Polyphasic taxonomy of the basidiomycetous yeast genus Rhodosporidium: Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae and related anamorphic species.
(65/1530)
The phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of the basidiomycetous yeast species Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae was investigated in a group of recent isolates and collection strains. A polyphasic taxonomic approach was followed which included micromorphological studies, nuclear staining, determination of sexual compatibility, physiological characterization, comparison of electrophoretic isoenzyme patterns, PCR fingerprinting, determination of mol% G+C, DNA-DNA reassociation experiments and 26S and ITS rDNA sequence analysis. The results allowed a more natural circumscription of the species, both from the genetic and phenotypic perspectives. The relationships with anamorphic species of the genus Rhodotorula were studied and isolates previously identified as Rhodotorula glutinis were found to belong to Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae. Other isolates included in the study were found to represent members of Rhodotorula glutinis var. dairenensis. Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae was found to include heterothallic strains, besides those already known to be self-sporulating. A total of 17 isolates, which were found to belong to this species, were heterothallic, self-sporulating and anamorphic strains. It is anticipated that integrated polyphasic studies of basidiomycetous yeasts will provide a more coherent classification system and the basis for accurate identification schemes, which in turn are essential for detailed ecological studies. (+info)
Sulfonoglycolipids from the lichenized basidiomycete Dictyonema glabratum: isolation, NMR, and ESI-MS approaches.
(66/1530)
Two distinct sulfonoglycolipid fractions were isolated from the basidiolichen Dictyonema glabratum by chromatography on Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sepharose, which resulted in rapid elution, followed by partition between aqueous sulfuric acid and an ethyl acetate-methanol-chloroform mixture and the content of the organic layer chromatographed of a column of silicic acid. The products were examined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in their native rather than their acetylated forms, as in previous investigations. Each was methanolyzed to give the same methyl glycoside, Me-G. On electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), it provided a pseudomolecular ion at m/z 303 in the positive-ion mode and a molecular ion at m/z 257 with a daughter ion at m/z 146 in the negative-ion mode, showing the presence of a sulfonate group S-linked to a hexosyl ring. An exclusively alpha-glucopyranosyl configuration was indicated by (1)H, (1)H correlation spectroscopy (COSY) and (1)H, (1)H total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY). S-substitution occurred at CH(2)-6, because a high-field (13)C signal at delta 52.6 gave an inverted distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT) signal and (1)H, (3)C heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence (HMQC) showed correlation with two H-6 signals. This 6-sulfono-alpha-quinovopyranoside group was present in the glycolipid fractions, O-alpha-D-Quip-6-sulfono-(1'<-->1)-2,3-diacyl-D-glycerol (polar fraction 1a; PF1a) and O-alpha-D-Quip-6-sulfono-(1'<-->1)-2- or -3-monoacyl-D-glycerol (polar fraction 1b; PF1b), the monoacyl derivatives not having been previously completely characterized in other systems. All components are typical of plant glycolipids. The most abundant fatty acid ester in PF1a and PF1b was C(16:0). Other esters present in PF1a were C(14:0), C(17:0), C(18:0), C(18:1) (oleic), C(20:0), C(21:0), and C(24:0), in contrast with C(14:0), C(17:0), C(18:0), and C(20:0) in PF1b. HMQC and TOCSY data can be used as fingerprints for detection of glycosylacylglycerides and sulfonoglycolipids and the positive ESI-MS ions at m/z 329 and 271 for identification of the latter. (+info)
Expression of marY1, a gypsy-type LTR-retroelement from the ectomycorrhizal homobasidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake, in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
(67/1530)
marY1 is a gypsy-type LTR-retroelement present in the genome of the ectomycorrhizal homobasidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake. We document here that a marY1-lacZ gene fusion was expressed in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The finding strongly suggests that marY1 is activated by trans-regulatory factors common to higher fungi, and may be useful for the development of new recombinant systems in ectomycorrhizal fungi and homobasidiomycetes. (+info)
Fungal trehalose phosphorylase: kinetic mechanism, pH-dependence of the reaction and some structural properties of the enzyme from Schizophyllum commune.
(68/1530)
Initial-velocity measurements for the phospholysis and synthesis of alpha,alpha-trehalose catalysed by trehalose phosphorylase from Schizophyllum commune and product and dead-end inhibitor studies show that this enzyme has an ordered Bi Bi kinetic mechanism, in which phosphate binds before alpha,alpha-trehalose, and alpha-D-glucose is released before alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate. The free-energy profile for the enzymic reaction at physiological reactant concentrations displays its largest barriers for steps involved in reverse glucosyl transfer to D-glucose, and reveals the direction of phospholysis to be favoured thermodynamically. The pH dependence of kinetic parameters for all substrates and the dissociation constant of D-glucal, a competitive dead-end inhibitor against D-glucose (K(i)=0.3 mM at pH 6.6 and 30 degrees C), were determined. Maximum velocities and catalytic efficiencies for the forward and reverse reactions decrease at high and low pH, giving apparent pK values of 7.2--7.8 and 5.5--6.0 for two groups whose correct protonation state is required for catalysis. The pH dependences of k(cat)/K are interpreted in terms of monoanionic phosphate and alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate being the substrates, and of the pK value seen at high pH corresponding to the phosphate group in solution or bound to the enzyme. The K(i) value for the inhibitor decreases outside the optimum pH range for catalysis, indicating that binding of D-glucal is tighter with incorrectly ionized forms of the complex between the enzyme and alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate. Each molecule of trehalose phosphorylase contains one Mg(2+) that is non-dissociable in the presence of metal chelators. Measurements of the (26)Mg(2+)/(24)Mg(2+) ratio in the solvent and on the enzyme by using inductively coupled plasma MS show that exchange of metal ion between protein and solution does not occur at measurable rates. Tryptic peptide mass mapping reveals close structural similarity between trehalose phosphorylases from basidiomycete fungi. (+info)
Molecular phylogenetics of the genus Rhodotorula and related basidiomycetous yeasts inferred from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.
(69/1530)
Phylogenetic relationships of basidiomycetous yeasts, especially of the genus Rhodotorula, were studied using partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The results demonstrated that the basidiomycetous yeasts under investigation distributed into two main clusters: one containing Tremellales, Filobasidiales and their anamorphs and the other containing Ustilaginales, Sporidiales and their anamorphs. This clustering in turn correlates with cell wall biochemistry, presence or absence of xylose, and septal ultrastructure, dolipore or simple pore. Bullera, Bulleromyces, Filobasidiella, Cryptococcus and Trichosporon, yeasts of the former cluster, contain xylose in the cell wall and have dolipore septa. In contrast yeasts of the latter cluster, which included Bensingtonia, Erythrobasidium, Leucosporidium, Malassezia, Rhodosporidium, Rhodotorula, Sporidiobolus, Sporobolomyces and Ustilago, have no xylose in the cell wall and have a simple pore septum. Yeasts of the latter group could be further divided into four clades (A-D). Species of Rhodotorula were distributed in all of these clades, indicating the polyphyletic nature of the genus. A limited number of Rhodotorula species demonstrated identical sequences, for example Rhodotorula bacarum and Rhodotorula foliorum, Rhodotorula fujisanensis and Rhodotorula futronensis, Rhodotorula glutinis var. dairenensis and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. However, all the other test species of the genus Rhodotorula were well separated based on their 396 bp nucleotide sequences. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the use of cytochrome b sequences for both species identification and the study of phylogenetic relationships among basidiomycetous yeasts. (+info)
Bensingtonia thailandica sp. nov., a novel basidiomycetous yeast species isolated from plant leaves in Thailand.
(70/1530)
Ten strains which were characterized by the formation of ballistoconidia, the absence of xylose in whole-cell hydrolysates, the presence of Q-9 as the major ubiquinone isoprenologue, the inability to ferment sugars and positive diazonium blue B and urease reactions were isolated from plant samples collected in Thailand. These isolates were closely related to Bensingtonia phyllada based on the analysis of 18S rDNA sequences. On the basis of the morphological, physiological and chemotaxonomic properties, the 10 isolates were assigned to the genus Bensingtonia. DNA complementarity showed that these isolates were genetically distinct from known species of the genus Bensingtonia. The isolates are described as Bensingtonia thailandica sp. nov. The type strain is strain TY-138T (= JCM 10651T). (+info)
Changes in ribosomes associated with spore senescence in the bean rust fungus.
(71/1530)
Studies were carried out to idenify the cause of the decline in transferase activity and capacity to bind polyuridylic acid which occurs in ribosomes from germinated uredospores of the bean rust fungus, Uromyces phaseoli (Pers.) Wint., aged longer than 6 h on a water surface. We have shown that such ribosomes lose the capacity to respond to added transferase-I and that both subunits were affected by the ageing process. These changes were not accompanied by a significant alteration in the composition of the ribosome. However, deoxycholate had a greater detergent effect on ribosomes from germinated spores than from nongerminated spores as shown both by loss of capacity to polymerize amino acids and loss of protein. Ribonuclease activity did not increase during germination, but the amount found (Imug/g spores) was easily detectable. It was suggested that loss of response to transferase-I was due to an alteration of ribosomal proteins of both subunits. (+info)
Heterologous expression of genes mediating enhanced fungal resistance in transgenic wheat.
(72/1530)
Three cDNAs encoding the antifungal protein Ag-AFP from the fungus Aspergillus giganteus, a barley class II chitinase and a barley type I RIP, all regulated by the constitutive Ubiquitin1 promoter from maize, were expressed in transgenic wheat. In 17 wheat lines, stable integration and inheritance of one of the three transgenes has been demonstrated over four generations. The formation of powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis f. sp. tritici) or leaf rust (Puccinia recondita f. sp. tritici) colonies was significantly reduced on leaves from afp or chitinase II- but not from rip I-expressing wheat lines compared with non-transgenic controls. The increased resistance of afp and chitinase II lines was dependent on the dose of fungal spores used for inoculation. Heterologous expression of the fungal afp gene and the barley chitinase II gene in wheat demonstrated that colony formation and, thereby, spreading of two important biotrophic fungal diseases is inhibited approximately 40 to 50% at an inoculum density of 80 to 100 spores per cm2. (+info)