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Mutants Isolated (mutant + isolated)
Selected AbstractsCharacteristics of an isomenthone-rich somaclonal mutant isolated in a geraniol-rich rose-scented geranium accession of Pelargonium graveolensFLAVOUR AND FRAGRANCE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2001Ritika Gupta Abstract A somaclonal essential oil mutant (IRPG) was identified among the regenerants induced in callus cultures initiated with the leaf explants of geranium Pelargonium graveolens cv. Kunti. While the shoot essential oil of the wild-type parent was rich in geraniol, the oil of the IRPG had isomenthone as the major monoterpenoid component. The IRPG oil had about 71% isomenthone, 6% citronellol and 3% geraniol, as compared to the parental variety oil, in which isomenthone, citronellol and geraniol contents were about 8%, 13% and 40%, respectively. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Mutation spectrum in UVB-exposed skin epidermis of Xpa -knockout mice: Frequent recovery of triplet mutationsENVIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MUTAGENESIS, Issue 1 2007Hironobu Ikehata Abstract Knockout mutations in both alleles of the Xpa gene give rise to a complete deficiency in nucleotide excision repair (NER) in mammalian cells. We used transgenic mice harboring the ,-phage-based lacZ mutational reporter gene to study the effect of Xpa null mutation (Xpa,/,) on damage induction, repair, and mutagenesis in mouse skin epidermis after UVB irradiation. UVB induced equal amounts of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and pyrimidine(6-4)pyrimidone photoproducts (64PPs) in mouse skin epidermis of Xpa,/, and wild-type mice. Neither photolesion was removed in the Xpa,/, epidermis by 12 hr after irradiation whereas removal of 64PPs was observed in the epidermis of wild-type mice. Irradiation with 200 and 300 J/m2 UVB increased the lacZ mutant frequency in the epidermis of Xpa,/, mice, but the induced mutant frequencies were not significantly different from those previously determined for wild-type mice. One-hundred lacZ mutants isolated from the UVB-exposed epidermis of Xpa,/, mice were analyzed and compared with mutant sequences previously determined for irradiated wild-type mice. The distribution of the mutations along the lacZ transgene and the preferred dipyrimidine context of the UV-specific mutations were similar in mutants from the Xpa,/, and wild-type mice. The spectra of the mutations in the two genotypes were both highly UV-specific and similar in a dominance of C , T transitions at dipyrimidine sites; however, Xpa,/, mice had a higher frequency than wild-type mice of two-base tandem substitutions, including CC , TT mutations, three-base tandem mutations and double base substitutions that were separated by one unchanged base in a three-base sequence (alternating mutations). These tandem/alternating mutations included a remarkably large number of triplet mutations, a recently reported, novel type of UV-specific mutation, characterized by multiple base substitutions or frameshifts within a three-nucleotide sequence containing a dipyrimidine. We conclude that the triplet mutation is a UV-specific mutation that preferably occurs in NER-deficient genetic backgrounds. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Schizosaccharomyces pombe cell division cycle under limited glucose requires Ssp1 kinase, the putative CaMKK, and Sds23, a PP2A-related phosphatase inhibitorGENES TO CELLS, Issue 5 2009Yuichiro Hanyu Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMK) is required for diverse cellular functions, and similar kinases exist in fungi. Although mammalian CaMK kinase (CaMKK) activates CaMK and also evolutionarily-conserved AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), CaMKK is yet to be established in yeast. We here report that the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe Ssp1 kinase, which controls G2/M transition and response to stress, is the putative CaMKK. Ssp1 has a CaM binding domain (CBD) and associates with 14-3-3 proteins as mammalian CaMKK does. Temperature-sensitive ssp1 mutants isolated are defective in the tolerance to limited glucose, and this tolerance requires the conserved stretch present between the kinase domain and CBD. Sds23, multi-copy suppressor for mutants defective in type 1 phosphatase and APC/cyclosome, also suppresses the ssp1 phenotype, and is required for the tolerance to limited glucose. We demonstrate that Sds23 binds to type 2A protein phosphatases (PP2A) and PP2A-related phosphatase Ppe1, and that Sds23 inhibits Ppe1 phosphatase activity. Ssp1 and Ppe1 thus seem to antagonize in utilizing limited glucose. We also show that Ppk9 and Ssp2 are the catalytic subunits of AMPK and AMPK-related kinases, respectively, which bind to common ,-(Amk2) and ,-(Cbs2) subunits. [source] Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of bacterial virulence using non-mammalian hostsMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2000Shalina Mahajan-Miklos Several strains of the human opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa infect plants, nematodes and insects. Our laboratory has developed a multihost pathogenesis system based on the P. aeruginosa clinical isolate PA14, in which non-mammalian hosts are used to screen directly for virulence-attenuated mutants. The majority of PA14 mutants isolated using non-mammalian hosts also displayed reduced virulence in a burned mouse model. Surprisingly, only a few host-specific virulence factors were identified, and many of the P. aeruginosa mutants were attenuated in virulence in all the hosts. These studies illustrate the extensive conservation in the virulence mechanisms used by P. aeruginosa to infect evolutionarily diverged hosts, and validate the multihost method of screening for virulence factors relevant to mammalian pathogenesis. Through the use of genetically tractable hosts, the multihost pathogenesis model also provides tools for elucidating host responses and dissecting the fundamental molecular interactions that underlie bacterial pathogenesis. [source] Brassinosteroid biosynthesis and inactivationPHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM, Issue 4 2006Sunghwa Choe The term brassinosteroids (BRs) refers to the growth-promoting plant steroidal hormones. Various developmental programs including but not limited to cell elongation, stress tolerance, and skoto-/photo-morphogenesis are controlled by subnanomolar concentrations of BRs. Accordingly, BR mutants that are defective in BR biosynthetic or signaling pathways usually display dwarfism. Characterization of numerous BR dwarf mutants isolated from Arabidopsis, pea, tomato, and rice greatly contributed to our understanding of BR biology. Recently, an enzyme that mediates the final step in the BR biosynthetic pathways has been characterized by two different groups. The brassinolide synthases (Cytochrome P450s 85A2 and 85A3) are multifunctional enzymes that catalyze the last three consecutive steps in BR biosynthetic pathways, namely, C-6 hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, and Baeyer-Villiger type oxidation. In addition, many of the previously unknown steps have been genetically characterized. This review aims to summarize the knowledge that has been developed during the last 2,3 years in this field of BR biosynthesis and inactivation research. [source] Genetic dissection of the role of ethylene in regulating auxin-dependent lateral and adventitious root formation in tomatoTHE PLANT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010Sangeeta Negi Summary In this study we investigated the role of ethylene in the formation of lateral and adventitious roots in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) using mutants isolated for altered ethylene signaling and fruit ripening. Mutations that block ethylene responses and delay ripening ,Nr (Never ripe), gr (green ripe), nor (non ripening), and rin (ripening inhibitor) , have enhanced lateral root formation. In contrast, the epi (epinastic) mutant, which has elevated ethylene and constitutive ethylene signaling in some tissues, or treatment with the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (ACC), reduces lateral root formation. Treatment with ACC inhibits the initiation and elongation of lateral roots, except in the Nr genotype. Root basipetal and acropetal indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) transport increase with ACC treatments or in the epi mutant, while in the Nr mutant there is less auxin transport than in the wild type and transport is insensitive to ACC. In contrast, the process of adventitious root formation shows the opposite response to ethylene, with ACC treatment and the epi mutation increasing adventitious root formation and the Nr mutation reducing the number of adventitious roots. In hypocotyls, ACC treatment negatively regulated IAA transport while the Nr mutant showed increased IAA transport in hypocotyls. Ethylene significantly reduces free IAA content in roots, but only subtly changes free IAA content in tomato hypocotyls. These results indicate a negative role for ethylene in lateral root formation and a positive role in adventitious root formation with modulation of auxin transport as a central point of ethylene,auxin crosstalk. [source] Identification of gene disruptions for increased poly-3-hydroxybutyrate accumulation in Synechocystis PCC 6803BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 5 2009Keith E. J. Tyo Abstract Inverse metabolic engineering (IME) is a combinatorial approach for identifying genotypes associated with a particular phenotype of interest. In this study, gene disruptions that increase the biosynthesis of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) in the photosynthetic bacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 were identified. A Synechocystis mutant library was constructed by homologous recombination between the Synechocystis genome and a mutagenized genomic plasmid library generated through transposon insertion. Using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting-based high throughput screen, high PHB accumulating mutants from the library grown in different nutrient conditions were isolated and characterized. While several mutants isolated from the screen had increased PHB accumulation, transposon insertions in only two ORFs could be linked to increased PHB production. Disruptions of sll0461, coding for gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase (proA), and sll0565, a hypothetical protein, resulted in increased accumulation in standard growth media and acetate supplemented media. These genetic perturbations have increased PHB accumulation in Synechocystis and serve as markers for engineering increased polymer production in higher photosynthetic organisms. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009 [source] |