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Displaying results 31 to 40 of 48.

Publications

Scheibner, F.; Schulz, S.; Hausner, J.; Marillonnet, S.; Büttner, D.; Type III-Dependent Translocation of HrpB2 by a Nonpathogenic hpaABC Mutant of the Plant-Pathogenic Bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 82, 3331-3347, (2016) DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00537-16

The plant-pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria employs a type III secretion (T3S) system to translocate effector proteins into plant cells. The T3S apparatus spans both bacterial membranes and is associated with an extracellular pilus and a channel-like translocon in the host plasma membrane. T3S is controlled by the switch protein HpaC, which suppresses secretion and translocation of the predicted inner rod protein HrpB2 and promotes secretion of translocon and effector proteins. We previously reported that HrpB2 interacts with HpaC and the cytoplasmic domain of the inner membrane protein HrcU (C. Lorenz, S. Schulz, T. Wolsch, O. Rossier, U. Bonas, and D. Büttner, PLoS Pathog 4:e1000094, 2008, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000094). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the control of HrpB2 secretion are not yet understood. Here, we located a T3S and translocation signal in the N-terminal 40 amino acids of HrpB2. The results of complementation experiments with HrpB2 deletion derivatives revealed that the T3S signal of HrpB2 is essential for protein function. Furthermore, interaction studies showed that the N-terminal region of HrpB2 interacts with the cytoplasmic domain of HrcU, suggesting that the T3S signal of HrpB2 contributes to substrate docking. Translocation of HrpB2 is suppressed not only by HpaC but also by the T3S chaperone HpaB and its secreted regulator, HpaA. Deletion of hpaA, hpaB, and hpaC leads to a loss of pathogenicity but allows the translocation of fusion proteins between the HrpB2 T3S signal and effector proteins into leaves of host and non-host plants.IMPORTANCE The T3S system of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria is essential for pathogenicity and delivers effector proteins into plant cells. T3S depends on HrpB2, which is a component of the predicted periplasmic inner rod structure of the secretion apparatus. HrpB2 is secreted during the early stages of the secretion process and interacts with the cytoplasmic domain of the inner membrane protein HrcU. Here, we localized the secretion and translocation signal of HrpB2 in the N-terminal 40 amino acids and show that this region is sufficient for the interaction with the cytoplasmic domain of HrcU. Our results suggest that the T3S signal of HrpB2 is required for the docking of HrpB2 to the secretion apparatus. Furthermore, we provide experimental evidence that the N-terminal region of HrpB2 is sufficient to target effector proteins for translocation in a nonpathogenic X. campestris pv. vesicatoria strain.
Publications

Dobritzsch, M.; Lübken, T.; Eschen-Lippold, L.; Gorzolka, K.; Blum, E.; Matern, A.; Marillonnet, S.; Böttcher, C.; Dräger, B.; Rosahl, S.; MATE Transporter-Dependent Export of Hydroxycinnamic Acid Amides Plant Cell 28, 583-596, (2016) DOI: 10.1105/tpc.15.00706

The ability of Arabidopsis thaliana to successfully prevent colonization by Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight disease of potato (Solanum tuberosum), depends on multilayered defense responses. To address the role of surface-localized secondary metabolites for entry control, droplets of a P. infestans zoospore suspension, incubated on Arabidopsis leaves, were subjected to untargeted metabolite profiling. The hydroxycinnamic acid amide coumaroylagmatine was among the metabolites secreted into the inoculum. In vitro assays revealed an inhibitory activity of coumaroylagmatine on P. infestans spore germination. Mutant analyses suggested a requirement of the p-coumaroyl-CoA:agmatine N4-p-coumaroyl transferase ACT for the biosynthesis and of the MATE transporter DTX18 for the extracellular accumulation of coumaroylagmatine. The host plant potato is not able to efficiently secrete coumaroylagmatine. This inability is overcome in transgenic potato plants expressing the two Arabidopsis genes ACT and DTX18. These plants secrete agmatine and putrescine conjugates to high levels, indicating that DTX18 is a hydroxycinnamic acid amide transporter with a distinct specificity. The export of hydroxycinnamic acid amides correlates with a decreased ability of P. infestans spores to germinate, suggesting a contribution of secreted antimicrobial compounds to pathogen defense at the leaf surface.
Publications

Heinze, M.; Brandt, W.; Marillonnet, S.; Roos, W.; “Self” and “Non-Self” in the Control of Phytoalexin Biosynthesis: Plant Phospholipases A2 with Alkaloid-Specific Molecular Fingerprints Plant Cell 27, 448-462, (2015) DOI: 10.1105/tpc.114.135343

The overproduction of specialized metabolites requires plants to manage the inherent burdens, including the risk of self-intoxication. We present a control mechanism that stops the expression of phytoalexin biosynthetic enzymes by blocking the antecedent signal transduction cascade. Cultured cells of Eschscholzia californica (Papaveraceae) and Catharanthus roseus (Apocynaceae) overproduce benzophenanthridine alkaloids and monoterpenoid indole alkaloids, respectively, in response to microbial elicitors. In both plants, an elicitor-responsive phospholipase A2 (PLA2) at the plasma membrane generates signal molecules that initiate the induction of biosynthetic enzymes. The final alkaloids produced in the respective plant inhibit the respective PLA, a negative feedback that prevents continuous overexpression. The selective inhibition by alkaloids from the class produced in the “self” plant could be transferred to leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana via recombinant expression of PLA2. The 3D homology model of each PLA2 displays a binding pocket that specifically accommodates alkaloids of the class produced by the same plant, but not of the other class; for example, C. roseus PLA2 only accommodates C. roseus alkaloids. The interaction energies of docked alkaloids correlate with their selective inhibition of PLA2 activity. The existence in two evolutionary distant plants of phospholipases A2 that discriminate “self-made” from “foreign” alkaloids reveals molecular fingerprints left in signal enzymes during the evolution of species-specific, cytotoxic phytoalexins.
Publications

Brückner, K.; Schäfer, P.; Weber, E.; Grützner, R.; Marillonnet, S.; Tissier, A.; A library of synthetic transcription activator-like effector-activated promoters for coordinated orthogonal gene expression in plants Plant J. 82, 707-716, (2015) DOI: 10.1111/tpj.12843

A library of synthetic promoters containing the binding site of a single designer transcription activator‐like effector (dTALE) was constructed. The promoters contain a constant sequence, consisting of an 18‐base long dTALE‐binding site and a TATA box, flanked by degenerate sequences of 49 bases downstream and 19 bases upstream. Forty‐three of these promoters were sequenced and tested in transient assays in Nicotiana benthamiana using a GUS reporter gene. The strength of expression of the promoters ranged from around 5% to almost 100% of the viral 35S promoter activity. We then demonstrated the utility of these promoters for metabolic engineering by transiently expressing three genes for the production of a plant diterpenoid in N. benthamiana. The simplicity of the promoter structure shows great promise for the development of genetic circuits, with wide potential applications in plant synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.
Publications

Patron, N. J.; Orzaez, D.; Marillonnet, S.; Warzecha, H.; Matthewman, C.; Youles, M.; Raitskin, O.; Leveau, A.; Farré, G.; Rogers, C.; Smith, A.; Hibberd, J.; Webb, A. A. R.; Locke, J.; Schornack, S.; Ajioka, J.; Baulcombe, D. C.; Zipfel, C.; Kamoun, S.; Jones, J. D. G.; Kuhn, H.; Robatzek, S.; Van Esse, H. P.; Sanders, D.; Oldroyd, G.; Martin, C.; Field, R.; O'Connor, S.; Fox, S.; Wulff, B.; Miller, B.; Breakspear, A.; Radhakrishnan, G.; Delaux, P.-M.; Loqué, D.; Granell, A.; Tissier, A.; Shih, P.; Brutnell, T. P.; Quick, W. P.; Rischer, H.; Fraser, P. D.; Aharoni, A.; Raines, C.; South, P. F.; Ané, J.-M.; Hamberger, B. R.; Langdale, J.; Stougaard, J.; Bouwmeester, H.; Udvardi, M.; Murray, J. A. H.; Ntoukakis, V.; Schäfer, P.; Denby, K.; Edwards, K. J.; Osbourn, A.; Haseloff, J.; Standards for plant synthetic biology: a common syntax for exchange of DNA parts New Phytol. 208, 13-19, (2015) DOI: 10.1111/nph.13532

Inventors in the field of mechanical and electronic engineering can access multitudes of components and, thanks to standardization, parts from different manufacturers can be used in combination with each other. The introduction of BioBrick standards for the assembly of characterized DNA sequences was a landmark in microbial engineering, shaping the field of synthetic biology. Here, we describe a standard for Type IIS restriction endonuclease‐mediated assembly, defining a common syntax of 12 fusion sites to enable the facile assembly of eukaryotic transcriptional units. This standard has been developed and agreed by representatives and leaders of the international plant science and synthetic biology communities, including inventors, developers and adopters of Type IIS cloning methods. Our vision is of an extensive catalogue of standardized, characterized DNA parts that will accelerate plant bioengineering.
Books and chapters

Marillonnet, S.; Werner, S.; Assembly of Multigene Constructs Using Golden Gate Cloning (Castilho, A., ed.). Methods Mol. Biol. 1321, 269-284, (2015) ISBN: 978-1-4939-2760-9 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2760-9_19

Efficient DNA assembly methods are required for synthetic biology. Standardization of DNA parts is an essential element that not only facilitates reuse of the same parts for various constructs but also allows standardization of the assembly strategy. We provide here a protocol for assembly of multigene constructs from standard biological parts using the modular cloning system MoClo. Making constructs using this system requires to first define the structure of the final construct and to identify all basic parts and vectors required for the construction strategy. The cloning strategy is in large part determined by the structure of the final construct, which is then made using a series of one-pot Golden Gate cloning reactions.
Publications

Engler, C.; Youles, M.; Gruetzner, R.; Ehnert, T.-M.; Werner, S.; Jones, J. D. G.; Patron, N. J.; Marillonnet, S.; A Golden Gate Modular Cloning Toolbox for Plants ACS Synth. Biol. 3, 839-843, (2014) DOI: 10.1021/sb4001504

Plant Synthetic Biology requires robust and efficient methods for assembling multigene constructs. Golden Gate cloning provides a precision module-based cloning technique for facile assembly of multiple genes in one construct. We present here a versatile resource for plant biologists comprising a set of cloning vectors and 96 standardized parts to enable Golden Gate construction of multigene constructs for plant transformation. Parts include promoters, untranslated sequences, reporters, antigenic tags, localization signals, selectable markers, and terminators. The comparative performance of parts in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana is discussed.
Publications

Schneider, J. D.; Marillonnet, S.; Castilho, A.; Gruber, C.; Werner, S.; Mach, L.; Klimyuk, V.; Mor, T. S.; Steinkellner, H.; Oligomerization status influences subcellular deposition and glycosylation of recombinant butyrylcholinesterase in Nicotiana benthamiana Plant Biotechnol. J. 12, 832-839, (2014) DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12184

Plants have a proven track record for the expression of biopharmaceutically interesting proteins. Importantly, plants and mammals share a highly conserved secretory pathway that allows similar folding, assembly and posttranslational modifications of proteins. Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is a highly sialylated, tetrameric serum protein, investigated as a bioscavenger for organophosphorous nerve agents. Expression of recombinant BChE (rBChE) in Nicotiana benthamiana results in accumulation of both monomers as well as assembled oligomers. In particular, we show here that co‐expression of BChE with a novel gene‐stacking vector, carrying six mammalian genes necessary for in planta protein sialylation, resulted in the generation of rBChE decorated with sialylated N‐glycans. The N‐glycosylation profile of monomeric rBChE secreted to the apoplast largely resembles the plasma‐derived orthologue. In contrast, rBChE purified from total soluble protein extracts was decorated with a significant portion of ER‐typical oligomannosidic structures. Biochemical analyses and live‐cell imaging experiments indicated that impaired N‐glycan processing is due to aberrant deposition of rBChE oligomers in the endoplasmic reticulum or endoplasmic‐reticulum‐derived compartments. In summary, we show the assembly of rBChE multimers, however, also points to the need for in‐depth studies to explain the unexpected subcellular targeting of oligomeric BChE in plants.
Books and chapters

Thieme, F.; Marillonnet, S.; Quick and Clean Cloning (Valla, S. & Lale, R., eds.). Methods Mol. Biol. 1116, 37-48, (2014) ISBN: 978-1-62703-764-8 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-764-8_3

Identification of unknown sequences that flank known sequences of interest requires PCR amplification of DNA fragments that contain the junction between the known and unknown flanking sequences. Since amplified products often contain a mixture of specific and nonspecific products, the quick and clean (QC) cloning procedure was developed to clone specific products only. QC cloning is a ligation-independent cloning procedure that relies on the exonuclease activity of T4 DNA polymerase to generate single-stranded extensions at the ends of the vector and insert. A specific feature of QC cloning is the use of vectors that contain a sequence called catching sequence that allows cloning specific products only. QC cloning is performed by a one-pot incubation of insert and vector in the presence of T4 DNA polymerase at room temperature for 10 min followed by direct transformation of the incubation mix in chemo-competent Escherichia coli cells.
Books and chapters

Engler, C.; Marillonnet, S.; Golden Gate Cloning (Valla, S. & Lale, R., eds.). Methods Mol. Biol. 1116, 119-131, (2014) ISBN: 978-1-62703-764-8 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-764-8_9

DNA assembly methods are essential tools for biological research and biotechnology. Therefore various methods have been developed to clone DNA fragments of interest. Conventional methods usually require several cloning steps to generate a construct of interest. At each step, a single DNA fragment is transferred from a donor plasmid or PCR product to a recipient vector. In the past few years, a number of methods have been developed to facilitate and speed up this process. One of these methods, Golden Gate cloning, allows assembling up to nine fragments at a time in a recipient plasmid. Cloning is performed by pipetting in a single tube all plasmid donors, the recipient vector, a type IIS restriction enzyme and ligase, and incubating the mix in a thermal cycler. Despite the simplicity of the cloning procedure, the majority of clones obtained after transformation contain the expected construct. Using Golden Gate cloning however requires the use of carefully designed donor and recipient plasmids. We provide here a protocol describing how to design these plasmids and also describe the conditions necessary to perform the assembly reaction.
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