Plasmid functions involved in the stable propagation of the pKD1 circular plasmid in Kluyveromyces lactis

Summary Plasmid factors involved in the stable propagation of pKD1-derived vectors in Kluyveromyces lactis transformants have been identified. Three genes (A, B and C) have been found to be present in pKD1: the interruption of the B and C genes led to high plasmid instability. Stability could be restored in trans when host cells contained pKD1 as the resident plasmid (pKD1⁺ strains). The A gene, which codes for a site-specific recombinase, did not affect plasmid partitioning. Vectors bearing only the pKD1 replication origin (or a chromosomal ARS), and no other pKD1 sequence, were very unstable both in the presence and absence of the resident plasmid in host cells. These vectors could be stabilized in pKD1⁺ strains, but not in pKD1^o strains, by the insertion of a 200 pb-long pKD1 sequence. This sequence, called the cis-acting stability locus (CSL), together with the products of the B and C genes, ensured plasmid partitioning at cell divison. Possible hairpin structures and direct repeats were regularly spaced within the CSL. This region, and the corresponding cis-acting stabilizing elements of other yeast plasmids, did not have sequence homology but shared some structural regularities.     

Transformation of the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis by new vectors derived from the 1.6 μm circular plasmid pKD1

Summary The circular plasmid pKD1 (or 1.6 m DNA) has recently been isolated from Kluyveromyces drosophilarum. This plasmid appears to have a functional organization analogous to that of the 2 DNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, although the respective nucleotide sequences show little homology. pKD1 can be transferred to Kluyveromyces lactis where it is replicated stably. Using recombinant molecules derived from pKDl, a practical transformation system has been developed for Kluyveromyces lactis, with an efficiency and stability comparable to the 2 -based Saccharomyces cerevisiae transformation system.     

Centromeric DNA of Kluyveromyces lactis

Summary A direct selection method was used to isolate centromeres from a genomic library of the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. The method is based on the lethality at high copy number of the ochre-suppressing tRNA gene SUP11. Five different chromosomal fragments were found that confer mitotic stability to plasmids containing a replication origin of K. lactis (KARS). In addition, KARS plasmids containing these fragments have a copy number or approximately one, and each of the five fragments hybridizes to a different chromosome of K. lactis. From these results we conclude that five of the six centromeres of K. lactis have been isolated. These centromeres do not function in S. cerevisiae.     

Extrachromosomal genetics in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. Isolation and characterization of antimycin-resistant mutants

Summary Antimycin-resistant (A^R) mutants of the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, obtained either spontaneously or after manganese treatment, were isolated and genetically characterized. Most of the mutants obtained after manganese mutagenesis and two spontaneous mutants, tolerated high antimycin concentrations (more than 10 /gmg/ml) and were extrachromosomal. One mutant which grew only in low antimycin (1 /gmg/ml) showed a Mendelian type of inheritance. The extrachromosomal mutants could be assigned to at least two genetic loci (A _I ^R and A _II ^R ). Mutants representative of these two groups showed increased resistance to the antibiotic when the respiration of whole cells or mitochondria was studied. Extrachromosomal mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae resistant to antimycin were also induced with manganese, isolated and characterized. Comparative studies of the antimycin-resistant mutants of K. lactis and S. cerevisiae permitted the following observations: a) K. lactis is more resistant to antimycin, funiculosin, mucidin and diuron than S. cerevisiae, as are the A^R mutants; b) K. lactis shows correlated sensitivity to funiculosin differing in this aspect from S. cerevisiae; c) the antimycin-resistant mutants of K. lactis belonging to group 11 (A _II ^R ) were also resistant to diuron, tolerating concentrations of more than 200 /gmg/ml; d) all extrachromosomal antimycin-resistant-mutants of S. cerevisiae and some of the A^R mutants of K. lactis were more sensitive to mucidin than the wild type.Abbreviations diuron or DCMU 3-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1dimethylurea - HQNO 2-n Heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide     

A Kluyveromyces lactis gene homologue to AAC2 complements the Saccaromyces cerevisiae op1 mutation

A mutation (op1) in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae AAC2 gene, which codes for the most abundant ADP/ATP carrier isoform, results in lack of mitochondrial-dependent growth and in an as yet unexplained petite-negative phenotype. A gene from the petite-negative yeast Kluyveromyces lactis has been isolated by complementing in multicopy the op1 mutation of S. cerevisiae. This gene, designated KIAAC, can complement the petite-negative phenotype of op1 as well as its inability to grow on non-fermentable carbon sources. KIAAC contains a 915-base pair open reading frame coding for a protein of 305 amino acids which shows a high degree of identity to AAC2. The K. lactis ADP/ATP carrier also shares identity with other known ADP/ATP carrier sequences. In particular, the degree of identity of KIAAC is higher with the Neurospora crassa carrier (80.1%) than with AAC1 (76.6%). The nucleotide sequence upstream of the KIAAC coding region was found to contain a long DNA segment with no coding potential, but presenting features of highly regulated promoter sequences.     

Genes conding for mitochondrial proteins are more strongly biased in Kluyveromyces lactis than in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The codon bias index (CBI) of several genes of Kluyveromyces lactis was calculated and compared with corresponding data from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genes encoding cytoplasmic as well as mitochondrial proteins were analyzed. The CBI of K. lactis and S. cerevisiae genes are similar for the majority of the cases considered with the exception of genes encoding mitochondrial proteins which display higher CBI values in K. lactis, indicating a higher level of gene expression. This could be related to the key role played by mitochondria in this yeast.     

High efficiency transformation of Kluyveromyces marxianus by a replicative plasmid

Kluyveromyces marxianus can be transformed with an efficiency of 10⁵ transformants/g of DNA by a replicative plasmid using electroporation. In order to obtain this efficiency, we isolated ura^- mutants cells which can be complemented by the URA3 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The URA3 gene and KARS2, a replicative origin from Kluyveromyces lactis which functions in K. marxianus, were ligated together in a plasmid which can be used as a vector to transform this strain.     

Isolation,heterological cloning and sequencing of the RPL28 gene in Kluyveromyces lactis

By virtue of heterologous functional complementation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Delta pdr5 mutant strain, using a Kluyveromyces lactis genomic library, three different K. lactis chromosomal inserts were obtained. Transformation of the S. cerevisiae Delta pdr1 Delta pdr3 mutant strain, hypersensitive to drugs, with isolated plasmids resulted in resistance to cycloheximide and fluconazole. Transformation of K. lactis host strains, using the cloned chromosomal fragments, led to an increased level of resistance to some mitochondrial inhibitors and azole antifungals. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned inserts revealed that two of them contain the drug efflux transporter gene Kl-PDR5 and the third contains a DNA segment homologous to chromosome VII of S. cerevisiae. Along with three novel ORFs, encoding two proteins of unknown molecular function and one putative hexose transporter, this segment also contained the Kl-RPL28 gene, found to be responsible for the cycloheximide resistance of heterologous transformants. This gene codes for the large subunit ribosomal protein (149 amino acids) that shares 89.9% identity with its S. cerevisiae counterpart. The coding region of Kl-RPL28 was found to be interrupted with one intron near the 5' end. The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper were submitted to GenBank and assigned the accession number AF493565.     

Kluyveromyces lactis killer system: ORF1 of pGKL2 has no function in immunity expression and is dispensable for killer plasmid replication and maintenance

Summary To functionally characterize the genes encoded by the larger killer plasmid pGKL2 from Kluyveromyces lactis a previously developed in-vivo recombination system was exploited. An in-vitro modified version of the cytoplasmically expressible LEU2 gene cartridge (LEU2 ^*) flanked by appropriate pGKL2 segments was used to replace the central part of the ORF1 region of pGKL2. Transformation of a Leu^- killer strain resulted in the expected disruption of ORF1 in the resident pGKL2. The Leu⁺ transformants obtained can be assigned to three classes. Class I carries both killer plasmids, pGKL1/2, and the recombinant pGKL2 derivative termed pRKL2. Class II and III additionally harbor palindrome and hairpin-like plasmids, respectively. Upon subculturing of class I transformants under selective pressure, segregation of the native pGKL2 and the recombinant pRKL2 eventually occurs resulting in total loss of pGKL2. No differences concerning killer and immunity phenotype between a pRKL2-harboring strain and the native pGKL2-carrying recipient could be detected. Thus pGKL2 ORF1 is dispensable for both expression of killer/immunity phenotypes and for the replication and maintenance of the K. lactis killer plasmids.     

The host range of the pKD1-derived plasmids in yeast

Summary pKDI is a 2-like circular plasmid found in the yeast Kluyveromyces drosophilarum that can also stably replicate in Kluyveromyces lactis. We have found a short intergenic region in this genome that appears to be functionally neutral; that is, the introduction of foreign sequences into the single EcoRI restriction site located near one of the inverted repeats did not affect the high stability of the natural plasmid. By introducing a G418 resistance gene at this site, we constructed an autonomous recombinant plasmid. Since this vector did not require cir ⁺ hosts for its stable maintenance, it could be used to examine the transformation host range of pKD1 among all the species belonging to the genus Kluyveromyces. Both species closely related to K. drosophilarum as well as a few other species that are very different in chromosomal GC % could be transformed to yield highly stable transformant clones.     

Formation of intergeneric hybrids of yeast by protoplast fusion of Yarrowia and Kluyveromyces species

Summary Prototrophic hybrids have been obtained by the fusion of auxotrophic haploid strains of the two yeasts Yarrowia (Saccharomycopsis) lipolytica and Kluyveromyces lactis. The hybrid fusants had a colonial morphology intermediate between that of the two parent strains, were uninucleate, and contained an approximately diploid amount of DNA per cell. The growth rates of all the fusants on a minimal glucose medium were slower than those of the two parents. Two of the fusants studied could utilise a novel range of carbon sources.All of these data suggested that the hybrids contained a diploid nucleus formed by the fusion of the two haploid parental nuclei. However, analytical CsCl density gradient centrifugation demonstrated that the nuclear DNA of the fusants was derived almost entirely from the Y. lipolytica parent. Moreover, an examination of the protein constitution of the fusants by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that their protein patterns were indistinguishable from that of Y. lipolytica. Two possible mechanisms for the formation of a diploid nucleus containing DNA derived almost entirely from one of the haploid parents are discussed.     

The organization of the genes for ribosomal RNA on mitochondrial DNA of Kluyveromyces lactis

Summary We have constructed a physical map of Kluyveromyces lactis mtDNA using the restriction enzymes HindII and HindIII. In contrast to Saccharomyces, the genes for the large and small ribosomal RNAs are much closer to each other, being separated by a maximal distance of 2,250 base pairs.Abbreviations bp base pair(s) - rRNA ribosomal RNA - SSC 0.15 M NaCl, 0.015 M sodium citrate (pH 7.0)     

Integration of vectors by homologous recombination in the plant pathogen Glomerella cingulata

An homologous transformation system has been developed for the plant pathogenic fungus Glomerella cingulata (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides). A transformation vector containing the G. cingulata gpdA [romoter fused to the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene was constructed. Southern analyses indicated that this vector integrated at single sites in most transformants. A novel method of PCR amplification across the recombination junction point indicated that the integration event occurred by homologous recombination in more than 95% of the transformants. Deletion studies demonstrated that 505 bp (the minimum length of homologous promoter DNA analysed which was still capable of promoter function) was sufficient to target integration events. Homologous integration of the vector resulted in duplication of the gdpA promoter region. When transformants were grown without selective pressure, a high incidence of vector excision by recombination between the duplicated regions was evident. The significance of these recombination characteristics is discussed with reference to the feasibility of performing gene disruption experiments.     

Nucleotide sequence of the COX1 gene in Kluyveromyces lactis mitochondrial DNA: evidence for recent horizontal transfer of a group II intron

Summary The cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene (COX1) in K. lactis K8 mtDNA spans 8 826 bp and contains five exons (termed E1–E5) totalling 1 602 bp that show 88% nucleotide base matching and 91% amino acid homology to the equivalent gene in S. cerevisiae. The four introns (termed K1 cox1.1–1.4) contain open reading frames encoding proteins of 786, 333, 319 and 395 amino acids respectively that potentially encode maturase enzymes. The first intron belongs to group II whereas the remaining three are group I type B. Introns K1 cox1.1, 1.3, and 1.4 are found at identical locations to introns Sc cox1.2, 1.5a, and 1.5b respectively from S. cerevisiae. Horizontal transfer of an intron between recent progenitors of K. lactis and S. cerevisiae is suggested by the observation that K1 cox1.1 and Sc cox1.2 show 96% base matching. Sequence comparisons between K1 cox1.3/Sc cox1.5a and K1 cox1.4/Sc cox1.5b suggest that these introns are likely to have been present in the ancestral COX1 gene of these yeasts. Intron K1 cox1.2 is not found in S. cerevisiae and appears at an unique location in K. lactis. A feature of the DNA sequences of the group I introns K1 cox1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 is the presence of 11 GC-rich clusters inserted into both coding and noncoding regions. Immediately downstream of the COX1 gene is the ATPase subunit 8 gene (A8) that shows 82.6% base matching to its counterpart in S. cerevisiae mtDNA.EM BL Accession Number X57546     

Integrative transformation of a zygomycete,Absidia glauca,with vectors containing repetitive DNA

Summary Experimental evidence for integration of transformed DNA into the genome of Absidia glauca, a member of the fungal class of zygomycetes is presented. According to the limited knowledge on the molecular biology of these fungi, autonomous replication of transformed plasmids seems to be the preferential mode of DNA propagation. By inserting fragments of highly repetitive DNA elements into an autonomously replicating vector conferring neomycin resistance, we were able to obtain integrative transformation events. With such plasmids we observed stable mitotic propagation of a selective marker gene (NPT II under the control of a homologous actin promoter). Analysis of DNA from transformants in Southern type experiments, as well as restriction analysis of retransformants into Escherichia coli, provide evidence that integration of foreign DNA into the genome of Absidia glauca is possible. These transformation events are often associated with the appearance of mutant phenotypes.