A novel selectable marker based on Aspergillus niger arginase expression

Characterization of a novel 4-guanidinobutyrase from Candida parapsilosis

Enzymes of the ureohydrolase superfamily are specific in recognizing their substrates. While looking to broaden the substrate specificity of 4-guanidinobutyrase (GBase), we isolated a yeast, typed as Candida parapsilosis (NCIM 3689), that efficiently utilized both 4-guanidinobutyrate (GB) and 3-guanidinopropionate (GP) as a sole source of nitrogen. A putative GBase sequence was identified from its genome upon pBLAST query using the GBase sequence from Aspergillus niger (AnGBase). The C. parapsilosis GBase (CpGBase) ORF was PCR amplified, cloned, and sequenced. Further, the functional CpGBase protein expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae functioned as GBase and 3-guanidinopropionase (GPase). S. cerevisiae cannot grow on GB or GP. However, the transformants expressing CpGBase acquired the ability to utilize and grow on both GB and GP. The expressed CpGBase protein was enriched and analyzed for substrate saturation and product inhibition by γ-aminobutyric acid and β-alanine. In contrast to the well-characterized AnGBase, CpGBase from C. parapsilosis is a novel ureohydrolase and showed hyperbolic saturation for GB and GP with comparable efficiency (Vmax/KM values of 3.4 and 2.0, respectively). With the paucity of structural information and limited active site data available on ureohydrolases, CpGBase offers an excellent paradigm to explore this class of enzymes.

High-Throughput Screening of Dye-Ligands for Chromatography

Dye-ligand-based chromatography has become popular after Cibacron Blue, the first reactive textile dye, found application for protein purification. Many other textile dyes have since been successfully used to purify a number of proteins and enzymes. While the exact nature of their interaction with target proteins is often unclear, dye-ligands are thought to mimic the structural features of their corresponding substrates, cofactors, etc. The dye-ligand affinity matrices are therefore considered pseudo-affinity matrices. In addition, dye-ligands may simply bind with proteins due to electrostatic, hydrophobic, and hydrogen bonding interactions. Because of their low cost, ready availability, and structural stability, dye-ligand affinity matrices have gained much popularity. The choice of a large number of dye structures offers a range of matrices to be prepared and tested. When presented in the high-throughput screening mode, these dye-ligand matrices serve as a formidable tool for protein purification. One could pick from the list of dye-ligands already available or build a systematic library of such structures for use. A high-throughput screen may be set up to choose the best dye-ligand matrix as well as ideal conditions for binding and elution, for a given protein. The mode of operation could be either manual or automated. The technology is available to test the performance of dye-ligand matrices in small volumes in an automated liquid handling workstation. Screening a systematic library of dye-ligand structures can help establish a structure-activity relationship. While the origins of dye-ligand chromatography lie in exploiting pseudo-affinity, it is now possible to design very specific biomimetic dye structures. High-throughput screening will be of value in this endeavor as well.

Three Related Enzymes in Candida albicans Achieve Arginine- and Agmatine-Dependent Metabolism That Is Essential for Growth and Fungal Virulence

Amino acid metabolism is crucial for fungal growth and development. Ureohydrolases produce amines when acting on l-arginine, agmatine, and guanidinobutyrate (GB), and these enzymes generate ornithine (by arginase), putrescine (by agmatinase), or GABA (by 4-guanidinobutyrase or GBase). Candida albicans can metabolize and grow on arginine, agmatine, or guanidinobutyrate as the sole nitrogen source. Three related C. albicans genes whose sequences suggested that they were putative arginase or arginase-like genes were examined for their role in these metabolic pathways. Of these, Car1 encoded the only bona fide arginase, whereas we provide evidence that the other two open reading frames, orf19.5862 and orf19.3418, encode agmatinase and guanidinobutyrase (Gbase), respectively. Analysis of strains with single and multiple mutations suggested the presence of arginase-dependent and arginase-independent routes for polyamine production. CAR1 played a role in hyphal morphogenesis in response to arginine, and the virulence of a triple mutant was reduced in both Galleria mellonella and Mus musculus infection models. In the bloodstream, arginine is an essential amino acid that is required by phagocytes to synthesize nitric oxide (NO). However, none of the single or multiple mutants affected host NO production, suggesting that they did not influence the oxidative burst of phagocytes.IMPORTANCE We show that the C. albicans ureohydrolases arginase (Car1), agmatinase (Agt1), and guanidinobutyrase (Gbu1) can orchestrate an arginase-independent route for polyamine production and that this is important for C. albicans growth and survival in microenvironments of the mammalian host.

Characterization of 4-guanidinobutyrase from Aspergillus niger

Arginase is the only fungal ureohydrolase that is well documented in the literature. More recently, a novel route for agmatine catabolism in Aspergillus niger involving another ureohydrolase, 4-guanidinobutyrase (GBase), was reported. We present here a detailed characterization of A. niger GBase - the first fungal (and eukaryotic) enzyme to be studied in detail. A. niger GBase is a homohexamer with a native molecular weight of 336 kDa and an optimal pH of 7.5. Unlike arginase, the Mn²⁺ enzyme from the same fungus, purified GBase protein is associated with Zn²⁺ ions. A sensitive fluorescence assay was used to determine its kinetic parameters. GBase acted 25 times more efficiently on 4-guanidinobutyrate (GB) than 3-guanidinopropionic acid (GP). The Km for GB was 2.7±0.4 mM, whereas for GP it was 53.7±0.8 mM. While GB was an efficient nitrogen source, A. niger grew very poorly on GP. Constitutive expression of GBase favoured fungal growth on GP, indicating that GP catabolism is limited by intracellular GBase levels in A. niger. The absence of a specific GPase and the inability of GP to induce GBase expression confine the fungal growth on GP. That GP is a poor substrate for GBase and a very poor nitrogen source for A. niger offers an opportunity to select GBase specificity mutations. Further, it is now possible to compare two distinct ureohydrolases, namely arginase and GBase, from the same organism.

Novel Route for Agmatine Catabolism in Aspergillus niger: 4-Guanidinobutyrase Assay

The enzyme 4-guanidinobutyrase (GBase) catalyzes the hydrolysis of 4-guanidinobutyric acid (GB) to 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and urea. Here we describe methods to estimate urea and GABA that were suitably adapted from the published literature. The urea is determined by colorimetric assay using modified Archibald's method. However, the low sensitivity of this method often renders it impractical to perform fine kinetic analysis. To overcome this limitation, a high sensitive method for detecting GABA is exploited that can even detect 1 μM of GABA in the assay mixture. The samples are deproteinized by perchloric acid (PCA) and potassium hydroxide treatment prior to HPLC analysis of GABA. The method involves a pre-column derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) in combination with the thiol 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). The fluorescent GABA derivative is then detected after reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using isocratic elution. The protocols described here are broadly applicable to other biological samples involving urea and GABA as metabolites.

Deletion of ligD significantly improves gene targeting frequency in the lignocellulolytic filamentous fungus Penicillium oxalicum

To improve the gene targeting frequency (GTF) in the lignocellulolytic filamentous fungus Penicillium oxalicum HP7-1, the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) gene ligD was deleted. The obtained PoligD deletion mutant ΔPoligD showed no apparent defect in cellulase production, growth rate, and sensitivity towards osmotic stress and mutagen ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS), while increased sensitivity to high concentrations of methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). Deletion of PoligD gene resulted in significantly increased GTFs at three different loci in P. oxalicum, which are even higher than those in Poku70 deletion mutant. The GTF in ΔPoligD at PoargB (reached 97 %) and PoagaA (reached 90 %) loci increased 5.1- and 1.2-fold compared with that in wild-type strain (WT), while at the Podpp4 locus GTF was up to 27 % in ΔPoligD but close to 0 % in WT, with 0.5 kb homologous flanking regions. Furthermore, the argB and agaA nutritional selection in P. oxalicum was demonstrated and the PoargB and PoagaA genes could be used as selective markers in this fungus. Thus, the PoligD deletion mutant can be an important tool for the functional analysis of genes in P. oxalicum.

HisB as novel selection marker for gene targeting approaches in Aspergillus niger

Background

For Aspergillus niger, a broad set of auxotrophic and dominant resistance markers is available. However, only few offer targeted modification of a gene of interest into or at a genomic locus of choice, which hampers functional genomics studies. We thus aimed to extend the available set by generating a histidine auxotrophic strain with a characterized hisB locus for targeted gene integration and deletion in A. niger.

Results

A histidine-auxotrophic strain was established via disruption of the A. niger hisB gene by using the counterselectable pyrG marker. After curing, a hisB^-, pyrG^- strain was obtained, which served as recipient strain for further studies. We show here that both hisB orthologs from A. nidulans and A. niger can be used to reestablish histidine prototrophy in this recipient strain. Whereas the hisB gene from A. nidulans was suitable for efficient gene targeting at different loci in A. niger, the hisB gene from A. niger allowed efficient integration of a Tet-on driven luciferase reporter construct at the endogenous non-functional hisB locus. Subsequent analysis of the luciferase activity revealed that the hisB locus is tight under non-inducing conditions and allows even higher luciferase expression levels compared to the pyrG integration locus.

Conclusion

Taken together, we provide here an alternative selection marker for A. niger, hisB, which allows efficient homologous integration rates as well as high expression levels which compare favorably to the well-established pyrG selection marker.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-017-0960-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Contribution of arginase to manganese metabolism of Aspergillus niger

Aspects of manganese metabolism during normal and acidogenic growth of Aspergillus niger were explored. Arginase from this fungus was a Mn[II]-enzyme. The contribution of the arginase protein towards A. niger manganese metabolism was investigated using arginase knockout (D-42) and arginase over-expressing (ΔXCA-29) strains of A. niger NCIM 565. The Mn[II] contents of various mycelial fractions were found in the order: D-42 strain < parent strain < ΔXCA-29 strain. While the soluble fraction forms 60% of the total mycelial Mn[II] content, arginase accounted for a significant fraction of this soluble Mn[II] pool. Changes in the arginase levels affected the absolute mycelial Mn[II] content but not its distribution in the various mycelial fractions. The A. niger mycelia harvested from acidogenic growth media contain substantially less Mn[II] as compared to those from normal growth media. Nevertheless, acidogenic mycelia harbor considerable Mn[II] levels and a functional arginase. Altered levels of mycelial arginase protein did not significantly influence citric acid production. The relevance of arginase to cellular Mn[II] pool and homeostasis was evaluated and the results suggest that arginase regulation could occur via manganese availability.

Novel Route for Agmatine Catabolism in Aspergillus niger Involves 4-Guanidinobutyrase

Agmatine, a significant polyamine in bacteria and plants, mostly arises from the decarboxylation of arginine. The functional importance of agmatine in fungi is poorly understood. The metabolism of agmatine and related guanidinium group-containing compounds in Aspergillus niger was explored through growth, metabolite, and enzyme studies. The fungus was able to metabolize and grow on l-arginine, agmatine, or 4-guanidinobutyrate as the sole nitrogen source. Whereas arginase defined the only route for arginine catabolism, biochemical and bioinformatics approaches suggested the absence of arginine decarboxylase in A. niger. Efficient utilization by the parent strain and also by its arginase knockout implied an arginase-independent catabolic route for agmatine. Urea and 4-guanidinobutyrate were detected in the spent medium during growth on agmatine. The agmatine-grown A. niger mycelia contained significant levels of amine oxidase, 4-guanidinobutyraldehyde dehydrogenase, 4-guanidinobutyrase (GBase), and succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, but no agmatinase activity was detected. Taken together, the results support a novel route for agmatine utilization in A. niger. The catabolism of agmatine by way of 4-guanidinobutyrate to 4-aminobutyrate into the Krebs cycle is the first report of such a pathway in any organism. A. niger GBase peptide fragments were identified by tandem mass spectrometry analysis. The corresponding open reading frame from the A. niger NCIM 565 genome was located and cloned. Subsequent expression of GBase in both Escherichia coli and A. niger along with its disruption in A. niger functionally defined the GBase locus (gbu) in the A. niger genome.

High-throughput screening of dye-ligands for chromatography

Dye-ligand-based chromatography has become popular after Cibacron Blue, the first reactive textile dye, found application for protein purification. Many other textile dyes have since been successfully used to purify a number of proteins and enzymes. While the exact nature of their interaction with target proteins is often unclear, dye-ligands are thought to mimic the structural features of their corresponding substrates, cofactors, etc. The dye-ligand affinity matrices are therefore considered pseudo-affinity matrices. In addition, dye-ligands may simply bind with proteins due to electrostatic, hydrophobic, and hydrogen-bonding interactions. Because of their low cost, ready availability, and structural stability, dye-ligand affinity matrices have gained much popularity. Choice of a large number of dye structures offers a range of matrices to be prepared and tested. When presented in the high-throughput screening mode, these dye-ligand matrices provide a formidable tool for protein purification. One could pick from the list of dye-ligands already available or build a systematic library of such structures for use. A high-throughput screen may be set up to choose best dye-ligand matrix as well as ideal conditions for binding and elution, for a given protein. The mode of operation could be either manual or automated. The technology is available to test the performance of dye-ligand matrices in small volumes in an automated liquid-handling workstation. Screening a systematic library of dye-ligand structures can help establish a structure-activity relationship. While the origins of dye-ligand chromatography lay in exploiting pseudo-affinity, it is now possible to design very specific biomimetic dye structures. High-throughput screening will be of value in this endeavor as well.