenza virus coding sequence, we used reverse genetics to generate an influenza virus bearing all eight gene segments of the pandemic virus to study the properties associated with its extraordinary virulence. In stark contrast to contemporary human influenza H1N1 viruses, the 1918 pandemic virus had the ability to replicate in the absence of trypsin, caused death in mice and embryonated chicken eggs, and displayed a high-growth phenotype in human bronchial epithelial cells. Moreover, the coordinated expression of the 1918 virus genes most certainly confers the unique high-virulence phenotype observed with this pandemic virus.

Animals↗

Diversification of C-function activity in maize flower development.

The Arabidopsis gene AGAMOUS is required for male and female reproductive organ development and for floral determinacy. Reverse genetics allowed the isolation of a transposon-induced mutation in ZAG1, the maize homolog of AGAMOUS. ZAG1 mutants exhibited a loss of determinacy, but the identity of reproductive organs was largely unaffected. This suggested a redundancy in maize sex organ specification that led to the identification and cloning of a second AGAMOUS homolog, ZMM2, that has a pattern of expression distinct from that of ZAG1. C-function organ identity in maize (as defined by the A, B, C model of floral organ development) may therefore be orchestrated by two closely related genes, ZAG1 and ZMM2, with overlapping but nonidentical activities.

Alleles↗

A role for the AKT1 potassium channel in plant nutrition.

In plants, potassium serves an essential role as an osmoticum and charge carrier. Its uptake by roots occurs by poorly defined mechanisms. To determine the role of potassium channels in planta, we performed a reverse genetic screen and identified an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant in which the AKT1 channel gene was disrupted. Roots of this mutant lacked inward-rectifying potassium channels and displayed reduced potassium (rubidium-86) uptake. Compared with wild type, mutant plants grew poorly on media with a potassium concentration of 100 micromolar or less. These results and membrane potential measurements suggest that the AKT1 channel mediates potassium uptake from solutions that contain as little as 10 micromolar potassium.

Arabidopsis↗