New data on excisions of Mu from E. coli MCS2 cast doubt on directed mutation hypothesis

According to the directed mutation hypothesis, certain mutations in bacteria occur more frequently in environments in which the resulting phenotype is selectively favoured than in non-selective environments. This hypothesis therefore challenges the fundamental tenet that mutations occur spontaneously, irrespective of effects on the organism's fitness. One purported case of directed mutation is the excision of a Mu sequence from Escherichia coli strain MCS2 in minimal lactose-arabinose medium. Here, we show that this case can be more simply explained by an accelerated rate of excision mutation in response to non-specific physiological stresses of starvation and by slight growth of MCS2 on minimal lactose-arabinose medium.     

Signal sequence mutations disrupt feedback between secretion of an exported protein and its synthesis in E. coli

Recent studies in a eukaryotic system indicate that a block in secretion can lead to a block in the translation of secretory proteins. This feedback on protein synthesis is thought to be a result of an interaction of the signal recognition particle with the signal sequences of nascent proteins. Genetic studies in the prokaryote Escherichia coli suggest that a complex secretion machinery and a similar feedback mechanism exist. In addition, mutations affecting two genes, secA and secC, thought to encode components of the bacterial secretion machinery, selectively interfere with the synthesis of exported proteins. This selective interference with translation may be a result of recognition by the secretion machinery of signal sequences. If so, alteration of the signal sequence of a particular protein by mutation should eliminate the block in synthesis for that protein. We show here that signal sequence mutants for an exported protein, maltose binding protein, prevent the block in synthesis of this protein in a secA mutant.     

Demonstration by genetic suppression of interaction of GroE products with many proteins

The way in which proteins attain and maintain their final form is of fundamental importance. Recent work has focused on the role of a set of ubiquitous proteins, termed chaperonins, in the assembly of phage and multisubunit proteins. The range of chaperonin action is unknown; they could interact with most cellular polypeptides or have a limited subset of protein partners. Included in the chaperonin family is the essential heat-shock regulated Escherichia coli groEL gene product. Over-expression of the groE operon in E. coli causes enhanced assembly of heterologously expressed ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase subunits and suppresses the heat-sensitive mutant phenotype of several dnaA alleles. It has been inferred that suppression of heat-sensitive mutations is confined to dnaA alleles and that this confinement could reflect an interaction between the groE operon products and a dnaA protein aggregate at the replication origin. We now report that multiple copies of the groE operon suppress mutations in genes encoding several diverse proteins. Our data indicate a general role for the groE operon products, the GroEL and GroES proteins, in the folding-assembly pathways of many proteins.     

Need for DNA topoisomerase activity as a swivel for DNA replication for transcription of ribosomal RNA

Yeast strains with mutations in the genes for DNA topoisomerases I and II have been identified previously in both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The topoisomerase II mutants (top2) are conditional-lethal temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants. They are defective in the termination of DNA replication and the segregation of daughter chromosomes, but otherwise appear to replicate and transcribe DNA normally. Topoisomerase I mutants (top1), including strains with null mutations are viable and exhibit no obvious growth defects, demonstrating that DNA topoisomerase I is not essential for viability in yeast. In contrast to the single mutants, top1 top2 ts double mutants from both Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae grow poorly at the permissive temperature and stop growth rapidly at the non-permissive temperature. Here we report that DNA and ribosomal RNA synthesis are drastically inhibited in an S. cerevisiae top1 top2 ts double mutant at the restrictive temperature, but that the rate of poly(A)+ RNA synthesis is reduced only about threefold and transfer DNA synthesis remains relatively normal. The results suggest that DNA replication and at least ribosomal RNA synthesis require an active topoisomerase, presumably to act as a swivel to relieve torsional stress, and that either topoisomerase can perform the required function (except in termination of DNA replication where topoisomerase II is required).     

Levels of naturally occurring DNA polymorphism correlate with recombination rates in D. melanogaster.

Two genomic regions with unusually low recombination rates in Drosophila melanogaster have normal levels of divergence but greatly reduced nucleotide diversity, apparently resulting from the fixation of advantageous mutations and the associated hitch-hiking effect. Here we show that for 20 gene regions from across the genome, the amount of nucleotide diversity in natural populations of D. melanogaster is positively correlated with the regional rate of recombination. This cannot be explained by variation in mutation rates and/or functional constraint, because we observe no correlation between recombination rates and DNA sequence divergence between D. melanogaster and its sibling species, D. simulans. We suggest that the correlation may result from genetic hitch-hiking associated with the fixation of advantageous mutants. Hitch-hiking thus seems to occur over a large fraction of the Drosophila genome and may constitute a major constraint on levels of genetic variation in nature.     

Correlation of nonsense sites in the lacI gene with specific codons in the nucleotide sequence.

Nonsense mutations derived from 90 different codons in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli have been correlated with the I gene nucleotide sequence. In over 80 cases the specific codon which generates the nonsense mutation can be identified. The sequence shows that 14-16 sites arise through tandem double base changes.     

Activation of extra copies of genes coding for nitrogenase in Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

Biological nitrogen fixation requires the nitrogenase enzyme complex, ATP, and a strong reductant. Klebsiella pneumoniae contains 15 linked nitrogen fixation (nif) genes, three of which, nifH, nifD and nifK have been sufficiently conserved in evolution that cloned K. pneumoniae nifHDK DNA will hybridize to DNA sequences from every nitrogen-fixing bacterium examined to date, including the purple, non-sulphur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas capsulata, in which one complete nifHDK operon has been mapped. Using cloned K. pneumoniae nifHDK DNA we report here that R. capsulata contains multiple copies of the genes for nitrogenase components. Two regions containing sequences homologous to all three nif structural genes have been identified, and mutations in one region produced a Nif- phenotype. Nif+ pseudorevertants were derived from these mutants, some of which retained the original mutation suggesting that some of the extra nif gene sequences can be functionally activated.     

Isolation and mutation rate of the spontaneous PUR box and purR mutants

In our previous research in purine metabolism in Salmonella typhimurium, it was observed that the mutation frequency of the PUR box was one order of magnitude higher than that of purR under mutagenesis. In order to investigate further into this phenomenon, large amounts of independent PUR box and purR spontaneous mutants were isolated on lactose minimal medium by using a super-repressing mutant of purR (purRs). The mutational regions of 5 PUR box mutants and 4 purR mutants were cloned. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that all the mutants had mutations at the expected sites. The comparison of the two types of mutations indicated that, although the purR gene was two orders of magnitude larger than the box). Thus, we concluded that high mutation frequency of the PUR box did not result from mutagenesis. Under spontaneous conditions, the mutation frequency of PUR box was also high. Some tentative explanations of this interesting phenomenon are given in this report.     

DNA sequence of the mini-insertion IS2--6 and its relation to the sequence of IS2.

In polar IS2 abolishes galactose operon expression. Operon activity is restored by a 108 base pair mini-insertion within IS2 called IS2--6. The DNA sequences of the gal operon-IS2 junction, the parental IS2 region undergoing sequence rearrangements and IS2--6 itself are reported. IS2--6 is composed of sequence intervals present in both strands of IS2.     

Applying genetic algorithms to the study of protein mutation theory

Genetic algorithms were applied to the study of simulation of protein mutation carried out on two_dimensional lattice model; to the study of effects of single mutation and double mutation on protein folding and protein structure stability. It is found that in two_dimensional lattice models, replacement of inner core hydrophobic residue by hydrophilic residue will result in reduction of protein stability; at the same time the number of residues of protein surface relatively grows with increase of protein chain length; and most mutations occur in residues of protein surface, these mutations are all neutral and have no effects on protein natural structure. The two mutations of double mutation are interactive and related to each other.     

Evolvability of an RNA virus is determined by its mutational neighbourhood

The ubiquity of mechanisms that generate genetic variation has spurred arguments that evolvability, the ability to generate adaptive variation, has itself evolved in response to natural selection. The high mutation rate of RNA viruses is postulated to be an adaptation for evolvability, but the paradox is that whereas some RNA viruses evolve at high rates, others are highly stable. Here we show that evolvability in the RNA bacteriophage phi6 is also determined by the accessibility of advantageous genotypes within the mutational neighbourhood (the set of mutants one or a few mutational steps away). We found that two phi6 populations that were derived from a single ancestral phage repeatedly evolved at different rates and toward different fitness maxima. Fitness measurements of individual phages showed that the fitness distribution of mutants differed between the two populations. Whereas population A, which evolved toward a higher maximum, had a distribution that contained many advantageous mutants, population B, which evolved toward a lower maximum, had a distribution that contained only deleterious mutants. We interpret these distributions to measure the fitness effects of genotypes that are mutationally available to the two populations. Thus, the evolvability of phi6 is constrained by the distribution of its mutational neighbours, despite the fact that this phage has the characteristic high mutation rate of RNA viruses.     

青霉素G酰化酶调节基因定点诱变的研究

构建了大肠杆菌中青霉素G酰化酶（PAC）的调节基因（pacR）翻译起始密码定点突变株。对突变后PAC的表达调控特征进行了研究，结果表明：突变株的pac基因表达后能正常加工成24ku、65ku的α亚基和β亚基；突变后，虽然PAC表达仍需要苯乙酸诱导，但是，可诱导性提高，形成低组成型表达，无葡萄糖有分解代谢物阻遏效应，因而pacR对PAC表达水平存在着影响，pacR基因是葡萄糖以及它的分解代谢物在分子水平上影响PAC表达的另一作用因素。采用突变株进行发酵生产中，PAC产量较亲株提高3倍，而且可以采用葡萄糖作为碳源，有利于改善PAC的生产。     

Molecular analysis of spontaneous somatic mutants.

Eukaryotic structural gene mutations occurring spontaneously in a mouse myeloma cell line offer the opportunity to study somatic mutation in animal cells at the molecular level. Studies on the myeloma protein and on mRNA have enabled us to characterise four such mutants representing four different mutation mechanisms. The results may have some bearing on the origin of antibody diversity.     

定点突变内皮抑素Zn2+的结合位点及突变基因的克隆表达

从人胚肝组织中提取总RNA, 以逆转录聚合酶链式反应（RT-PCR）法获得人内皮抑素编码序列, 采用定点突变技术将His2和His4双突变为Leu2和Val4. 将突变基因cDNA插入含有T7启动子的质粒pET-28b中构建表达质粒pMendo, 转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3), 筛选表达菌株BL21-Mute, 表达菌株经IPTG诱导后以包涵体方式产生大量内皮抑素突变蛋白. SDS-PAGE分析表明, 表达的重组蛋白占菌株可溶性蛋白质的30%. 复性、 纯化的内皮抑素突变蛋白纯度达到98%, 失去抑制人脐静脉内皮细胞增殖的活性.     

Salsolinol合成酶的克隆和表达

 Salsolinol 合成酶是一种催化多巴胺和乙醛生成Salsolinol 的酶,与帕金森病发病机制密切相关。研究发现Salsolinol 合成酶与泛素的氨基酸序列高度相似,只有4 个氨基酸位点有差异。本研究以泛素基因为模板,采用聚合酶链式反应技术对4 个位点进行定点突变,将突变基因片段克隆到载体pET30a-GST 上,构建pET30a-GST-Sal synthase 重组载体,转化BL21 后,IPTG 诱导重组菌表达融合蛋白,经亲和层析柱纯化。结果表明,实现目的位点的定点突变,获得Sal 合成酶基因,成功构建了GST-Sal synthase 原核表达质粒,在大肠杆菌中表达纯化后得到较高纯度的GST-Sal synthase 融合蛋白。     

菌落PCR方法筛选低能离子束辐射引起的IS插入突变

建立一种基于单拷贝基因的菌落PCR方法,筛选低能离子束辐射下IS因子插入引起的大肠杆菌lacI基因突变.PCR的优化结果显示,DMSO是一种合适的添加剂,而细胞的裂解方法和过程在菌落PCR中有比较关键的作用.经过测定,该方法的菌落PCR最低菌浓度约为1×105个菌.0.8%琼脂糖凝胶电泳结果显示,96个突变子的菌落PCR的成功率为95%以上.测序结果表明:两个由IS因子插入引起的突变被成功筛选.