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Kemppainen M, Chowdhury J, Lundberg-Felten J, Pardo A. Fluorescent protein expression in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor: a plasmid toolkit for easy use of fluorescent markers in basidiomycetes. Curr Genet 2020; 66:791-811. [PMID: 32170354 DOI: 10.1007/s00294-020-01060-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
For long time, studies on ectomycorrhiza (ECM) have been limited by inefficient expression of fluorescent proteins (FPs) in the fungal partner. To convert this situation, we have evaluated the basic requirements of FP expression in the model ECM homobasidiomycete Laccaria bicolor and established eGFP and mCherry as functional FP markers. Comparison of intron-containing and intronless FP-expression cassettes confirmed that intron-processing is indispensable for efficient FP expression in Laccaria. Nuclear FP localization was obtained via in-frame fusion of FPs between the intron-containing genomic gene sequences of Laccaria histone H2B, while cytosolic FP expression was produced by incorporating the intron-containing 5' fragment of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase encoding gene. In addition, we have characterized the consensus Kozak sequence of strongly expressed genes in Laccaria and demonstrated its boosting effect on transgene mRNA accumulation. Based on these results, an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation compatible plasmid set was designed for easy use of FPs in Laccaria. The four cloning plasmids presented here allow fast and highly flexible construction of C-terminal in-frame fusions between the sequences of interest and the two FPs, expressed either from the endogenous gene promoter, allowing thus evaluation of the native regulation modes of the gene under study, or alternatively, from the constitutive Agaricus bisporus gpdII promoter for enhanced cellular protein localization assays. The molecular tools described here for cell-biological studies in Laccaria can also be exploited in studies of other biotrophic or saprotrophic basidiomycete species susceptible to genetic transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna Kemppainen
- Laboratory of Molecular Mycology, Institute of Basic and Applied Microbiology, Department of Science and Technology, Nacional University of Quilmes and CONICET, Bernal, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Jamil Chowdhury
- Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Judith Lundberg-Felten
- Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Alejandro Pardo
- Laboratory of Molecular Mycology, Institute of Basic and Applied Microbiology, Department of Science and Technology, Nacional University of Quilmes and CONICET, Bernal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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ZafA Gene Is Important for Trichophyton mentagrophytes Growth and Pathogenicity. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20040848. [PMID: 30781401 PMCID: PMC6412997 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20040848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Trichophyton mentagrophytes is a common fungal pathogen that causes human and animal dermatophytosis. Previous studies have shown that zinc deficiency inhibits T. mentagrophytes growth, and the ZafA gene of T. mentagrophytes can code the functionally similar zinc finger transcriptional factor that can promote zinc ion absorption; however, the impact of ZafA on virulence and pathogenicity remains undetermined. To assess its gene function, the ZafA mutant, ZafA-hph, and the ZafA complemented strain, ZafA+bar, were constructed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analyses were used to confirm the disruption. In vitro growth capacity and virulence analyses comparing ZafA-hph with wild-type T. mentagrophytes and ZafA+bar showed that ZafA-hph's growth performance, reproduction ability, and zinc ion absorption capacity were significantly lower than the wild-type T. mentagrophytes and ZafA+bar. ZafA-hph also showed weak hair biodegradation ability and animal pathogenicity. Thus, the significant decrease in T. mentagrophytes' growth ability and virulence was due to a lack of the zinc-responsive activity factor rather than the transformation process. This study confirmed that the T. mentagrophytes' zinc-responsive activity factor plays important roles in the pathogen's growth, reproduction, zinc ion absorption, and virulence. This factor is important and significant for effectively preventing and controlling T. mentagrophytes infections.
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Flexible gateway constructs for functional analyses of genes in plant pathogenic fungi. Fungal Genet Biol 2016; 79:186-92. [PMID: 26092806 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2015.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2015] [Revised: 03/26/2015] [Accepted: 03/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Genetic manipulation of fungi requires quick, low-cost, efficient, high-throughput and molecular tools. In this paper, we report 22 entry constructs as new molecular tools based on the Gateway technology facilitating rapid construction of binary vectors that can be used for functional analysis of genes in fungi. The entry vectors for single, double or triple gene-deletion mutants were developed using hygromycin, geneticin and nourseothricin resistance genes as selection markers. Furthermore, entry vectors containing green fluorescent (GFP) or red fluorescent (RFP) in combination with hygromycin, geneticin or nourseothricin selection markers were generated. The latter vectors provide the possibility of gene deletion and simultaneous labelling of the fungal transformants with GFP or RFP reporter genes. The applicability of a number of entry vectors was validated in Zymoseptoria tritici, an important fungal wheat pathogen.
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Zhang C, Meng X, Wei X, Lu L. Highly efficient CRISPR mutagenesis by microhomology-mediated end joining in Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Genet Biol 2015; 86:47-57. [PMID: 26701308 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2015.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 166] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2015] [Revised: 11/30/2015] [Accepted: 12/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Filamentous fungi have a dominant nonhomologous-end joining (NHEJ) DNA repair pathway, which results in the majority of transformed progenies having random heterologous insertion mutagenesis. Thus, lack of a versatile genome-editing tool prevents us from carrying out precise genome editing to explore the mechanism of pathogenesis. Moreover, clinical isolates that have a wild-type ku80 background without any selection nutrition marker especially suffer from low homologous integration efficiency. In this study, we have established a highly efficient CRISPR mutagenesis system to carry out precise and efficient in-frame integration with or without marker insertion with approximately 95-100% accuracy via very short (approximately 35-bp) homology arms in a process referred to as microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ). Based on this system, we have successfully achieved an efficient and precise integration of an exogenous GFP tag at the predicted site without marker insertion and edited a conidial melanin gene pksP and a catalytic subunit of calcineurin gene cnaA at multiple predicted sites with or without selection marker insertion. Moreover, we found that MMEJ-mediated CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis is independent of the ku80 pathway, indicating that this system can function as a powerful and versatile genome-editing tool in clinical Aspergillus isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center for Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiuhua Meng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center for Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiaolei Wei
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center for Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Ling Lu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Microbes and Functional Genomics, Jiangsu Engineering and Technology Research Center for Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
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Kim S, Ha BS, Ro HS. Current technologies and related issues for mushroom transformation. MYCOBIOLOGY 2015; 43:1-8. [PMID: 25892908 PMCID: PMC4397374 DOI: 10.5941/myco.2015.43.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/02/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Mushroom transformation requires a series of experimental steps, including generation of host strains with a desirable selective marker, design of vector DNA, removal of host cell wall, introduction of foreign DNA across the cell membrane, and integration into host genomic DNA or maintenance of an autonomous vector DNA inside the host cell. This review introduces limitations and obstacles related to transformation technologies along with possible solutions. Current methods for cell wall removal and cell membrane permeabilization are summarized together with details of two popular technologies, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation and restriction enzyme-mediated integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinil Kim
- Division of Applied Life Science and Research Institute for Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea
| | - Byeong-Suk Ha
- Division of Applied Life Science and Research Institute for Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea
| | - Hyeon-Su Ro
- Division of Applied Life Science and Research Institute for Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea
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Schoberle TJ, Nguyen-Coleman CK, Herold J, Yang A, Weirauch M, Hughes TR, McMurray JS, May GS. A novel C2H2 transcription factor that regulates gliA expression interdependently with GliZ in Aspergillus fumigatus. PLoS Genet 2014; 10:e1004336. [PMID: 24784729 PMCID: PMC4006717 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2013] [Accepted: 03/13/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Secondary metabolites are produced by numerous organisms and can either be beneficial, benign, or harmful to humans. Genes involved in the synthesis and transport of these secondary metabolites are frequently found in gene clusters, which are often coordinately regulated, being almost exclusively dependent on transcription factors that are located within the clusters themselves. Gliotoxin, which is produced by a variety of Aspergillus species, Trichoderma species, and Penicillium species, exhibits immunosuppressive properties and has therefore been the subject of research for many laboratories. There have been a few proteins shown to regulate the gliotoxin cluster, most notably GliZ, a Zn2Cys6 binuclear finger transcription factor that lies within the cluster, and LaeA, a putative methyltransferase that globally regulates secondary metabolism clusters within numerous fungal species. Using a high-copy inducer screen in A. fumigatus, our lab has identified a novel C2H2 transcription factor, which plays an important role in regulating the gliotoxin biosynthetic cluster. This transcription factor, named GipA, induces gliotoxin production when present in extra copies. Furthermore, loss of gipA reduces gliotoxin production significantly. Through protein binding microarray and mutagenesis, we have identified a DNA binding site recognized by GipA that is in extremely close proximity to a potential GliZ DNA binding site in the 5' untranslated region of gliA, which encodes an efflux pump within the gliotoxin cluster. Not surprisingly, GliZ and GipA appear to work in an interdependent fashion to positively control gliA expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor J. Schoberle
- The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - C. Kim Nguyen-Coleman
- The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Jennifer Herold
- The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Ally Yang
- Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, Donnelly Centre, and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matt Weirauch
- Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, Donnelly Centre, and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Timothy R. Hughes
- Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, Donnelly Centre, and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - John S. McMurray
- The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
- Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Gregory S. May
- The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
- Program in Genes and Development, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America
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