Cytoplasmic fluidization contributes to breaking spore dormancy in fission yeast.

The cytoplasm is a complex, crowded environment that influences myriad cellular processes including protein folding and metabolic reactions. Recent studies have suggested that changes in the biophysical properties of the cytoplasm play a key role in cellular homeostasis and adaptation. However, it still remains unclear how cells control their cytoplasmic properties in response to environmental cues. Here, we used fission yeast spores as a model system of dormant cells to elucidate the mechanisms underlying regulation of the cytoplasmic properties. By tracking fluorescent tracer particles, we found that particle mobility decreased in spores compared to vegetative cells and rapidly increased at the onset of dormancy breaking upon glucose addition. This cytoplasmic fluidization depended on glucose-sensing via the cyclic adenosine monophosphate-protein kinase A pathway. PKA activation led to trehalose degradation through trehalase Ntp1, thereby increasing particle mobility as the amount of trehalose decreased. In contrast, the rapid cytoplasmic fluidization did not require de novo protein synthesis, cytoskeletal dynamics, or cell volume increase. Furthermore, the measurement of diffusion coefficients with tracer particles of different sizes suggests that the spore cytoplasm impedes the movement of larger protein complexes (40 to 150 nm) such as ribosomes, while allowing free diffusion of smaller molecules (~3 nm) such as second messengers and signaling proteins. Our experiments have thus uncovered a series of signaling events that enable cells to quickly fluidize the cytoplasm at the onset of dormancy breaking.

Cellular responses to compound stress induced by atmospheric-pressure plasma in fission yeast.

The stress response is one of the most fundamental cellular processes. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying responses to a single stressor have been extensively studied, cellular responses to multiple stresses remain largely unknown. Here, we characterized fission yeast cellular responses to a novel stress inducer, non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma. Plasma irradiation generates ultraviolet radiation, electromagnetic fields and a variety of chemically reactive species simultaneously, and thus can impose multiple stresses on cells. We applied direct plasma irradiation to fission yeast and showed that strong plasma irradiation inhibited fission yeast growth. We demonstrated that mutants lacking sep1 and ace2, both of which encode transcription factors required for proper cell separation, were resistant to plasma irradiation. Sep1-target transcripts were downregulated by mild plasma irradiation. We also demonstrated that plasma irradiation inhibited the target of rapamycin kinase complex 1 (TORC1). These observations indicate that two pathways, namely the Sep1-Ace2 cell separation pathway and TORC1 pathway, operate when fission yeast cope with multiple stresses induced by plasma irradiation.

Live-cell fluorescence imaging and optogenetic control of PKA kinase activity in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The cAMP-PKA signaling pathway plays a crucial role in sensing and responding to nutrient availability in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This pathway monitors external glucose levels to control cell growth and sexual differentiation. However, the temporal dynamics of the cAMP-PKA pathway in response to external stimuli remains unclear mainly due to the lack of tools to quantitatively visualize the activity of the pathway. Here, we report the development of the kinase translocation reporter (KTR)-based biosensor spPKA-KTR1.0, which allows us to measure the dynamics of PKA activity in fission yeast cells. The spPKA-KTR1.0 is derived from the transcription factor Rst2, which translocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm upon PKA activation. We found that spPKA-KTR1.0 translocates between the nucleus and cytoplasm in a cAMP-PKA pathway-dependent manner, indicating that the spPKA-KTR1.0 is a reliable indicator of the PKA activity in fission yeast cells. In addition, we implemented a system that simultaneously visualizes and manipulates the cAMP-PKA signaling dynamics by introducing bPAC, a photoactivatable adenylate cyclase, in combination with spPKA-KTR1.0. This system offers an opportunity for investigating the role of the signaling dynamics of the cAMP-PKA pathway in fission yeast cells with higher temporal resolution.

Three distinct metabolic phases of polychlorinated biphenyls/biphenyl degrader Acidovorax sp. KKS102 in nutrient broth.

Acidovorax sp. KKS102 is a beta-proteobacterium capable of degrading polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In this study, we examined its growth in liquid nutrient broth supplemented with different carbon sources. KKS102 had at least 3 distinct metabolic phases designated as metabolic phases 1-3, with phase 2 having 2 sub-phases. For example, succinate, fumarate, and glutamate, known to repress the PCB/biphenyl catabolic operon in KKS102, were utilized in phase 1, while acetate, arabinose, and glycerol in phase 2, and glucose and mannose in phase 3. We also showed that the BphQ response regulator mediating catabolite control in KKS102, whose expression level increased moderately through the growth, plays important roles in carbon metabolism in phases 2 and 3. Our study elucidates the hierarchical growth of KKS102 in nutrient-rich media. This insight is crucial for studies exploiting microbial biodegradation capabilities and advancing studies for catabolite regulation mechanisms.

Near-infrared imaging in fission yeast using a genetically encoded phycocyanobilin biosynthesis system.

Near-infrared fluorescent protein (iRFP) is a bright and stable fluorescent protein with near-infrared excitation and emission maxima. Unlike the other conventional fluorescent proteins, iRFP requires biliverdin (BV) as a chromophore. Here, we report that phycocyanobilin (PCB) functions as a brighter chromophore for iRFP than BV, and that biosynthesis of PCB allows live-cell imaging with iRFP in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We initially found that fission yeast cells did not produce BV and therefore did not show any iRFP fluorescence. The brightness of iRFP-PCB was higher than that of iRFP-BV both in vitro and in fission yeast. We introduced SynPCB2.1, a PCB biosynthesis system, into fission yeast, resulting in the brightest iRFP fluorescence. To make iRFP readily available in fission yeast, we developed an endogenous gene tagging system with iRFP and all-in-one integration plasmids carrying the iRFP-fused marker proteins together with SynPCB2.1. These tools not only enable the easy use of multiplexed live-cell imaging in fission yeast with a broader color palette, but also open the door to new opportunities for near-infrared fluorescence imaging in a wider range of living organisms. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

l-Alanine Exporter AlaE Functions as One of the d-Alanine Exporters in Escherichia coli.

d-amino acids have recently been found to be present in the extracellular milieu at millimolar levels and are therefore assumed to play a physiological function. However, the pathway (or potential pathways) by which these d-amino acids are secreted remains unknown. Recently, Escherichia coli has been found to possess one or more energy-dependent d-alanine export systems. To gain insight into these systems, we developed a novel screening system in which cells expressing a putative d-alanine exporter could support the growth of d-alanine auxotrophs in the presence of l-alanyl-l-alanine. In the initial screening, five d-alanine exporter candidates, AlaE, YmcD, YciC, YraM, and YidH, were identified. Transport assays of radiolabeled d-alanine in cells expressing these candidates indicated that YciC and AlaE resulted in lower intracellular levels of d-alanine. Further detailed transport assays of AlaE in intact cells showed that it exports d-alanine in an expression-dependent manner. In addition, the growth constraints on cells in the presence of 90 mM d-alanine were mitigated by the overexpression of AlaE, implying that AlaE could export free d-alanine in addition to l-alanine under conditions in which intracellular d/l-alanine levels are raised. This study also shows, for the first time, that YciC could function as a d-alanine exporter in intact cells.

Evolution of the Tn4371 ICE family: traR-mediated coordination of cargo gene upregulation and horizontal transfer.

ICEKKS102Tn4677 carries a bph operon for the mineralization of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)/biphenyl and belongs to the Tn4371 ICE (integrative and conjugative element) family. In this study, we investigated the role of the traR gene in ICE transfer. The traR gene encodes a LysR-type transcriptional regulator, which is conserved in sequence, positioning, and directional orientation among Tn4371 family ICEs. The traR belongs to the bph operon, and its overexpression on solid medium resulted in modest upregulation of traG (threefold), marked upregulation of xis (80-fold), enhanced ICE excision and, most notably, ICE transfer frequency. We propose the evolutional roles of traR, which upon insertion to its current position, might have connected the cargo gene activation and ICE transfer. This property of ICE, i.e., undergoing transfer under environmental conditions that lead to cargo gene activation, would instantly confer fitness advantages to bacteria newly acquiring this ICE, thereby resulting in efficient dissemination of the Tn4371 family ICEs.IMPORTANCEOnly ICEKKS102Tn4677 is proven to transfer among the widely disseminating Tn4371 family integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) from ß and γ-proteobacteria. We showed that the traR gene in ICEKKS102Tn4677, which is conserved in the ICE family with fixed location and direction, is co-transcribed with the cargo gene and activates ICE transfer. We propose that capturing of traR by an ancestral ICE to the current position established the Tn4371 family of ICEs. Our findings provide insights into the evolutionary processes that led to the widespread distribution of the Tn4371 family of ICEs across bacterial species.

A transcriptional regulator, IscR, of Burkholderia multivorans acts as both repressor and activator for transcription of iron-sulfur cluster-biosynthetic isc operon.

Bacterial iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are essential cofactors for many metabolic pathways, and Fe-S cluster-containing proteins (Fe-S proteins) regulate the expression of various important genes. However, biosynthesis of such clusters has remained unknown in genus Burkholderia. Here, we clarified that Burkholderia multivorans ATCC 17616 relies on the ISC system for the biosynthesis of Fe-S clusters, and that the biosynthetic genes are organized as an isc operon, whose first gene encodes IscR, a transcriptional regulatory Fe-S protein. Transcription of the isc operon was repressed and activated under iron-rich and -limiting conditions, respectively, and Fur, an iron-responsive global transcriptional regulator, was indicated to indirectly regulate the expression of isc operon. Further analysis using a ΔiscR mutant in combination with a constitutive expression system of IscR and its derivatives indicated transcriptional repression and activation of isc operon by holo- and apo-forms of IscR, respectively, through their binding to the sequences within an isc promoter-containing (Pisc) fragment. Biochemical analysis using the Pisc fragment suggested that the apo-IscR binding sequence differs from the holo-IscR binding sequence. The results obtained in this study revealed a unique regulatory system for the expression of the ATCC 17616 isc operon that has not been observed in other genera.

Properties and efficient scrap-and-build repairing of mechanically sheared 3' DNA ends.

Repairing of DNA termini is a crucial step in a variety of DNA handling techniques. In this study, we investigated mechanically-sheared DNA 3'-ends (MSD3Es) to establish an efficient repair method. As opposed to the canonical view of DNA terminus generated by sonication, we showed that approximately 47% and 20% of MSD3Es carried a phosphate group and a hydroxyl group, respectively. The others had unidentified abnormal terminal structures. Notably, a fraction of the abnormal 3' termini (about 20% of the total) was not repaired after the removal of 3' phosphates and T4 DNA polymerase (T4DP) treatment. To overcome this limitation, we devised a reaction, in which the 3'- > 5' exonuclease activity of exonuclease III (3'- > 5' exonuclease, insensitive to the 3' phosphate group) was counterbalanced by the 5'- > 3' polymerase activity of T4DP. This combined reaction, termed "SB-repairing" (for scrap-and-build repairing), will serve as a useful tool for the efficient repair of MSD3Es.

Changes in Gestational Weight Gain and Birth Weight in Women who Delivered at Hyogo Prefectural Kaibara Hospital in Tamba, Japan during 27 Years.

Two independent guidelines on appropriate weight gain for Japanese pregnant women have been established in 1997 and 2006. This study aimed to evaluate changes in the amount of gestational weight gain in pregnant women, the birth weight of their neonates, and the incidence of complications of pregnancy and neonatal outcome in women who delivered at Hyogo Prefectural Kaibara Hospital. Between 1988 and 2014, 6367 women delivered live singleton neonates at full term. The study period was divided into period I (1988-1996), period II (1997-2005), and period III (2006-2014). Changes in weight gain and birth weight were assessed. Complications of pregnancy and neonatal outcome were compared among the periods. Weight gain had been decreased in periods I and II, and weight gain was increased in period III. There was no difference in birth weights between the periods. The incidences of pregnancy-induced hypertension in periods II and III were higher than that in period I (p<0.01). The incidences of vacuum extraction in periods II and III were less than that in period I (p<0.01). The incidence of macrosomia in periods II was less than that in period I (p<0.01). There were no significant differences in the incidence of cesarean section, light-for-date, heavy-for-date, or low birth weight among the three periods. The establishment of guidelines for weight gain and maternity education based on the two guidelines significantly affected complications of pregnancy and neonatal outcome. Prevention of pregnancy-induced hypertension might be difficult when only reducing weight gain in pregnant women.