Molecular and functional analysis of the LYS1 gene of Candida albicans

Lysine degradation through the saccharopine pathway in bacteria: LKR and SDH in bacteria and its relationship to the plant and animal enzymes

Lysine degradation through the saccharopine pathway has been shown only in plants and animals. Here, we show that bacteria possess the genes encoding lysine-ketoglutarate reductase (LKR) and saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH). In Silicibacter, the contiguous lkr and sdh genes are interspersed, in another frame, by a polypeptide of unknown function. The bacterial enzyme does not contain the 110-amino-acid interdomain (ID) that intersperses the LKR and SDH domains of the plant enzyme. The ID was found in Cyanobacteria interspersing polypeptides without similarities and activities of LKR and SDH. The LKR/SDH bifunctional polypeptide of animals and plants may have arisen from a α-proteobacterium with a configuration similar to that of Silicibacter, whereas the ID in the plant enzyme may have been inherited from Cyanobacteria.

Novel lysine biosynthetic gene sequences (LYS1 and LYS5) used as PCR targets for the detection of the pathogenic Candida yeast

We report here a sensitive and specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection assay for the pathogenic Candida yeast based on the novel LYS1 [encoding saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH)] and LYS5 [encoding phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PPTase)] gene sequences of the fungal unique lysine biosynthetic pathway. Both LYS1 and LYS5 DNA-specific PCR primers SG1, SG2 and SG3, SG4, respectively, amplified predicted 483 and 648-bp fragments from Candida albicans genomic DNA but not from other selected fungal, bacterial, or human DNA. The 18S rDNA control primers exhibited positive amplifications in all PCR assays. The LYS1-and LYS5-specific primers strongly amplified C. albicans and Candida tropicalis target sequences; however, the LYS1 primers also weakly amplified fragments from Candida kefyr and Candida lusitaniae DNA. Both sets of primers amplified target sequences from less than 10 pg of serially diluted C. albicans DNA, and the LYS1 specific primers also detected DNA isolated from serially diluted 50 C. albicans cells. The PCR primers reported here are sufficiently sensitive and specific for the potential early detection of Candida infections with no possibility of false positive results from cross-contamination with bacterial or human DNA.

Functional analysis through site-directed mutations and phylogeny of the Candida albicans LYS1-encoded saccharopine dehydrogenase

Candida albicans LYS1-encoded saccharopine dehydrogenase (CaLys1p, SDH) catalyzes the final biosynthetic step (saccharopine to lysine + alpha-ketoglutarate) of the novel alpha-aminoadipate pathway for lysine synthesis in fungi. The reverse reaction catalyzed by lysine-alpha-ketoglutarate reductase (LKR) is used exclusively in animals and plants for the catabolism of excess lysine. The 1,146 bp C. albicans LYS1 ORF encodes a 382 amino acid SDH. In the present investigation, we have used E. coli-expressed recombinant C. albicans Lys1p for the determination of both forward and reverse SDH activities in vitro, compared the sequence identity of C. albicans Lys1p with other known SDHs and LKRs, performed extensive site-directed mutational analyses of conserved amino acid residues and analyzed the phylogenetic relationship of C. albicans Lys1p to other known SDHs and LKRs. We have identified 14 of the 68 amino acid substitutions as essential for C. albicans Lys1p SDH activity, including two highly conserved functional motifs, H93XXF96XH98 and G138XXXG142XXG145. These results provided new insight into the functional and phylogenetic characteristics of the distinct biosynthetic SDH in fungi and catabolic LKR in higher eukaryotes.

Site-directed mutational analysis of the novel catalytic domains of alpha-aminoadipate reductase (Lys2p) from Candida albicans

The alpha-aminoadipate reductase, a novel enzyme in the alpha-aminoadipic acid pathway for the biosynthesis of lysine in fungi, catalyzes the conversion of alpha-aminoadipic acid to alpha-aminoadipic-delta-semialdehyde in the presence of ATP, NADPH and MgCl(2). This reaction requires two distinct gene products, Lys2p and Lys5p. In the presence of CoA, Lys5p posttranslationally activates Lys2p for the alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity. Sequence alignments indicate the presence of all functional domains required for the activation, adenylation, dehydrogenation and alpha-aminoadipic acid binding in the Lys2p. In this report we present the results of site-directed mutational analysis of the conserved amino acid residues in the catalytic domains of Lys2p from the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. Mutants were generated in the LYS2 sequence of pCaLYS2SEI by PCR mutagenesis and expressed in E. coli BL21 cells. Recombinant mutants and the wild-type Lys2p were analyzed for their alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity. Substitution of threonine 416, glycine 418, serine 419, and lysine 424 of the adenylation domain (TXGSXXXXK, residues 416-424) resulted in a significant reduction in alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity compared to the unmutagenized Lys2p control. Similarly replacement of glycine 978, threonine 980, glycine 981, phenylalanine 982, leucine 983 and glycine 984 of the NADPH binding domain (GXTGFLG, residues 978-984) caused a drastic decrease in alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity. Finally, substitution of histidine 460, aspartic acid 461, proline 462, isoleucine 463, glutamine 464, arginine 465, and aspartic acid 466 of the putative alpha-aminoadipic acid binding domain (HDPIQRD, residues 460-466) resulted in a highly reduced alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity. These results confirm the hypothesis that specific amino acid residues in highly conserved catalytic domains of Lys2p are essential for the alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity.

Characterization of a double gene disruption in the LYS2 locus of the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans

The 4.2 kbp LYS2 gene of Candida albicans encodes the 150 kDa subunit of the 180 kDa heterodimeric enzyme alpha-aminoadipate reductase. To facilitate structural and functional studies of the LYS2 gene, in this investigation both alleles were sequentially disrupted in C. albicans CAI4. The disruptions were performed using a targeting vector that contained a 2.2 kbp portion of LYS2 from which a 600-bp fragment had been deleted and replaced with a hisG-URA3-hisG cassette. Disruption of both alleles of the LYS2 locus was confirmed by Southern hybridization with appropriate probes. To determine the physiological effect of the LYS2 disruption, cell extracts were assayed for the LYS2-encoded alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity. The parent, heterozygote and LYS2-disrupted strains exhibited significant, partial and no activity, respectively. Transformation of the LYS2-disrupted strain with the LYS2 gene reversed the mutant phenotype as shown by growth on selective media and restored alpha-aminoadipate reductase activity. These results demonstrated that the LYS2 gene of C. albicans is responsible for the synthesis of functional alpha-aminoadipate reductase.

Cloning and sequence of a 3.835 kbp DNA fragment containing the HIS4 gene and a fragment of a PEX5-like gene from Candida albicans

We have isolated the Candida albicans HIS4 (CaHIS4) gene by complementation of a his4-34 Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant. The sequenced DNA fragment contains a putative ORF of 2514 bp, whose translation product shares a global identity of 44% and 55% to the His4 protein homologs of S. cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces lactis, respectively. Analysis of CaHIS4 sequence suggests that, similarly to S. cerevisiae HIS4, it codes for a polypeptide having three separate enzymatic activities (phosphoribosyl-AMP cyclohydrolase, phosphoribosyl-ATP pyrophosphohydrolase and histidinol dehydrogenase) which reside in different domains of the protein. A C. albicans his4 strain is complemented with this gene when using a C. albicans-S. cerevisiae-Escherichia coli shuttle vector, thus enabling the construction of a host system for C. albicans genetic manipulation. In addition, upstream of the sequenced CaHIS4 sequence, we have found the 3'-terminal half of a gene encoding a PEX5-like protein.

A nonameric core sequence is required upstream of the LYS genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Lys14p-mediated activation and apparent repression by lysine

The expression of the structural genes for lysine (LYS) biosynthesis is controlled by a pathway-specific regulation mediated by the transcriptional activator Lys14 in the presence of alpha-aminoadipate semialdehyde, an intermediate of the pathway acting as a co-inducer. Owing to end product inhibition of the first step of the pathway, excess lysine reduces the production of the co-inducer and causes apparent repression of the LYS genes. Analysis of LYS promoters and insertions within an heterologous reporter gene have allowed the characterization of an upstream activating element (UASLYS) able to confer Lys14- and alpha-amino-adipate semialdehyde-dependent activation as well as apparent repression by lysine to another yeast gene. This DNA motif is present as one of several copies in the promoters of at least six LYS genes. The consensus sequence derived from the comparison of the UASLYS showing the highest activation capacities comprises the nonameric core sequence TCCRNYGGA. The RNY sequence of the 3 bp spacer as well as the presence of flanking AT-rich regions on both sides of the core sequence appear essential for optimal activation. Further evidence that this element is the target of Lys14p was provided by the demonstration that Lys14p binds to UASLYS in vitro. The binding is independent of the presence of the co-inducer and is not affected by lysine. It depends on the integrity of the putative Zn(II)2Cys6 binuclear cluster contained in the Lys14p.

Lysine-ketoglutarate reductase and saccharopine dehydrogenase from Arabidopsis thaliana: nucleotide sequence and characterization

We isolated the gene encoding lysine-ketoglutarate reductase (LKR, EC 1.5.1.8) and saccharopine dehydrogenase (SDH, ED 1.5.1.9) from an Arabidopsis thaliana genomic DNA library based on the homology between the yeast biosynthetic genes encoding SDH (lysine-forming) or SDH (glutamate-forming) and Arabidopsis expressed sequence tags. A corresponding cDNA was isolated from total Arabidopsis RNA using RT-PCR and 5' and 3' Race. DNA sequencing revealed that the gene encodes a bifunctional protein with an amino domain homologous to SDH (lysine-forming), thus corresponding to LKR, and a carboxy domain homologous to SDH (glutamate-forming). Sequence comparison between the plant gene product and the yeast lysine-forming and glutamate-forming SDHs showed 25% and 37% sequence identity, respectively. No intracellular targeting sequence was found at the N-terminal or C-terminal of the protein. The gene is interrupted by 24 introns ranging in size from 68 to 352 bp and is present in Arabidopsis in a single copy. 5' sequence analysis revealed several conserved promoter sequence motifs, but did not reveal sequence homologies to either an Opaque 2 binding site or a Sph box. The 3'-flanking region does not contain a polyadenylation signal resembling the consensus sequence AATAAA. The plant SDH was expressed in Escherichia coli and exhibited similar biochemical characteristics to those reported for the purified enzyme from maize. This is the first report of the molecular cloning of a plant LKR-SDH genomic and cDNA sequence.

Biochemical and genetic characterization of Rbf1p, a putative transcription factor of Candida albicans

A Candida albicans gene encoding a novel DNA-binding protein that bound to the RPG box of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the telomeric repeat sequence of C. albicans was previously cloned and designated RBF1 (RPG-box-binding factor). In this report, determination of the functional domains of the protein is described. The DNA-binding domain was 140 aa in length, was centrally located between two glutamine-rich regions, and correlated with transcriptional activation in S. cerevisiae. The results, together with the previous finding that showed its predominant localization in the nucleus, suggest that this DNA-binding protein could be a transcription factor. Disruption of the functional RBF1 gene of C. albicans strains caused an alteration in cell morphology to the filamentous form on all solid and liquid media tested. Thus, we speculate that Rbf1p may be involved in the regulation of the transition between yeast and filamentous forms at the level of transcription.

Molecular properties of the lys1+ gene and the regulation of alpha-aminoadipate reductase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The alpha-aminoadipate pathway for the biosynthesis of lysine is unique to fungi. Molecular properties of the cloned lys1+ gene and the regulation of the encoded alpha-aminoadipate reductase (AAR) were investigated in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. A 5.2-kb HindIII-EcoRI fragment of S. pombe DNA, containing a functional lys1+ gene and a promoter, was subcloned to make the 10.7-kb plasmid pLYS1H. A nested 1.778-kb HindIII-EcoRI DNA fragment that complemented the lys1-131 mutant phenotype was sequenced from the plasmid pLYS1D, and shown to contain an open reading frame (ORF) of 470 amino acids, preceded by putative POLII promoter elements (TATA and CCAAT box elements, and two potential yeast GCN4-binding motifs) within 368 bp upstream of the start codon. This ORF shared with the corresponding region of the isofunctional AAR of Saccharomyces cerevisiae 49% amino-acid identity (62% similarity) overall, within which were smaller regions of marked sequence conservation. One such region coincided (95% identity) with a putative AMP-binding domain motif identified in the AAR of S. cerevisiae. In wild-type S. pombe, AAR activity from cells grown in lysine-supplemented minimal or YEPD media was less than the activity of cells grown in minimal medium. The AAR of S. pombe was more sensitive to feedback inhibition by lysine in vitro than the AAR of S. cerevisiae. These results show the effects of extensive evolutionary divergence on the structure and expression of a pivotal enzyme in the alpha-aminoadipate pathway. Presumably, delineated regions of strong sequence conservation correspond to discrete domains essential to AAR function.