Identification of InuR, a new Zn(II)2Cys6 transcriptional activator involved in the regulation of inulinolytic genes in Aspergillus niger

The expression of inulinolytic genes in Aspergillus niger is co-regulated and induced by inulin and sucrose. We have identified a positive acting transcription factor InuR, which is required for the induced expression of inulinolytic genes. InuR is a member of the fungal specific class of transcription factors of the Zn(II)2Cys6 type. Involvement of InuR in inulin and sucrose metabolism was suspected because of the clustering of inuR gene with sucB, which encodes an intracellular invertase with transfructosylation activity and a putative sugar transporter encoding gene (An15g00310). Deletion of the inuR gene resulted in a strain displaying a severe reduction in growth on inulin and sucrose medium. Northern analysis revealed that expression of inulinolytic and sucrolytic genes, e.g., inuE, inuA, sucA, as well as the putative sugar transporter gene (An15g00310) is dependent on InuR. Genome-wide expression analysis revealed, three additional putative sugar transporters encoding genes (An15g04060, An15g03940 and An17g01710), which were strongly induced by sucrose in an InuR dependent way. In silico analysis of the promoter sequences of strongly InuR regulated genes suggests that InuR might bind as dimer to two CGG triplets, which are separated by eight nucleotides

The glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene of Moniliophthoraperniciosa, the causal agent of witches' broom disease of Theobroma cacao

This report describes the cloning, sequence and expression analysis of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene of Moniliophthora perniciosa, the most important pathogen of cocoa in Brazil. Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of a single copy of the GAPDH gene in the M. perniciosa genome (MpGAPDH). The complete MpGAPDH coding sequence contained 1,461 bp with eight introns that were conserved in the GAPDH genes of other basidiomycete species. The cis-elements in the promoter region of the MpGAPDH gene were similar to those of other basidiomycetes. Likewise, the MpGAPDH gene encoded a putative 339 amino acid protein that shared significant sequence similarity with other GAPDH proteins in fungi, plants, and metazoans. Phylogenetic analyses clustered the MPGAPDH protein with other homobasidiomycete fungi of the family Tricholomataceae. Expression analysis of the MpGAPDH gene by real-time PCR showed that this gene was more expressed (~1.3X) in the saprotrophic stage of this hemibiotrophic plant pathogen than in the biotrophic stage when grown in cacao extracts

Aspergillus as a multi-purpose cell factory: current status and perspectives

Aspergilli have a long history in biotechnology as expression platforms for the production of food ingredients, pharmaceuticals and enzymes. The achievements made during the last years, however, have the potential to revolutionize Aspergillus biotechnology and to assure Aspergillus a dominant place among microbial cell factories. This mini-review will highlight most recent breakthroughs in fundamental and applied Aspergillus research with a focus on new molecular tools, techniques and products. New trends and concepts related to Aspergillus genomics and systems biology will be discussed as well as the challenges that have to be met to integrate omics data with metabolic engineering attempts

Phase Ib study of NGR–hTNF, a selective vascular targeting agent, administered at low doses in combination with doxorubicin to patients with advanced solid tumours

Contains fulltext : 81937timmer-bonte.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Asparagine-glycine-arginine-human tumour necrosis factor (NGR-hTNF) is a vascular targeting agent exploiting a tumour-homing peptide (NGR) that selectively binds to aminopeptidase N/CD13, overexpressed on tumour blood vessels. Significant preclinical synergy was shown between low doses of NGR-TNF and doxorubicin. METHODS: The primary aim of this phase I trial was to verify the safety of low-dose NGR-hTNF combined with doxorubicin in treating refractory/resistant solid tumours. Secondary objectives included pharmacokinetics (PKs), pharmacodynamics, and clinical activity. In all 15 patients received NGR-hTNF (0.2-0.4-0.8-1.6 microg m(-2)) and doxorubicin (60-75 mg m(-2)), both given intravenously every 3 weeks. RESULTS: No dose-limiting toxicity occurred and the combination was well tolerated. Around two cases of neutropenic fevers, lasting 2 days, and two cases of cardiac ejection-fraction drops, one asymptomatic and the other symptomatic, were registered. Only 11% of the adverse events were related to NGR-hTNF and were short-lasting and mild-to-moderate in severity. There was no apparent PK interaction and the shedding of soluble TNF-receptors did not increase to 0.8 microg m(-2). One partial response (7%), at dose level 0.8 microg m(-2), and 10 stable diseases (66%), lasting for a median duration of 5.6 months, were observed. CONCLUSIONS: NGR-hTNF plus doxorubicin was administered safely and showed promising activity in patients pre-treated with anthracyclines. The dose level of 0.8 microg m(-2) NGR-hTNF plus doxorubicin 75 mg m(-2) was selected for phase II development

Identification of a Transcription Factor Controlling pH-Dependent Organic Acid Response in Aspergillus niger.

Acid formation in Aspergillus niger is known to be subjected to tight regulation, and the acid production profiles are fine-tuned to respond to the ambient pH. Based on transcriptome data, putative trans-acting pH responding transcription factors were listed and through knock out studies, mutants exhibiting an oxalate overproducing phenotype were identified. The yield of oxalate was increased up to 158% compared to the wild type and the corresponding transcription factor was therefore entitled Oxalic Acid repression Factor, OafA. Detailed physiological characterization of one of the ΔoafA mutants, compared to the wild type, showed that both strains produced substantial amounts of gluconic acid, but the mutant strain was more efficient in re-uptake of gluconic acid and converting it to oxalic acid, particularly at high pH (pH 5.0). Transcriptional profiles showed that 241 genes were differentially expressed due to the deletion of oafA and this supported the argument of OafA being a trans-acting transcription factor. Furthermore, expression of two phosphoketolases was down-regulated in the ΔoafA mutant, one of which has not previously been described in fungi. It was argued that the observed oxalate overproducing phenotype was a consequence of the efficient re-uptake of gluconic acid and thereby a higher flux through glycolysis. This results in a lower flux through the pentose phosphate pathway, demonstrated by the down-regulation of the phosphoketolases. Finally, the physiological data, in terms of the specific oxygen consumption, indicated a connection between the oxidative phosphorylation and oxalate production and this was further substantiated through transcription analysis

Effects of a defective ERAD pathway on growth and heterologous protein production in Aspergillus niger

Endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation (ERAD) is a conserved mechanism to remove misfolded proteins from the ER by targeting them to the proteasome for degradation. To assess the role of ERAD in filamentous fungi, we have examined the consequences of disrupting putative ERAD components in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger. Deletion of derA, doaA, hrdC, mifA, or mnsA in A. niger yields viable strains, and with the exception of doaA, no significant growth phenotype is observed when compared to the parental strain. The gene deletion mutants were also made in A. niger strains containing single- or multicopies of a glucoamylase–glucuronidase (GlaGus) gene fusion. The induction of the unfolded protein response (UPR) target genes (bipA and pdiA) was dependent on the copy number of the heterologous gene and the ERAD gene deleted. The highest induction of UPR target genes was observed in ERAD mutants containing multiple copies of the GlaGus gene. Western blot analysis revealed that deletion of the derA gene in the multicopy GlaGus overexpressing strain resulted in a 6-fold increase in the intracellular amount of GlaGus protein detected. Our results suggest that impairing some components of the ERAD pathway in combination with high expression levels of the heterologous protein results in higher intracellular protein levels, indicating a delay in protein degradation

Suppression of Plant Resistance Gene-Based Immunity by a Fungal Effector

The innate immune system of plants consists of two layers. The first layer, called basal resistance, governs recognition of conserved microbial molecules and fends off most attempted invasions. The second layer is based on Resistance (R) genes that mediate recognition of effectors, proteins secreted by pathogens to suppress or evade basal resistance. Here, we show that a plant-pathogenic fungus secretes an effector that can both trigger and suppress R gene-based immunity. This effector, Avr1, is secreted by the xylem-invading fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (Fol) and triggers disease resistance when the host plant, tomato, carries a matching R gene (I or I-1). At the same time, Avr1 suppresses the protective effect of two other R genes, I-2 and I-3. Based on these observations, we tentatively reconstruct the evolutionary arms race that has taken place between tomato R genes and effectors of Fol. This molecular analysis has revealed a hitherto unpredicted strategy for durable disease control based on resistance gene combinations

A broader role for AmyR in Aspergillus niger: regulation of the utilisation of d-glucose or d-galactose containing oligo- and polysaccharides

AmyR is commonly considered a regulator of starch degradation whose activity is induced by the presence of maltose, the disaccharide building block of starch. In this study, we demonstrate that the role of AmyR extends beyond starch degradation. Enzyme activity assays, genes expression analysis and growth profiling on d-glucose- and d-galactose-containing oligo- and polysaccharides showed that AmyR regulates the expression of some of the Aspergillus niger genes encoding α- and β-glucosidases, α- and β- galactosidases, as well as genes encoding α-amlyases and glucoamylases. In addition, we provide evidence that d-glucose or a metabolic product thereof may be the inducer of the AmyR system in A. niger and not maltose, as is commonly assumed

Dendritic cell vaccination and immune monitoring

We exploited dendritic cells (DC) to vaccinate melanoma patients. We recently demonstrated a statistical significant correlation between favorable clinical outcome and the presence of vaccine-related tumor antigen-specific T cells in delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin biopsies. However, favorable clinical outcome is only observed in a minority of the treated patients. Therefore, it is obvious that current DC-based protocols need to be improved. For this reason, we study in small proof of principle trials the fate, interactions and effectiveness of the injected DC