Biomedically important pathogenic fungi detection with volatile biomarkers.

Volatile chemical profiles collected from the headspace of Aspergillus fumigatus (a pathogenic fungus that causes invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and chronic fungal sinusitis) grown on media with the connective tissue protein elastin, found in lung tissue, contained a large abundance of the sesquiterpene farnesene (3,7,11-trimethyl-1,3,6,10-dodecatetraene) and, depending on extraction time and sorbent material, other farnesene isomers and sesquiterpenes such as bisabolene (methyl-4-(6-methylhepta-1,5-dien-2-yl)cyclohex-1-ene). When human lung cells were cultured externally and infected with A. fumigatus, farnesene was also detected in each model lung system. Volatiles measured from cultured nasal lavage collected from a patient diagnosed with chronic fungal sinusitis, a condition frequently caused by A. fumigatus, revealed the presence of another pathogenic fungus, less frequently responsible for sinusitis, Epicoccum nigrum. The volatile profile of E. nigrum differed markedly from that of A. fumigatus with no sesquiterpenes detected.

Different patterns of regulation for the copper and cadmium metallothioneins of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum.

Metallothioneins (MTs) are small cysteine-rich peptides involved in metal homeostasis and detoxification. We have characterized two MT genes, HcMT1 and HcMT2, from the ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum in this study. Expression of HcMT1 and HcMT2 in H. cylindrosporum under metal stress conditions was studied by competitive reverse transcription-PCR analysis. The full-length cDNAs were used to perform functional complementation in mutant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As revealed by heterologous complementation assays in yeast, HcMT1 and HcMT2 each encode a functional polypeptide capable of conferring increased tolerance against Cd and Cu, respectively. The expression levels of HcMT1 were observed to be at their maximum at 24 h, and they increased as a function of Cu concentration. HcMT2 was also induced by Cu, but the expression levels were lower than those for HcMT1. The mRNA accumulation of HcMT1 was not influenced by Cd, whereas Cd induced the transcription of HcMT2. Zn, Pb, and Ni did not affect the transcription of HcMT1 or of HcMT2. Southern blot analysis revealed that both of these genes are present as a single copy in H. cylindrosporum. While the promoters of both HcMT1 and HcMT2 contained the standard stress response elements implicated in the metal response, the numbers and varieties of potential regulatory elements were different in these promoters. These results show that ectomycorrhizal fungi encode different MTs and that each of them has a particular pattern of expression, suggesting that they play critical specific roles in improving the survival and growth of ectomycorrhizal trees in ecosystems contaminated by heavy metals.

Gene expression patterns of trembling aspen trees following long-term exposure to interacting elevated CO2 and tropospheric O3.

Expression of 4600 poplar expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was studied over the 2001-2002 growing seasons using trees of the moderately ozone (O(3))-tolerant trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) clone 216 exposed to elevated CO(2) and/or O(3) for their entire 5-yr life history. Based on replication of the experiment in years 2001 and 2002, 238 genes showed qualitatively similar expression in at least one treatment and were retained for analysis. Of these 238 genes, 185 were significantly regulated (1.5-fold) from one year to the other in at least one treatment studied. Less than 1% of the genes were regulated 2-fold or more. In the elevated CO(2) treatment, relatively small numbers of genes were up-regulated, whereas in the O(3) treatment, higher expression of many signaling and defense-related genes and lower expression of several photosynthesis and energy-related genes were observed. Senescence-associated genes (SAGs) and genes involved in the flavonoid pathway were also up-regulated under O(3), with or without CO(2) treatment. Interestingly, the combined treatment of CO(2) plus O(3) resulted in the differential expression of genes that were not up-regulated with individual gas treatments. This study represents the first investigation into gene expression following long-term exposure of trees to the interacting effects of elevated CO(2) and O(3) under field conditions. Patterns of gene-specific regulation described in this study correlated with previously published physiological responses of aspen clone 216.

Isolation and characterization of a symbiosis-regulated ras from the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor.

Ectomycorrhizae formed by the symbiotic interaction between ectomycorrhizal fungi and plant roots play a key role in maintaining and improving the health of a wide range of plants. Mycorrhizal initiation, development, and functional maintenance involve morphological changes that are mediated by activation and suppression of several fungal and plant genes. We identified a gene, Lbras, in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor that belongs to the ras family of genes, which has been shown in other systems to be associated with signaling pathways controlling cell growth and proliferation. The Lbras cDNA complemented ras2 function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and had the ability to transform mammalian cells. Expression of Lbras, present as a single copy in the genome, was dependent upon interaction with host roots. Northern analysis showed that expression was detectable in L bicolor 48 h after interaction as well as in the established mycorrhizal tissue. Phylogenetic analysis with other Ras proteins showed that Lbras is related most closely to Aras of Aspergillus nidulans.

Effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on aspen clones varying in O3 sensitivity: can CO2 ameliorate the harmful effects of O3?

To determine whether elevated CO2 reduces or exacerbates the detrimental effects of O3 on aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). aspen clones 216 and 271 (O3 tolerant), and 259 (O3 sensitive) were exposed to ambient levels of CO2 and O3 or elevated levels of CO2, O3, or CO2 + O3 in the FACTS II (Aspen FACE) experiment, and physiological and molecular responses were measured and compared. Clone 259. the most O3-sensitive clone, showed the greatest amount of visible foliar symptoms as well as significant decreases in chlorophyll, carotenoid, starch, and ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) concentrations and transcription levels for the Rubisco small subunit. Generally, the constitutive (basic) transcript levels for phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) and chalcone synthase (CHS) and the average antioxidant activities were lower for the ozone sensitive clone 259 as compared to the more tolerant 216 and 271 clones. A significant decrease in chlorophyll a, b and total (a + b) concentrations in CO2, O3, and CO2 + O3 plants was observed for all clones. Carotenoid concentrations were also significantly lower in all clones; however. CHS transcript levels were not significantly affected, suggesting a possible degradation of carotenoid pigments in O3-stressed plants. Antioxidant activities and PAL and 1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylic acid (ACC)-oxidase transcript levels showed a general increase in all O3 treated clones, while remaining low in CO2 and CO2 + O3 plants (although not all differences were significant). Our results suggest that the ascorbate-glutathione and phenylpropanoid pathways were activated under ozone stress and suppressed during exposure to elevated CO2. Although CO2 + O2 treatment resulted in a slight reduction of O3-induced leaf injury, it did not appear to ameliorate all of the harmful affects of O3 and, in fact. may have contributed to an increase in chloroplast damage in all three aspen clones.

LB-AUT7, a novel symbiosis-regulated gene from an ectomycorrhizal fungus, Laccaria bicolor, is functionally related to vesicular transport and autophagocytosis.

We have identified LB-AUT7, a gene differentially expressed 6 h after ectomycorrhizal interaction between Laccaria bicolor and Pinus resinosa. LB-Aut7p can functionally complement its Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog, which is involved in the attachment of autophagosomes to microtubules. Our findings suggest the induction of an autophagocytosis-like vesicular transport process during ectomycorrhizal interaction.

Cloning and characterization of a symbiosis-related gene from an ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor.

An in vitro system for a Laccaria bicolorxPinus resinosa interaction was used to identify and clone a symbiosis-regulated gene from L. bicolor employing the mRNA differential display technique (DDRT-PCR). The DDRT-PCR identified several cDNAs that are differentially expressed as early as 6h into the interaction. One such cDNA was used to screen a L. bicolor cDNA library enriched for mRNAs expressed during early interaction with red pine seedlings. Characterization of a cDNA clone, PF6.2, showed that it contained a 1551 bp insert coding for a protein of 433 amino acids. Sequence analysis of the PF6.2 cDNA revealed the presence of several evolving repeats in the protein. To confirm this, the gene corresponding to PF6.2 was isolated and sequenced. The PF6.2 gene consisted of seven exons interrupted by six relatively small introns. Although the amino-acid sequence of the PF6.2 did not show significant overall similarity to any previously characterized proteins, of several direct repeats it contained a feature similar to other proteins involved in signal transduction through protein-protein interaction. Northern analysis showed that the PF6.2 mRNA was detectable in the fungus 6h after interaction and continued to be expressed in established ectomycorrhizas, suggesting that it plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of the symbiosis.

3' cycle-labeled oligonucleotides with predictable length for primer extension and transgene analysis.

Efficient labeling of short oligos at their 3'-ends was achieved through polymerase chain reaction. The length of cycled-labeled oligos can be accurately predicted by omitting one or more dNTPs in the labeling step. Thus, labeled oligos can be simply column-purified, eliminating the need for tedious gel purification. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this technique in determining the transcription start site of a given gene and in transgene analysis to differentiate the transcript of an endogenous gene from that of an introduced homologous gene. This technique could be widely extended to other molecular biology applications in which labeled oligos are employed.

Modification of lignin biosynthesis in transgenic Nicotiana through expression of an antisense O-methyltransferase gene from Populus.

An aspen lignin-specific O-methyltransferase (bi-OMT; S-adenosyl-L-methionine: caffeic acid/5-hydroxyferulic acid 3/5-O-methyltransferase, EC 2.1.1.68) antisense sequence in the form of a synthetic gene containing the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S gene sequences for enhancer elements, promoter and terminator was stably integrated into the tobacco genome and inherited in transgenic plants with a normal phenotype. Leaves and stems of the transgenes expressed the antisense RNA and the endogenous tobacco bi-OMT mRNA was suppressed in the stems. Bi-OMT activity of stems was decreased by an average of 29% in the four transgenic plants analyzed. Chemical analysis of woody tissue of stems for lignin building units indicated a reduced content of syringyl units in most of the transgenic plants, which corresponds well with the reduced activity of bi-OMT. Transgenic plants with a suppressed level of syringyl units and a level of guaiacyl units similar to control plants were presumed to have lignins of distinctly different structure than control plants. We concluded that regulation of the level of bi-OMT expression by an antisense mechanism could be a useful tool for genetically engineering plants with modified lignin without altering normal growth and development.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and regeneration of transgenic plants.

Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation of Populus tremuloides Michx was accomplished by co-cultivation of leaf disks excised from greenhouse plants with Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing a binary Ti-plasmid vector harboring chimeric neomycin phosphotransferase (NPT II) and ß-glucuronidase (GUS) genes. Shoot regeneration in the presence of kanamycin was achieved when thidiazuron (TDZ) was used as a plant growth regulator. Transformation was verified by amplification of NPT II and GUS gene fragments from genomic DNA of transgenic plants with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and integration of these genes into nuclear genome of transgenic plants was confirmed by genomic Southern hybridization analysis. Histochemical assay revealed the expression of GUS gene in leaf, stem and root tissues of transgenic plants, further confirming the integration and expression of T-DNA in these plants. This protocol allows effective transformation and regeneration of quaking aspen using greenhouse-grown materials as an explant source. Whole plant regeneration from cuttings of fieldgrown mature quaking aspen and hybrid poplar (P. alba x P. grandidentata) was also readily achieved by using this protocol, which represents a potential system for producing transgenic quaking aspen and hybrid poplar of valuable genotypes.

Chemical Signals from Avocado Surface Wax Trigger Germination and Appressorium Formation in Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

The surface wax of the host, avocado (Persea americana) fruit, induced germination and appressorium formation in the spores of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Waxes from nonhost plants did not induce appressorium formation in this fungus, and avocado wax did not induce appressorium formation in most Colletotrichum species that infect other hosts. Bioassays of the thin-layer chromatographic fractions of the avocado wax showed that the fatty alcohol fraction was the main appressorium-inducing component. Testing of authentic n-C8 to n-C32 fatty alcohols revealed that C24 and longer-chain alcohols induced appressorium formation. Gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of free fatty alcohols revealed that avocado wax contains a high content of very long chains. Waxes from nonhost plants containing an even higher content of the very long-chain alcohols did not induce appressorium formation. Waxes from nonhost plants strongly inhibited appressorium induction by avocado wax. Thus, a favorable balance between appressorium-inducing very long-chain fatty alcohols and the absence of inhibitors allows the fungus to use the host surface wax to trigger germination and differentiation of infection structures in the pathogen.

Cloning of Protocatechuate 3,4-Dioxygenase Genes from Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110.

A heterologous gene probe encoding the alpha and beta subunits of the Pseudomonas cepacia protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase (PCD) was used to detect its homolog in the genome of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110. Three cosmid clones carrying a 2.2-kb BamHI insert showed high levels of PCD activity. SacI digestion of one of the genomic clones, pBjG17, produced a 2.5-kb insert DNA that complemented a PCD mutant of P. cepacia.

Cutinase in Cryphonectria parasitica, the chestnut blight fungus: suppression of cutinase gene expression in isogenic hypovirulent strains containing double-stranded RNAs.

Plant-pathogenic fungi produce cutinase, an enzyme required to degrade plant cuticles and facilitate penetration into the host. The absence of cutinase or a decrease in its production has been associated with a decrease in pathogenicity of the fungus. A set of isogenic strains of Cryphonectria parasitica, the chestnut blight fungus, was tested for the presence and amounts of cutinase activity. The virulent strain of C. parasitica produced and secreted significantly higher amounts of cutinase than the hypovirulent strains. Use of both nucleic acid and polyclonal antibody probes for cutinase from Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi showed that cutinase in C. parasitica is 25 kDa in size and is coded by a 1.1-kb mRNA. Both mRNA and protein were inducible by cutin hydrolysate, while hypovirulence agents suppressed the level of mRNA and the enzyme. Since all the strains had the cutinase gene, the suppression of expression was due to the hypovirulence agents. The data presented are the first report indicating that hypovirulence agents in C. parasitica regulate a gene associated with pathogenicity in other plant-pathogenic fungi.

Identification of a fungal cutinase promoter that is inducible by a plant signal via a phosphorylated trans-acting factor.

Plant cutin monomers trigger, and glucose suppresses, the expression of the cutinase gene of pathogenic fungi. To identify the cutinase promoter region responsible for induction by the unique plant components, a promoter analysis was done with transformants. Plasmids were constructed that contained (i) the 5' flanking region of the cutinase gene or its deletion mutants from Fusarium solani pisi fused with a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene and (ii) a constitutive promoter fused with a hygromycin phosphotransferase gene. Hygromycin-resistant transformants of F. solani pisi generated by electroporation were assayed for CAT activity inducible by cutin hydrolysate and for glucose repression of this induction. CAT was induced in a glucose-repressible manner when fused with a 360-base-pair (bp), or longer, segment of the 5' flanking region of the cutinase gene, and deletion of the next 135 bp abolished this induction. Gel retardation assays showed that a protein(s) in nuclear extract from the fungus bound to the 5' flanking region of cutinase gene, and this binding was also abolished when the same 135-bp segment was deleted. These results show that the -225 to -360 segment of the cutinase gene contains a cis-acting regulatory element that binds trans-acting factor(s) in the nuclei. Treatment of the nuclear extract with immobilized phosphatase abolished binding to the promoter, suggesting that binding required a phosphorylated form of the protein. With isolated nuclei, phosphorylation of a protein occurred only in the presence of both cutin monomer and the fungal protein factor. The presence of protein kinase inhibitor H7 during the preincubation of nuclei with the monomer and protein factor inhibited cutinase gene transcription. These results suggest that cutin monomer causes phosphorylation of a transcription factor that binds to the -225 to -360 segment of the cutinase gene and enhances transcription of this gene.

Semiconservative strand-displacement transcription of the M2 dsRNA segment of Ustilago maydis virus.

The P1 strain of the Ustilago maydis virus (UmV) is a segmented dsRNA virus with segments designated H1, H2, M1, M2, and L. Incubation of purified virus with a mixture of nucleotides containing 32P-UTP resulted in labeled dsRNA which was retained in the capsid and labeled ssRNA which was released from the capsid. This in vitro transcription reaction was dependent on Mg2+ ion and the optimum concentration for maximum incorporation was 10 mM. The pH and temperature optima were 8.0 and 30 degrees C, respectively. The ssRNA transcripts were precipitated from the supernatant solution of the reaction mixture after ultracentrifugation to separate the virus. Transcription products from supernatant solution hybridized with all five virion dsRNAs. Further studies of the M2 segment indicated that it was labeled within 2 h and the label was completely chased out in 2 h. Analysis of the labeled M2 dsRNA segment by strand-separation gel showed that only one strand (slow moving) was labeled. When both strands were tested in an in vitro translation system, only the slow-moving strand was translated to produce a 24 kDa product. Thus the M2 dsRNA segment of UmV P1 transcribes by a semiconservative strand-displacement mechanism.