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ABSTRACT: When cultures of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were subjected to blue light, cells continued growing for a longer period and attained larger sizes than under red light. This resulted in more division rounds per cell cycle. In blue light, the commitment point for cell division (after which cells can complete the cell cycle independent of light) was shifted later and consequently coincided with a larger cell size, which allowed for two division rounds. We found that exposure to blue light, when cells had approximately doubled in size and until the division phase, resulted in delayed cell division. Transfer into red light during this period triggered cell division. Furthermore, for cells that had doubled in size but whose growth was stopped by addition of the photosynthesis inhibitor DCMU, red-light illumination counteracted the inhibitory effect of blue light on the initiation of cell division, whereas transfer into darkness was ineffective. We confirm that the commitment point functions as a check-point, coordinating the cell cycle using internal and external factors, including cell size. In addition, we conclude that light quality is one of these factors. Spectral light conditions (blue and red light) affect the time at which cells attain the commitment point, and consequently the timing of cell division.
Eur. J. Phycol. 08/2006; 41(3):313-320.
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ABSTRACT: (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucan is a key cell wall component of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans. Many genes are known to affect the levels or structure of this glucan, but their roles and a molecular description of the synthesis of (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucan remain to be established and a method to measure (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucan synthase activity in vitro would provide an enabling tool. Here, conditions for the detection of in vitro synthesis of this polymer are described. Crude membrane preparations from S. cerevisiae were isolated, and incubated in the presence of UDP-glucose and GTP. With anti-(1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucan-specific antibodies, a time-dependent increase in the amount of this glucan was demonstrated in a dot-blot assay, or through an inhibition enzyme immunoassay. Antibody specificity was validated by competition experiments using pustulan, a (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucan, laminarin, a (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan, yeast mannan and glycogen. The identity of the reaction product was also demonstrated by its sensitivity to a recombinant (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucanase. Extracts from mutants in 10 genes with a wide range of altered cell wall (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucan levels were assayed for in vitro synthesis of the polymer. A strong correlation of in vitro synthase activity with in vivo glucan levels was found, providing genetic support for the specificity of the assay. The basis for the GTP-dependence of the synthase reaction was studied. Extracts from rho2, rho3, rho4 and rho5 null mutants had wild-type in vitro activity. In contrast, Rho1p overproduction led to increased in vitro synthesis, implicating Rho1p in the regulation of (1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucan synthesis.
Yeast 11/2004; 21(13):1121-31. · 1.89 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In this study, we describe the effect of red and blue light on the timing of cell division, DNA synthesis, and activity and presence of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), in synchronous cultures of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Cell division and DNA synthesis were found to occur later in cells grown in blue or white light, than in red light. CDK-like activity, measured using a histone H1 kinase assay, correspondingly occurred later in cultures that were grown in blue light compared to cultures grown in red light. The amount of CDK-like proteins, as detected using an antibody against the PSTAIRE motif, showed a maximum during the division phase. We conclude that the mechanism that causes the delay in the timing of cell division in blue light has its action before DNA replication takes place and also precedes the increase in CDK-like activity.
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 05/2004; 42(4):341-8. · 2.84 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: KIC1 encodes a PAK kinase that is involved in morphogenesis and cell integrity. Both over- and underexpressing conditions of KIC1 affected cell wall composition. Kic1-deficient cells were hypersensitive to the cell wall perturbing agent calcofluor white and had less 1,6-beta-glucan. When Kic1-deficient cells were crossed with various kre mutants, which also have less 1,6-beta-glucan in their wall, the double mutants displayed synthetic growth defects. However, when crossed with the 1,3-beta-glucan-deficient strain fks1delta, no synthetic growth defect was observed, supporting a specific role for KIC1 in regulating 1,6-beta-glucan levels. Kic1-deficient cells also became highly resistant to the cell wall-degrading enzyme mixture Zymolyase, and exhibited higher transcript levels of the cell wall protein-encoding genes CWP2 and SED1. Conversely, overexpression of KIC1 resulted in increased sensitivity to Zymolyase and in a higher level of 1,6-beta-glucan. Multicopy suppressor analysis of a Kic1-deficient strain identified RHO3. Consistent with this, expression levels of RHO3 correlated with 1,6-beta-glucan levels in the cell wall. Interestingly, expression levels of KIC1 and the MAP kinase kinase PBS2 had opposite effects on Zymolyase sensitivity of the cells and on cell wall 1,6-beta-glucan levels in the wall. It is proposed that Kic1 affects cell wall construction in multiple ways and in particular in regulating 1,6-beta-glucan levels in the wall.
Microbiology 01/2003; 148(Pt 12):4035-48. · 3.06 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Mastoparan induces Ca2+-dependent deflagellation of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas moewusii Gerloff, as well as the activation of phospholipase C and the production of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3; T. Munnik et al., 1998, Planta 207: 133–145). Even in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, mastoparan still induces deflagellation (L.M. Quarmby and H.C. Hartzell, 1994, J Cell Biol 124: 807–815; J.A.J. van Himbergen
et al., 1999, J Exp Bot, in press) suggesting that InsP3 mediates Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. To test this hypothesis, cells were pre-loaded with 45Ca2+ and their plasma membranes permeabilized by digitonin. Subsequent treatment of the cells with mastoparan (3.5 μM) induced
release of intracellular 45Ca2+. Mastoparan also activated phospholipase C in permeabilized cells, as demonstrated by the breakdown of 32P-phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and the production of diacylglycerol. The mastoparan analogues mas7 and mas17 were
also effective and their efficacy was correlated with their biological activity. X-ray microanalysis showed that electron-dense
bodies (EDBs) are a major Ca2+ store in C. moewusii. Analysis of digitonin-permeabilized cells showed that EDBs lost calcium at digitonin concentrations that released radioactivity
from 45Ca2+-labelled cells, suggesting that 45Ca2+ monitored the content of EDBs. X-ray microanaysis of living cells treated with mastoparan also revealed that calcium was
released from EDBs.
Planta 12/1999; 210(2):286-294. · 3.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Cells from several different plant species synthesised a polyphosphoinositide (PPI)-like lipid when osmo-stressed. Synthesis
was maximal after about 10 min and was stimulated by a variety of osmolytes. Using NaCl, the strongest response centred around
200 mM. The lipid was shown to be the novel PPI isomer phosphatidyl-inositol 3,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns-(3,5)P2] by analytical thin-layer chromatography and conversion to PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 using recombinant phosphoinositide 4-OH kinase. The results indicate that PtdIns-(3,5)P2 plays a role in a general osmo-signalling pathway in plants. Its potential role is discussed.
Planta 03/1999; 208(2):294-298. · 3.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Treating Chlamydomonas moewusii cells with non-permeabilizing concentrations of mastoparan (1–5 μM) increased inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) levels up to 20-fold in a dose-dependent manner and rapidly induced deflagellation and mating-structure activation, two
well-defined Ca2+-responses. When metabolism of the phospholipid precursors was monitored in 32Pi-labelled cells, as much as 70% of the radioactivity in phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PtdInsP2) was lost within 20 s. Thereafter, the 32P-label in PtdInsP2 increased to twice the control level within 10 min. A similar pattern of 32P-labelling was also exhibited by PtdInsP. An HPLC-headgroup analysis revealed that only PtdIns4P and PtdIns(4,5)P2 were involved and not the D3-phosphorylated isomers. Correlated with the increased polyphosphoinositide (PPI) turnover, there
was a massive (5- to 10-fold) increase in 32P-labelled phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) and, slightly later, an increase in its metabolic product, diacylglycerol pyrophosphate
(DGPP), reflecting the phosphorylation of the resulting diacylglycerol (DAG) and PtdOH, respectively. Mastoparan-treatment
of 32P-labelled cells in the presence of 0.2% n-butanol increased the formation of radioactive phosphatidylbutanol (PtdBut), a specific reporter of phospholipase D (PLD)
activity. This means that mastoparan activates both phospholipase C (PLC) and PLD, and thus both pathways could contribute
to the increase in PtdOH. To distinguish between them, a differential labelling strategy was applied based on the fact that
32Pi-label is slowly incorporated into structural phospholipids but rapidly incorporated into ATP. Since PLD hydrolyses a structural
lipid, radioactivity only appears slowly in PtdOHPLD (and PtdBut). In contrast, PtdOHPLC is synthesised by phosphorylation of DAG, and therefore should rapidly incorporate radioactivity. In practice, PtdOH formed
on addition of mastoparan was rapidly labelled, reflecting the specific radioactivity of the [32P]ATP pool. Based on the production of [32P]PtdBut, we estimate that about 5–17% of the PtdOH was generated through the PLD pathway, while the majority originated from
PLC activity. Together, this is the first demonstration (i) that PLC activation is correlated with increases in Ca2+, InsP3, PtdOH and DGPP, at the cost of PtdInsP and PtdInsP2, all in one and the same cell, (ii) of the characteristics of stimulated and unstimulated PPI turnover, (iii) that stimulated
turnover affects the D-4 PPI and not the 3-isomers, (iv) that PLC and PLD are activated at the same time, (v) of a simple
labelling method to discriminate between the two in terms of PtdOH production.
Planta 10/1998; 207(1):133-145. · 3.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The effect of light on the sexual competence of a light-sensitive mating type minus strain (mt(-)) of Chlamydomonas eugametos obtained by crossing a light-sensitive mating type plus strain (mt(+)) with a light-insensitive mt(-) strain is described. As previously demonstrated for the mt(+) parent, this study of one of the mt(-) offspring shows that (a) a light-sensitive mechanism affects flagellar agglutinability in a rapid process that does not require protein synthesis; (b) only the activity of the flagellar agglutinins (glycoproteins responsible for agglutination) is susceptible to light while agglutinins on the cell body surface are not affected by light. We further demonstrate that (a) membrane vesicles naturally released from nonagglutinable dark gametes remain inactive. Extracts of these vesicles also remain inactive even though they contain agglutinin-like components; (b) inactive mt(-) agglutinin is present in extracts of flagella from nonagglutinable dark gametes by comparison of its chromatographic, electrophoretic, and immunogenic properties with those of active agglutinin. When purified of all other flagellar proteins, it remains inactive; (c) a monoclonal antibody directed against the sexual agglutination site of the mt(-) agglutintin discriminates between active and inactive agglutinins when present in a native state on the flagellar surface, but is unable to discriminate between them when they are denatured in sodium dodecyl sulfate-electrophoresis gels and blotted onto nitrocellulose. Taken collectively these observations suggest that light activation involves the chemical modification of the agglutinins in situ on the flagellar surface.
Plant physiology 02/1988; 86(1):216-23. · 6.53 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A cell wall lytic enzyme (gamete wall-autolysin) and a polyclonal antiserum raised against one of the major cell wall glycopeptides
ofChlamydomonas reinhardtii were used to study their cross-reactivities with the cell walls of variety of members of the Volvocales. Lytic enzyme was
able to digest completely the cell walls of five species ofChlamydomonas (C. reinhardtii group), six species ofGonium and two species ofAstrephomene. The colonial structures ofGonium andAstrephomene were broken into individual cells by exposure to the enzyme and protoplasts were then formed. These organisms also showed
a strong cross-reactivity with anti-cell wall glycopeptide by an indirect-immunofluorescence test. The cell walls ofChlamydomonas angulosa, Dysmorphococcus globosus, Pandorina morum, Eudorina elegans, Volvulina steinii, Pleodorina california andVolvox carteri all showed a strong cross-reactivity to the antibody, although they were insensitive to the lytic enzyme. Many other species
ofChlamydomonas, Carteria crucifera, Chlorogonium elongatum, Polytoma uvella, Haematococcus lacustris, Lobomonas piriformis,
Phacotus lenticularis, Pteromonas angulosa, Stephanosphera pluvialis, andPyrobotrys casinoensis had cell walls which were resistant to the enzyme and showed no or weak cross-reactivity with the antibody. Based on the
results, a possible evolutionary sequence from a unicellular relative ofC. reinhardtii to the multicellular algae is discussed.
Journal of Plant Research 11/1987; 100(4):373-384. · 1.75 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A method to determine the mating competence of Chlamydomonas eugametos was developed. The contribution of each mating type in the pair formation was investigated using asymmetric gamete mixtures. It was established that pair formation is not mediated by a pheromonal attraction mechanism between partner gametes, but depends on collision chances. On the other hand, it was demonstrated that during transient contacts between partner gametes the flagellar agglutinability of both partners is stimulated, evidently to prepare a successful mating. The plus mating type was generally less agglutinable than the minus mating type and was a rate-limiting factor in the mating process.
Plant physiology 07/1986; 81(2):522-6. · 6.53 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Gametes of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas eugametos agglutinate via their flagella. The mating type plus agglutination factor was solubilized by relatively mild treatments such as a short pH shock or an osmotic shock indicating that it is an extrinsic membrane component. It was also extracted in the nonionic detergent Triton X-100. A simple two-step procedure consisting of gel filtration over Sepharose 4B-cross-linked followed by anion exchange chromatography of the void volume yielded an electrophoretically pure preparation of a single high molecular weight glycoprotein. The agglutination factor sedimented as a 9.3 S particle (assuming a density of 1.50) in sucrose gradients. This low value, compared with the high apparent molecular weight seen during gel filtration and electrophoresis, suggests that the agglutination factor is a rod-like molecule. This was confirmed by viewing rotary-shadowed preparations in the electron microscope. A population of long slender molecules was revealed (328 +/- 20 nanometers), many of which had a knob at one end and a flexible region about one fourth of the length from the other end.
Plant physiology 12/1985; 79(3):740-5. · 6.53 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Gametes ofChlamydomonas eugametos produce membrane vesicles, called isoagglutinins, which are shed into the culture fluid. It is assumed that they originate from the flagellar membrane for, like flagella, they can bind to the flagellar surface of gametes of the opposite mating type (mt). The composition ofmt
- isoagglutinin was investigated with respect to this agglutinability. When the agglutination factor present on the surface ofmt
- isoagglutinins (PAS-1.2) was removed, together with other membrane bound glycoproteins, the membrane vesicles were rendered inactive. They could be reactivated however by incubation with the extracted glycoproteins in a time-and concentration-dependent manner. The agglutination factor proved to be necessary yet sufficient in itself for the reactivation process to occur. Experiments with CsCl density gradients showed that the agglutination factor truly bound to the vesicles during reactivation. Inactivated vesicles derived frommt
+ gametes could be reactivated to gainmt
- properties. Reactivation was inhibited by prior treatment with trypsin. The results indicate that the agglutination factor inmt
- isoagglutinins is an extrinsic membrane protein bound to an intrinsic proteinaceous receptor.
Planta 10/1982; 155(6):529-535. · 3.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Gametes ofChlamydomonas eugametos produce membrane vesicles, called isoagglutinins, which are shed into the culture fluid. It is assumed that they originate from the flagellar membrane for, like flagella, they can bind to the flagellar surface of gametes of the opposite mating type (mt). The composition ofmt- isoagglutinin was investigated with respect to this agglutinability. When the agglutination factor present on the surface ofmt- isoagglutinins (PAS-1.2) was removed, together with other membrane bound glycoproteins, the membrane vesicles were rendered inactive. They could be reactivated however by incubation with the extracted glycoproteins in a time-and concentration-dependent manner. The agglutination factor proved to be necessary yet sufficient in itself for the reactivation process to occur. Experiments with CsCl density gradients showed that the agglutination factor truly bound to the vesicles during reactivation. Inactivated vesicles derived frommt+ gametes could be reactivated to gainmt- properties. Reactivation was inhibited by prior treatment with trypsin. The results indicate that the agglutination factor inmt- isoagglutinins is an extrinsic membrane protein bound to an intrinsic proteinaceous receptor.
Planta 01/1982; 155(6):529-535. · 3.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In vitro dephosphorylation of D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3] by vegetative cells, gametes and zygotes of the green alga Chlamydomonas eugametos was studied using a soluble cell fraction as enzyme source and labelled Ins(1,4,5)P3 as substrate. This compound was dephosphorylated yielding predominantly Ins(1,4)P2, but in most cell types Ins(4,5)P2 could also be detected. Both products were subsequently dephosphorylated to Ins(4)P, Ins(1)P and finally inositol. The study demonstrates that in these algae Ins(1,4,5)P3 is degraded via a pathway that is characteristic of vertebrate rather than higher plant cells.
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ABSTRACT: During sexual reproduction in the heterothallic, biflagellate, green alga Chlamydomonas, gametes adhere together via their agglutinins, sex-specific glycoproteins extrinsically bound to the flagellar membrane. Using an antibody specific for a C. eugametos agglutinin, we illustrate that agglutinins engaged in adhesion are transported to the flagellar tips. This tipping phenomenon, together with a particular orientation of the flagella, forms part of the mechanism by which gametes position themselves properly for fusion in pairs.
FEBS Letters.
