Restriction Enzyme-mediated Integration Transformation Research Articles

Diacylglycerol acyl transferase: A pathogenicity related gene in Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

To gain more insight into the molecular mechanisms of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides pathogenesis, restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) mutagenesis identified the mutants of C. gloeosporioides impaired in pathogenicity. Transformants screened for defects in pathogenicity using detached leaves and fruits. Of the 20 REMI transformants tested, two mutants (H4 and H7) showed reduced pathogenicity on leaves of apple, kiwi, mango, peach, and fruits of guava, apple, and capsicum. One tagged gene from the genome sequence of mutant H4 was recovered by inverse PCR. Sequence analysis of the tagged site in mutant H4 revealed insertion in diacylglycerol acyltransferase gene which encodes diacylglycerol acyltransferase enzyme, catalyzing the steps involved in the biosynthesis of triacylglycerol, an important component of biological membranes and source of energy. Therefore, tagging of diacylglycerol acyltransferase gene in mutant H4 resulted in reduced pathogenicity, indicating possible role of this gene in pathogenicity of C. gloeosporioides.

Restriction Enzyme-Mediated Integration 방법으로 확보한 Fusarium oxysporum 형질전환체의 후자리산 생성능 분석

후자린산(FA)는 Fusarium 속 균이 생성하는 독소로서 다른 곰팡이독소보다 독성은 낮으나 다른 독소와 중복 오염시 전체 독성을 증진시키는 것으로 알려졌다. 현재까지 FA 생합성 관련 효소나 유전자가 Fusarium oxysporum에서 밝혀지지 않았기 때문에 본 연구에서는 관련 생합성 유전자의 발굴을 위해 제한효소를 통한 무작위 삽입 형질전환방법인 REMI를 이용하여 FA 생성 F. oxysporum 균주의 생합성유전자의 결손을 시도하였다. F. oxysporum 균주 2주를 대상으로 REMI를 시도한 결과, 평균 3.2주 (<TEX>$1{\mu}g$</TEX> DNA 당)의 효율로 7,100주 이상의 형질전환체를 육성하였다. FA 미생성 형질전환체를 스크리닝 하기 위해 FA가 함유된 배양액에서 다양한 식물종자의 발아여부를 조사한 결과, 11종의 종자 중 가장 감수성인 배추종자를 선발하였다. 각 형질전환체는 Czapek-Dox broth에서 3주간 배양한 후 배양여액을 배추종자의 발아여부 검정에 사용하였다. 검정결과 총 5,000여 주의 REMI 형질전환체 중 53주의 배양여액에서 종자가 발아하지 않아, 이들을 FA 미(저) 생성 추정 형질전환체로 선발하였다. 이중 26주의 FA 생성량을 HPLC로 분석한 결과, 2주의 형질전환체에서 모균주 생성량의 1% 이하의 FA가 검출되었다. 이 중 형질전환체 1주로부터 REMI 벡터 삽입 부위 게놈 DNA의 염기서열(252 bp)을 확보하였으며, 이 부위는 F. fujikuroi의 미동정 게놈부위와 93% 유사성이 있음을 확인하였다. 이 부위의 FA생성 관련성 증명을 위해서는 추후 연구가 필요하다. Fusaric acid (FA) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species. Its toxicity is relatively low but often associated with other mycotoxins, thus enhancing total toxicity. To date, biosynthetic genes or enzymes for FA have not been identified in F. oxysporum. In order to explore the genetic element(s) for FA biosynthesis, restriction enzyme mediated integration (REMI) procedure as an insertional mutagenesis was employed using FA producing-F. oxysporum strains. Genetic transformation of two F. oxysporum strains by REMI yielded more than 7,100 transformants with efficiency of average 3.2 transformants/<TEX>${\mu}g$</TEX> DNA. To develop a screening system using phytotoxicity of FA, eleven various grains and vegetable seeds were tested for germination in cultures containing FA: Kimchi cabbage seed was selected as the most sensitive host. Screening for FA non-producer of F. oxysporum was done by growing each fungal REMI transformant in Czapek-Dox broth for 3 weeks at <TEX>$25^{\circ}C$</TEX> then observing if the Kimchi cabbage seeds germinated in the culture filtrate. Of more than 5,000 REMI transformants screened, fifty-three made the seeds germinated, indicating that they produced little or fewer FA. Among them, twenty-six were analyzed for FA production by HPLC and two turned out to produce less than 1% of FA produced by a wild type strain. Sequencing of genomic DNA regions (252 bp) flanking the vector insertion site revealed an uncharacterized genomic region homologous (93%) to the F. fujikuroi genome. Further study is necessary to determine if the vector insertion sites in FA-deficient mutants are associated with FA production.

Overexpression of a cuticle-degrading protease Ver112 increases the nematicidal activity of Paecilomyces lilacinus

Due to their ability to degrade the proteins in nematode cuticle, serine proteases play an important role in the pathogenicity of nematophagous fungi against nematodes. The serine protease Ver112 was identified from the nematophagous fungus Lecanicillium psalliotae capable of degrading the nematode cuticle and killing nematodes effectively. In this study, the gene ver112 was introduced into the commercial biocontrol fungal agent Paecilomyces lilacinus by the restriction enzyme-mediated integration transformation. Compared to the wild strain, the transformant P. lilacinus 112 showed significantly greater protease activity, with nematicidal activities increased by 79% and 96% to Panagrellus redivivus and Caenorhabditis elegans at the second day, respectively. The crude protein extract isolated from the culture filtrate of P. lilacinus 112 also showed 20-25% higher nematicidal activity than that of the wild-type strain. Reverse transcription PCR results showed that the expression of gene ver112 in P. lilacinus 112 was correlated to protease activity of the culture filtrate. Our results demonstrated the first successful transfer of a virulence gene from one nematophagous fungus to another nematophagous fungus, and improved the pathogenicity of the recipient fungus against pest nematodes.

Transformation of taxol-producing endophytic fungi by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI)

The REMI method was used to introduce the plasmid pV2 harboring the hygromycin B phosphotransferase (hph) gene controlled by the Aspergillus nidulans trpC promoter and the trpC terminator into a taxol-producing endophytic fungus BT2. REMI transformation yielded stable transformants capable of continuing to grow on PDA medium containing 125 mug mL(-1) hygromycin B. The transformation efficiency was about 5-6 transformants mug(-1) plasmid DNA. The presence of hph gene in transformants was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analyses. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on the transformation of taxol-producing endophytic fungi by the REMI technique. This study provides an effective approach for improving taxol production of endophytic fungi by the genetic engineering of taxol biosynthetic pathway genes in the future.

Isolation of Pathogenicity Mutants of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis by Insertional Mutagenesis

Restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) mutagenesis was used to isolate mutants of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis impaired in pathogenicity. The race 2 strain Mel02010 was transformed with linearized pSH75, conferring resistance to hygromycin B, with or without the enzyme used to linearize the plasmid. Addition of restriction enzymes did not affect the transformation frequency. A total of 2929 REMI transformants were tested for pathogenicity to three melon cultivars, Amus, Ogon 9 and Ohi. The race 2 strains are pathogenic to Amus and Ogon 9, but not to Ohi. Of 43 transformants with reduced pathogenicity on susceptible melon cultivars, 12 mutants were examined in detail for pathogenicity, vegetative growth and integrative mode of pSH75. The levels of pathogenicity varied among these mutants. Two mutants (B48 and B137) almost completely lost pathogenicity to both susceptible cultivars, and the others had reduced pathogenicity. Mutants B48, B241, B886 and X36 were also impaired in vegetative growth. Mutant B809 was a biotin auxotroph. By DNA gel blot analysis, nine mutants were found to contain a single copy of the transformation vector. These mutants may thus be useful in isolating genes involved in pathogenicity.

Mutation of an arginine biosynthesis gene causes reduced pathogenicity in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis.

Restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) mutagenesis was used to tag genes required for pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis. Of the 1,129 REMI transformants tested, 13 showed reduced pathogenicity on susceptible melon cultivars. One of the mutants, FMMP95-1, was an arginine auxotroph. Structural analysis of the tagged site in FMMP95-1 identified a gene, designated ARG1, which possibly encodes argininosuccinate lyase, catalyzing the last step for arginine biosynthesis. Complementation of FMMP95-1 with the ARG1 gene caused a recovery in pathogenicity, indicating that arginine auxotrophic mutation causes reduced pathogenicity in this pathogen.

Insertional mutagenesis and cloning of the genes required for biosynthesis of the host-specific AK-toxin in the Japanese pear pathotype of Alternaria alternata.

The Japanese pear pathotype of Alternaria alternata causes black spot of Japanese pear by producing a host-specific toxin known as AK-toxin. Restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) mutagenesis was used to tag genes required for toxin biosynthesis. Protoplasts of a wild-type strain were treated with a linearized plasmid along with the restriction enzyme used to linearize the plasmid. Of 984 REMI transformants recovered, three produced no detectable AK-toxin and lost pathogenicity on pear leaves. Genomic DNA flanking the integrated plasmid was recovered from one of the mutants. With the recovered DNA used as a probe, a cosmid clone of the wild-type strain was isolated. Structural and functional analyses of an 8.0-kb region corresponding to the tagged site indicated the presence of two genes. One, designated AKT1, encodes a member of the class of carboxyl-activating enzymes. The other, AKT2, encodes a protein of unknown function. The essential roles of these two genes in both AK-toxin production and pathogenicity were confirmed by transformation-mediated gene disruption experiments. DNA gel blot analysis detected AKT1 and AKT2 homologues not only in the Japanese pear pathotype strains but also in strains from the tangerine and strawberry pathotypes. The host-specific toxins of these two pathotypes are similar in structure to AK-toxin. Homologues were not detected in other pathotypes or in non-pathogenic strains of A. alternata, suggesting acquisition of AKT1 and AKT2 by horizontal transfer.

Deletions in the gibberellin biosynthesis gene cluster of Gibberella fujikuroi by restriction enzyme-mediated integration and conventional transformation-mediated mutagenesis.

We induced mutants of Gibberella fujikuroi deficient in gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis by transformation-mediated mutagenesis with the vector pAN7-1. We recovered 24 GA-defective mutants in one of nine transformation experiments performed without the addition of a restriction enzyme. Each mutant had a similar Southern blot pattern, suggesting the integration of the vector into the same site. The addition of a restriction enzyme by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) significantly increased the transformation rate and the rate of single-copy integration events. Of 1,600 REMI transformants, two produced no GAs. Both mutants had multiple copies of the vector pAN7-1 and one had a Southern blot pattern similar to those of the 24 conventionally transformed GA-deficient mutants. Biochemical analysis of the two REMI mutants confirmed that they cannot produce ent-kaurene, the first specific intermediate of the GA pathway. Feeding the radioactively labelled precursors ent-kaurene and GA12-aldehyde followed by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that neither of these intermediates was converted to GAs in the mutants. Southern blot analysis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of the transformants using the bifunctional ent-copalyl diphosphate/ent-kaurene synthase gene (cps/ks) and the flanking regions as probes revealed a large deletion in the GA-deficient REMI transformants and in the GA-deficient transformants obtained by conventional insertional transformation. We conclude that transformation procedures with and without the addition of restriction enzymes can lead to insertion-mediated mutations and to deletions and chromosome translocations.

Conversion of the Pathogenic FungusColletotrichum magnato a Nonpathogenic, Endophytic Mutualist by Gene Disruption

Hygromycin-resistant transformants of the cucurbit pathogen Colletotrichum magna (teleomorph: Glomerella magna) were generated by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) transformation. A rapid pathogenicity assay involving watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seedlings was developed and 14,400 REMI transformants were screened and assessed for their ability to cause disease, colonize plant tissues, and confer disease resistance against wild-type C. magna. A total of 176 nonpathogenic REMI mutants capable of colonizing cucurbit plants were isolated and assigned to three groups based on their ability to confer disease resistance: phenotype A, 80 to 100% disease protection; phenotype B, 10 to 65% disease protection; and phenotype C, 0 to 4% disease protection. Molecular and genetic analyses of one REMI mutant (R1) indicated that the nonpathogenic phenotype A resulted from a single-site integration. R1 showed a 1:1 segregation of hygromycin resistance and nonpathogenicity and all hygro-mycin-resistant progeny were nonpathogenic. The integrated vector and 5.5 kb of flanking fungal genomic DNA were isolated from R1 and designated pGMR1. To verify that pGMR1 contained pathogenicity gene sequences, a wild-type isolate of C. magna was transformed with pGMR1 to induce gene disruptions by homologous integration. Approximately 47% of the pGMR1 transformants expressed phenotype A, indicating homologous integration and gene disruption.

Enhanced Transformation inMagnaporthe griseaby Restriction Enzyme Mediated Integration of Plasmid DNA

To use insertional mutagenesis for gene tagging, we tested whether transformation of Magnaporthe grisea could be enhanced by restriction enzyme mediated integration (REMI) of plasmid DNA. The integrative plasmid pAN7-2 was linearized by restriction endonucleases HindIII, BamHI, BglII, and EcoRV, and used to transform M. grisea strain Guy11 in the presence of the corresponding enzyme. Transformation frequency was increased by the incorporation of restriction enzymes, but the level of enhancement appeared to be enzyme-specific. An increase of up to 10-fold (75-200 transformants/μg DNA) was achieved with BamHI and BglII, but only a two-fold increase was observed with HindIII. The optimal enzyme concentration for enhanced transformation also varied among enzymes (e.g., 20 units per milliliter for BamHI vs. 200 units per milliliter for HindIII). Transformation efficiency appeared to be correlated with frequency of REMI. Southern blot analysis of the BamHI-transformants showed that 72% of the plasmid integrations were at BamHI sites whereas 28% of the integrations in HindIII-transformants were at HindIII sites. In EcoRV-mediated transformation, 42% of the integrations were at EcoRV sites. REMI transformation has allowed us to generate a large number of random insertions in the fungal genome from which mutant genes can be isolated

Factors Affecting the Efficient Transformation of Colletotrichum Species

Redman, R. S., and Rodriguez, R. J. 1994. Factors affecting the efficient transformation of Colletotrichum species. Experimental Mycology, 18, 230-246. Twelve isolates representing four species of Colletotrichum were transformed either by enhanced protoplast, restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI), or electroporation-mediated protocols. The enhanced protoplast transformation protocol resulted in 100- and 50-fold increases in the transformation efficiencies of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and C. magna , respectively. REMI transformation involved the use of Hin dIII and vector DNA linearized with HindIII to increase the number of integration events and potential gene disruptions in the fungal genome. Combining the enhanced protoplast and the REMI protocols resulted in a 22-fold increase in the number of hygromycin/nystatin-resistant mutants in C. lindemuthianum . Electroporation-mediated transformation was performed on mycelial fragments and spores of four Colletotrichum species, resulting in efficiencies of up to 1000 transformants/μg DNA. The pHA1.3 vector which confers hygromycin resistance contains telomeric sequences from Fusarium oxysporum , transforms by autonomous replication and genomic integration, and was essential for elevated transformation efficiencies of 100 to 10,000 transformants/μg DNA. Modifications of pHA1.3 occurred during bacterial amplification and post fungal transformation resulting in plasmids capable of significantly elevated transformation efficiencies in C. lindemuthianum.