The effect of germination on seed trypsin inhibitors in Vicia faba and Cicer arietinum

During germination, trypsin inhibitor (TI) content increased relative to total protein and dry weight in cotyledons from two varieties of Vicia faba. These data, together with changes in total protein profiles and amounts, suggest that TI proteins are not hydrolysed in parallel with other seed proteins and dry matter. In contrast, TI content in germinating Cicer arietinum seeds remained constant during the germination period; in this case, however, substantial changes in the total protein profile were not observed. TI isoform analyses indicated that compositional changes occurred during germination in both species. © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry

Chromatin mapping identifies BasR, a key regulator of bacteria-triggered production of fungal secondary metabolites

The eukaryotic epigenetic machinery can be modified by bacteria to reprogram the response of eukaryotes during their interaction with microorganisms. We discovered that the bacterium Streptomyces rapamycinicus triggered increased chromatin acetylation and thus activation of the silent secondary metabolism ors gene cluster in the fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Using this model we aim at understanding mechanisms of microbial communication based on bacteria-triggered chromatin modification. By genome-wide ChIP-seq analysis of acetylated histone H3 we uncovered the unique chromatin landscape in A. nidulans upon co-cultivation with S. rapamycinicus and relate changes in the acetylation to that in the fungal transcriptome. Differentially acetylated histones were detected in genes involved in secondary metabolism, amino acid and nitrogen metabolism, signaling, and encoding transcription factors. Further molecular analyses identified the Myb-like transcription factor BasR as the regulatory node for transduction of the bacterial signal in the fungus and show its function is conserved in other Aspergillus species