The Control of the Crossover Localization in Allium.

Meiotic crossovers/chiasmata are not randomly distributed and strictly controlled. The mechanisms behind crossover (CO) patterning remain largely unknown. In Allium cepa, as in the vast majority of plants and animals, COs predominantly occur in the distal 2/3 of the chromosome arm, while in Allium fistulosum they are strictly localized in the proximal region. We investigated the factors that may contribute to the pattern of COs in A. cepa, A. fistulosum and their F1 diploid (2n = 2x = 8C + 8F) and F1 triploid (2n = 3x = 16F + 8C) hybrids. The genome structure of F1 hybrids was confirmed using genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). The analysis of bivalents in the pollen mother cells (PMCs) of the F1 triploid hybrid showed a significant shift in the localization of COs to the distal and interstitial regions. In F1 diploid hybrid, the COs localization was predominantly the same as that of the A. cepa parent. We found no differences in the assembly and disassembly of ASY1 and ZYP1 in PMCs between A. cepa and A. fistulosum, while F1 diploid hybrid showed a delay in chromosome pairing and a partial absence of synapsis in paired chromosomes. Immunolabeling of MLH1 (class I COs) and MUS81 (class II COs) proteins showed a significant difference in the class I/II CO ratio between A. fistulosum (50%:50%) and A. cepa (73%:27%). The MLH1:MUS81 ratio at the homeologous synapsis of F1 diploid hybrid (70%:30%) was the most similar to that of the A. cepa parent. F1 triploid hybrid at the A. fistulosum homologous synapsis showed a significant increase in MLH1:MUS81 ratio (60%:40%) compared to the A. fistulosum parent. The results suggest possible genetic control of CO localization. Other factors affecting the distribution of COs are discussed.

Functional Allium fistulosum Centromeres Comprise Arrays of a Long Satellite Repeat, Insertions of Retrotransposons and Chloroplast DNA.

The centromere is a unique part of the chromosome combining a conserved function with an extreme variability in its DNA sequence. Most of our knowledge about the functional centromere organization is obtained from species with small and medium genome/chromosome sizes while the progress in plants with big genomes and large chromosomes is lagging behind. Here, we studied the genomic organization of the functional centromere in Allium fistulosum and A. cepa, both species with a large genome (13 Gb and 16 Gb/1C, 2n = 2x = 16) and large-sized chromosomes. Using low-depth DNA sequencing for these two species and previously obtained CENH3 immunoprecipitation data we identified two long (1.2 Kb) and high-copy repeats, AfCen1K and AcCen1K. FISH experiments showed that AfCen1K is located in all centromeres of A. fistulosum chromosomes while no AcCen1K FISH signals were identified on A. cepa chromosomes. Our molecular cytogenetic and bioinformatics survey demonstrated that these repeats are partially similar but differ in chromosomal location, sequence structure and genomic organization. In addition, we could conclude that the repeats are transcribed and their RNAs are not polyadenylated. We also observed that these repeats are associated with insertions of retrotransposons and plastidic DNA and the landscape of A. cepa and A. fistulosum centromeric regions possess insertions of plastidic DNA. Finally, we carried out detailed comparative satellitome analysis of A. cepa and A. fistulosum genomes and identified a new chromosome- and A. cepa-specific tandem repeat, TR2CL137, located in the centromeric region. Our results shed light on the Allium centromere organization and provide unique data for future application in Allium genome annotation.

Cytological Evaluations of Advanced Generations of Interspecific Hybrids Between Allium cepa and Allium fistulosum Showing Resistance to Stemphylium vesicarium.

Interspecific crossing is a promising approach for introgression of valuable traits to develop cultivars with improved characteristics. Allium fistulosum L. possesses numerous pest resistances that are lacking in the bulb onion (Allium cepa L.), including resistance to Stemphylium leaf blight (SLB). Advanced generations were produced by selfing and backcrossing to bulb onions of interspecific hybrids between A. cepa and A. fistulosum that showed resistance to SLB. Molecular classification of the cytoplasm established that all generations possessed normal (N) male-fertile cytoplasm of bulb onions. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) was used to study the chromosomal composition of the advanced generations and showed that most plants were allotetraploids possessing the complete diploid sets of both parental species. Because artificial doubling of chromosomes of the interspecific hybrids was not used, spontaneous polyploidization likely resulted from restitution gametes or somatic doubling. Recombinant chromosomes between A. cepa and A. fistulosum were identified, revealing that introgression of disease resistances to bulb onion should be possible.

Substrate access to the active sites in aminopeptidase T, a representative of a new metallopeptidase clan.

Aminopeptidase T (AmpT) from Thermus thermophilus is a metalloexopeptidase with no similarity to prototypical metallopeptidases with an HExxH or HxxEH motif. The crystal structure of the Staphylococcus aureus homologue of AmpT, which is known as aminopeptidase S (AmpS), has been reported recently. This structure revealed a dimeric protein with a very unusual, elongated shape and a large internal cavity. The active sites were found on the inner walls of the cavity and were entirely shielded from the environment, which suggested either that the dimer in the crystals was not physiologically relevant, or that an inactive conformation had been crystallized. Here, we show by gel-filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation that AmpT, like AmpS, forms dimers in solution, and we present the structure of AmpT in a crystal form with five protomers in the asymmetric unit. The five protomers take conformations that range from fully closed, as in the AmpS structure, to nearly open, so that the active site is almost directly accessible. The different conformations indicate flexibility between the AmpT N and C-domains, and explain how AmpT can be active, although the unusual AmpS dimerization mode applies to AmpT as well.

Staphylococcus aureus aminopeptidase S is a founding member of a new peptidase clan.

Staphylococcus aureus aminopeptidase S (AmpS) has been named for its predicted, but experimentally untested, aminopeptidase activity. The enzyme is homologous to biochemically characterized aminopeptidases that contain two cobalt or zinc ions in their active centers, but it is unrelated to all structurally characterized metallopeptidases. Here, we demonstrate AmpS aminopeptidase activity experimentally, and we present the 1.8-A crystal structure of the enzyme. Two metal ions with full occupancy and a third metal ion with low occupancy are present in the active site. A water molecule and Glu-319 serve as bridging ligands to the two metals with full occupancy. One of these metal ions is additionally coordinated by Glu-253 and His-348 and the other by His-381 and Asp-383. In addition, the metals are involved in weak metal-donor interactions to a water molecule and to Tyr-355. In the crystal, AmpS forms a dimer with a large internal cavity. The active sites are located at opposite ends of this internal cavity and are essentially inaccessible from the outside, suggesting that an inactive conformation was crystallized. Because gel filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation data also suggest dimer formation, the problem of substrate access to the active site cavity remains unresolved.

Peptidoglycan amidase MepA is a LAS metallopeptidase.

LAS enzymes are a group of metallopeptidases that share an active site architecture and a core folding motif and have been named according to the group members lysostaphin, D-Ala-D-Ala carboxypeptidase and sonic hedgehog. Escherichia coli MepA is a periplasmic, penicillin-insensitive murein endopeptidase that cleaves the D-alanyl-meso-2,6-diamino-pimelyl amide bond in E. coli peptidoglycan. The enzyme lacks sequence similarity with other peptidases, and is currently classified as a peptidase of unknown fold and catalytic class in all major data bases. Here, we build on our observation that two motifs, characteristic of the newly described LAS group of metallopeptidases, are conserved in MepA-type sequences. We demonstrate that recombinant E. coli MepA is sensitive to metal chelators and that mutations in the predicted Zn2+ ligands His-113, Asp-120, and His-211 inactivate the enzyme. Moreover, we present the crystal structure of MepA. The active site of the enzyme is most similar to the active sites of lysostaphin and D-Ala-D-Ala carboxypeptidase, and the fold is most closely related to the N-domain of sonic hedgehog. We conclude that MepA-type peptidases are LAS enzymes.

Similar active sites in lysostaphins and D-Ala-D-Ala metallopeptidases.

Specific peptidases exist for nearly every amide linkage in peptidoglycan. In several cases, families of peptidoglycan hydrolases with different specificities turned out to be related. Here we show that lysostaphin-type peptidases and D-Ala-D-Ala metallopeptidases have similar active sites and share a core folding motif in otherwise highly divergent folds. The central Zn(2+) is tetrahedrally coordinated by two histidines, an aspartate, and a water molecule. The Zn(2+) chelating residues occur in the order histidine, aspartate, histidine in all sequences and contact the metal via the Nepsilon, the Odelta, and the Ndelta, respectively. The identity of the other active-site residues varies, but in all enzymes of known structure except for VanX, a conserved histidine is present two residues upstream of the second histidine ligand to the Zn(2+). As the same arrangement of active-site residues is also found in the N-terminal, cryptic peptidase domain of sonic hedgehog, we propose that this arrangement of active-site residues be called the "LAS" arrangement, because it is present in lysostaphin-type enzymes, D-Ala-D-Ala metallopeptidases, and in the cryptic peptidase in the N-domain of sonic hedgehog.

Fusion of the antiferritin antibody VL domain to barnase results in enhanced solubility and altered pH stability.

Chimeric immunotoxins that combine antigen recognition domains of antibodies and cytotoxic RNases have attracted much attention in recent years as potential targeted agents for cancer immunotherapy. In an attempt to obtain a structurally minimized immunofusion for folding/stability studies, we constructed the chimeric protein VL-barnase. The chimera comprises a small cytotoxic enzyme barnase, ribonuclease from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, fused to the C-terminus of the light chain variable domain (VL) of the anti-human ferritin monoclonal antibody F11. While the individual VL domain was expressed in Escherichia coli as insoluble protein packed into inclusion bodies, its fusion to barnase resulted in a significant ( approximately 70%) fraction of soluble protein, with only a minor insoluble fraction ( approximately 30%) packed into inclusion bodies. The in vivo solubilizing effect of barnase was also observed in vitro and suggests a chaperone-like role that barnase exerted with regard to the N-terminal VL domain. Cytoplasmic VL-barnase was analyzed for structural and functional properties. The dimeric state of the chimeric protein was demonstrated by size-exclusion chromatography, thus indicating that fusion to barnase did not abrogate the intrinsic dimerization propensity of the VL domain. Ferritin-binding affinity and specificity in terms of constants of association with isoferritins were identical for the isolated VL domain and its barnase fusion, and RNase activity remained unchanged after the fusion. Intrinsic fluorescence spectra showed a fully compact tertiary structure of the fusion protein. However, significantly altered pH stability of the fusion protein versus individual VL and barnase was shown by the pH-induced changes in both intrinsic fluorescence and binding of ANS. Together, the results indicate that VL-barnase retained the antigen-binding affinity, specificity and RNase activity pertinent to the two individual constituents, and that their fusion into a single-chain chimeric protein resulted in an altered tertiary fold and pH stability.

Latent LytM at 1.3A resolution.

LytM, an autolysin from Staphylococcus aureus, is a Zn(2+)-dependent glycyl-glycine endopeptidase with a characteristic HxH motif that belongs to the lysostaphin-type (MEROPS M23/37) of metallopeptidases. Here, we present the 1.3A crystal structure of LytM, the first structure of a lysostaphin-type peptidase. In the LytM structure, the Zn(2+) is tetrahedrally coordinated by the side-chains of N117, H210, D214 and H293, the second histidine of the HxH motif. Although close to the active-site, H291, the first histidine of the HxH motif, is not directly involved in Zn(2+)-coordination, and there is no water molecule in the coordination sphere of the Zn(2+), suggesting that the crystal structure shows a latent form of the enzyme. Although LytM has not previously been considered as a proenzyme, we show that a truncated version of LytM that lacks the N-terminal part with the poorly conserved Zn(2+) ligand N117 has much higher specific activity than full-length enzyme. This observation is consistent with the known removal of profragments in other lysostaphin-type proteins and with a prior observation of an active LytM degradation fragment in S.aureus supernatant. The "asparagine switch" in LytM is analogous to the "cysteine switch" in pro-matrix metalloproteases.