Assessment of the potential for gene flow from transgenic maize (Zea mays L.) to eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides L.)

Eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides L.) belongs to the same tribe of the Poaceae family as maize (Zea mays L.) and grows naturally in the same region where maize is commercially produced in the USA. Although no evidence exists of gene flow from maize to eastern gamagrass in nature, experimental crosses between the two species were produced using specific techniques. As part of environmental risk assessment, the possibility of transgene flow from maize to eastern gamagrass populations in nature was evaluated with the objectives: (1) to assess the seeds of eastern gamagrass populations naturally growing near commercial maize fields for the presence of a transgenic glyphosate-tolerance gene (cp4 epsps) that would indicate cross-pollination between the two species, and (2) to evaluate the possibility of interspecific hybridization between transgenic maize used as male parent and eastern gamagrass used as female parent. A total of 46,643 seeds from 54 eastern gamagrass populations collected in proximity of maize fields in Illinois, USA were planted in a field in 2014 and 2015. Emerged seedlings were treated with glyphosate herbicide and assessed for survival. An additional 48,000 seeds from the same 54 eastern gamagrass populations were tested for the presence of the cp4 epsps transgene markers using TaqMan® PCR method. The results from these trials showed that no seedlings survived the herbicide treatment and no seed indicated presence of the herbicide tolerant cp4 epsps transgene, even though these eastern gamagrass populations were exposed to glyphosate-tolerant maize pollen for years. Furthermore, no interspecific hybrid seeds were produced from 135 hand-pollination attempts involving 1529 eastern gamagrass spikelets exposed to maize pollen. Together, these results indicate that there is no evidence of gene flow from maize to eastern gamagrass in natural habitats. The outcome of this study should be taken in consideration when assessing for environmental risks regarding the consequence of gene flow from transgenic maize to its wild relatives.

A kinetic comparison of asparagine synthetase isozymes from higher plants

Four previously identified maize asparagine synthetase (AsnS) genes and a soy AsnS gene have been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The enzymes have been purified and kinetically characterized. The plant AsnS proteins were expressed mainly in the inclusion bodies although small amounts of one form (ZmAsnS2) were recovered in the soluble fraction. In order to measure the kinetic properties of these enzymes a sensitive assay based on the detection of Asn by HPLC has been developed. In addition a method to refold the recombinant plant AsnS to produce active enzyme has been developed. The plant AsnS enzymes are kinetically distinct with substantial differences in K(m) (Gln) and V(max) values when compared to each other. These differences may be important factors for transgenic studies using AsnS genes for crop improvement.

A calcium-dependent ergosterol mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ERG24 is the structural gene for the C14-sterol reductase in yeast. A lack of activity in that enzyme, mediated either by the morpholine fungicides or the insertional inactivation of ERG24, causes the accumulation of the aberrant sterol ignosterol. Cells producing this sterol are unable to grow aerobically in the routine laboratory medium, YPD. However, growth does occur on a synthetic defined medium. A novel calcium-dependent phenotype associated with alterations in the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway in yeast is described. In addition, reduction of yeast growth with an azole inhibitor of the C-14 sterol de-methylase was also modulated by an excess of calcium ions in the culture medium. These results define a new effect of ergosterol deficiency and provide important practical implications for utilizing morpholine and azole sterol biosynthetic-inhibiting fungicides.

A mutation in a purported regulatory gene affects control of sterol uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Aerobically growing wild-type strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are unable to take exogenously supplied sterols from media. This aerobic sterol exclusion is vitiated under anaerobic conditions, in heme-deficient strains, and under some conditions of impaired sterol synthesis. Mutants which can take up sterols aerobically in heme-competent cells have been selected. One of these mutations, designated upc2-1, gives a pleiotropic phenotype in characteristics as diverse as aerobic accumulation of sterols, total lipid storage, sensitivity to metabolic inhibitors, response to altered sterol structures, and cation requirements. During experiments designed to ascertain the effects of various cations on yeast with sterol alterations, it was observed that upc2-1 was hypersensitive to Ca2+. Using resistance to Ca2+ as a screening vehicle, we cloned UPC2 and showed that it is YDR213W, an open reading frame on chromosome IV. This belongs to a fungal regulatory family containing the Zn(II)2Cys6 binuclear cluster DNA binding domain. The single guanine-to-adenine transition in upc2-1 gives a predicted amino acid change from glycine to aspartic acid. The regulatory defect explains the semidominance and pleiotropic effects of upc2-1.

Transcriptional regulation by ergosterol in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Sterol biosynthesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an energy-expensive, aerobic process, requiring heme and molecular oxygen. Heme, also synthesized exclusively during aerobic growth, not only acts as an enzymatic cofactor but also is directly and indirectly responsible for the transcriptional control of several yeast genes. Because of their biosynthetic similarities, we hypothesized that ergosterol, like heme, may have a regulatory function. Sterols are known to play a structural role in membrane integrity, but regulatory roles have not been characterized. To test possible regulatory roles of sterol, the promoter for the ERG3 gene, encoding the sterol C-5 desaturase, was fused to the bacterial lacZ reporter gene. This construct was placed in strains making aberrant sterols, and the effect of altered sterol composition on gene expression was monitored by beta-galactosidase activity. The absence of ergosterol resulted in a 35-fold increase in the expression of ERG3 as measured by beta-galactosidase activity. The level of ERG3 mRNA was increased as much as ninefold in erg mutant strains or wild-type strains inhibited in ergosterol biosynthesis by antifungal agents. The observed regulatory effects of ergosterol on ERG3 are specific for ergosterol, as several ergosterol derivatives failed to elicit the same controlling effect. These results demonstrate for the first time that ergosterol exerts a regulatory effect on gene transcription in S. cerevisiae.

Aerobic isolation of an ERG24 null mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The ERG24 gene, encoding the C-14 sterol reductase, has been reported to be essential to the aerobic growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We report here, however, that strains with null mutations in the ERG24 gene can grow on defined synthetic media in aerobic conditions. These sterol mutants produce ignosterol (ergosta-8,14-dienol) as the principal sterol, with no traces of ergosterol. In addition, we mapped the ERG24 gene to chromosome XIV between the MET2 and SEC2 genes. Our results indicate that ignosterol can be a suitable sterol for aerobic growth of S. cerevisiae on synthetic media and that inactivation of ERG24 is only conditionally lethal.

Biochemical and physiological effects of sterol alterations in yeast--a review

Considerable progress has been made in the selection and characterization of mutants that are defective in the synthesis of ergosterol in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mutations in nearly every step of the yeast sterol biosynthetic pathway have been induced and selected. These mutants have been used to elucidate the sequential order of steps in sterol synthesis, to study the mode of action of antifungal agents and to determine the method of resistance of some pathogenic fungi, and to answer questions on the role of sterols in general cell biology. Physiological examination of ergosterol null mutants, lacking all biochemical activity attributed to the particular gene, supports a role for ergosterol in a number of critical functions in the organism. Among the physiological functions attributed to ergosterol are sparking and bulking requirements, involvement in amino acid and pyrimidine transport, resistance to antifungal agents and certain cations, and a requirement for respiratory activity. Those genetic null alleles discussed in this review are erg24, lacking the ability to reduce the delta 14 double bond; erg6, unable to methylate C-24; and erg3, defective in the C-5 desaturase. The different biochemical activities that are disrupted in the ergosterol mutants support a role for ergosterol in a number of critical functions in yeast.

Fenpropimorph affects uptake of uracil and cytosine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fenpropimorph was shown to inhibit the accumulation of the pyrimidine bases uracil and cytosine from the growth media in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Uracil prototrophs of S. cerevisiae were more resistant to the growth-inhibitory effects of fenpropimorph than were uracil auxotrophs. High concentrations of uracil rescued fenpropimorph-treated uracil auxotrophs, and cytosine, which is accumulated by a separate mechanism, could also support growth of treated uracil auxotrophs. Fenpropimorph caused a significant decrease in the uptake of radiolabeled uracil, which was not due to accumulation of ergosta-8,14-dienol (ignosterol) in the treated cultures. Radiolabeled cytosine uptake was unaffected by drug treatment in a wild-type strain but was inhibited in a sterol mutant, in which ergosterol was absent from the cell. The role of fenpropimorph in causing membrane dysfunction through a mechanism other than altered sterol metabolism is discussed.

The Isolation of Influenza A Virus by the Intraallantoic Inoculation of Chick Embryos with Untreated Throat-Washings

A total of 75 untreated and unfiltered nasopharyngeal washings from normal individuals, from patients ill with sporadic febrile upper respiratory disease, and from patients ill during epidemics of influenza were inoculated into the allantois of chick embryos. Repeated passage by the allantoic route demonstrated that chick embryos were little affected by gross bacterial contamination with organisms from the nasopharynges of these patients. Influenza A virus in throat-washings was found to grow readily in the bacterially contaminated embryos. The red blood cell agglutination-phenomenon was used as an indicator of the presence of virus.

In a current epidemic, influenza A virus was isolated and identified in nine out of 20 throat-washings taken at random and examined by the technic described above. Four of the 20 washings produced agglutination on primary egg inoculation. One of these four strains was identified as influenza A virus within 48 hours after the first cases in the epidemic were observed. Human sera of known titer for standard strains of influenza A and B virus were used for the identification of all the strains isolated.

The Use of Chick Embryo Tissues and Fluid as Antigens in the Complement Fixation Reaction in Influenza

The preparation of several complement-fixing antigens from the embryonic tissues and fluid of the developing chick has been described.

These several antigens have been studied with ferret immune sera and compared with mouse lung antigens in complement fixation reactions with human sera.

The experimental data show that of all the antigens investigated, that prepared from the embryonic fluid of the developing chick is the antigen of choice on the basis of potency, yield, specificity, physical properties, and ease of production.