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FB Biologie/Chemie, Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastr. 13, D-49069 Osnabrück, Germany
Correspondence
Hildgund Schrempf
schrempf{at}biologie.uni-osnabrueck.de
| ABSTRACT |
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C), lacking production of the extracellular chitin-binding protein CHB1 but still secreting the chitinase ChiO1, provokes (v) germination of each spore type, (vi) retarded development of both partners, followed by (vii) preferential proliferation of the fungus. Together with biochemical and immunomicroscopy studies, the data support the conclusion that CHB1 molecules aggregate to an extracellular matrix, maintaining a close contact, followed by several concerted responses of the bacterium and the fungus.
C, mutant lacking the chb1 gene; ChiO1, chitinase; NAG, N-acetylglucosamine; tsr, gene for thiostrepton resistance; TEM, transmission electron microscopy; WT, wild-type
Present address: Dept of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Long Road, Cambridge CB2 2PT, UK.
| INTRODUCTION |
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-chitin, whose linear chains of
-glycosidic linked N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) residues are ordered in an antiparallel arrangement (Schnellmann et al., 1994
The fungal kingdom is very diverse. While plant-associated fungi are often discussed (reviewed by Harrison, 2005
), the role of free-living filamentous ones has been little investigated.
Aspergillus species belong to the ascomycetes filamentous fungi that build an extended network of vegetative hyphae and can form spores that are able to withstand harsh environmental conditions. Aspergillus hyphae have a complex cell wall which comprises chitin, glucan, mannan and proteins (Adams, 2004
).
In this report, we show that in co-cultures Aspergillus proliferans and S. olivaceoviridis form a closely tangled co-existing network of fungal and streptomycete hyphae. Immunological studies, including a designed S. olivaceoviridis mutant strain lacking a functional chb1 gene for the chitin-binding protein CHB1, revealed the importance of the chitin-binding protein for the close and balanced interaction of the bacterial and the fungal hyphae.
| METHODS |
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C carries a substitution of the major portion of the chb1 gene (Schnellmann et al., 1994
Cultivation of strains.
The S. olivaceoviridis wild-type (WT) and
C mutant were grown on agar plates containing complete medium (Schnellmann et al., 1994
) until sporulation occurred. A. proliferans was grown on agar plates containing yeast extract medium (Vionis et al., 1996
) until spores were formed. The spores were removed with sterile water, filtered through cotton, and counted. The spore suspensions of the S. olivaceoviridis WT, the
C mutant (2.5x109 spores ml1) and A. proliferans (2.5x108 spores ml1) were stored at 20 °C in 40 % glycerol. Having washed out residual glycerol, spores of each S. olivaceoviridis strain (5x106) were inoculated separately in a flask (100 ml) containing 5 ml minimal medium (Hopwood et al., 1985
) supplemented with 0.5 % NAG, or without carbon source (control). Alternatively, the spores of A. proliferans (1x106) were mixed with 10-fold excess of those from the S. olivaceoviridis WT or the
C strain. A. proliferans spores inoculated in medium without carbon source served as control. Cultivation was done at 30 °C without shaking (to avoid pellet formation). Samples were taken at the indicated time intervals (see Results) and subjected to microscopy. E. coli M15[pREP4]/pBA1 (Svergun et al., 2000
) was grown in LB medium (Sambrook et al., 1989
).
Microscopic investigations and viability tests.
Portions of the cultures were inspected under visible light (phase-contrast) at various magnifications. In parallel, the samples were subjected to a viability assay (Fernandez & Sanchez, 2002
) and they were subsequently examined under UV using filter sets (Zeiss) for FITC (excitation, HQ 480/40; beam splitter, Q 505 LP; emission, HQ 535/50) and Texas red (HQ 560/55, Q 595 LP, HQ 645/75, respectively). Living cells exhibited green fluorescence, whereas dead mycelia were seen in red.
Immunological studies.
Antibodies against CHB1 had been raised previously (Schnellmann et al., 1994
). To analyse the presence of CHB1 associated with the fungal hyphae, aliquots of the mycelia obtained during co-culture of A. proliferans and S. olivaceoviridis WT or
C mutant strain were pre-treated with 2 % BSA in PBS and incubated with anti-CHB1 antibodies (diluted 1 : 200) for 60 min. Secondary Alexa Fluor 647-labelled antibodies (diluted 1 : 200) were purchased from Molecular Probes. Samples were inspected under both phase-contrast and UV using a filter set (Zeiss) for Cy5 (excitation, HQ 620/60; beam splitter, Q 660 LP; emission, HQ 700/75).
To test the presence of extracellular CHB1, the culture filtrate was precipitated with (NH4)2SO4 (90 % saturation). Aliquots of the resuspended proteins were separated in 12.5 % polyacrylamide gels containing 0.1 % SDS, transferred onto a PVDF membrane (Pall Europe), and treated with anti-CHB1 antibodies and secondary antibodies, as described earlier (Zeltins & Schrempf, 1997
).
Test for the presence of chitinase.
Using p-nitrophenylchitobiose as substrate, chitinase activity was tested as described earlier (Blaak et al., 1993
; Blaak & Schrempf, 1995
). To determine the presence of the chitinase ChiO1, 10 µl portions were spotted onto a nylon membrane and tested for immunoreaction with specific antibodies (raised previously in rabbit). To test for associated chitinase, a 50 µl portion of each culture was dropped onto a slide (pre-treated with polylysine: Schnellmann et al., 1994
; Zeltins & Schrempf, 1995
), and incubated for 1 h in the presence of 2 % BSA in PBS followed by 1.5 h with anti-chitinase antibodies (diluted 1 : 200 in 2 % BSA in PBS). After 10 washes with PBS, samples were treated for 1 h with 1 : 300 diluted secondary anti-rabbit antibodies (labelled with Cy5, Molecular Probes). Finally, slides were washed 10 times with PBS and inspected by microscopy under phase-contrast and UV (with the Zeiss filter set for Cy5; see above for specifications).
Aggregation properties of CHB1.
E. coli[pREP4]/pBA1 (Svergun et al., 2000
) was grown in LB medium (Sambrook et al., 1989
) and induced in the exponential phase (OD600 0.6) with IPTG (1 mmol ml1) for 90 min. Cells were harvested and the His-tagged CHB1 protein was released by osmotic shock treatment as described earlier for an E. coli strain containing the same vector with the chbB gene (Chu et al., 2001
). The washed cells were suspended in 30 mmol Tris/HCl ml1, pH 8, 20 % (w/v) sucrose, incubated on ice for 10 min, sedimented (8000 g, 15 min, 4 °C), resuspended in ice-cold MgSO4 (5 mmol ml1) for 10 min and centrifuged for 15 min at 4 °C. The supernatant was collected, equilibrated to 50 mmol Na2HPO4 ml1, pH 8, 300 mmol NaCl ml1, 10 mmol imidazole ml1, and applied to Ni-NTA resin (Qiagen). The protein was subsequently purified by affinity and ion-exchange chromatography and subjected to gel filtration on a Superdex 75 column (HR 10/30, Amersham Biosciences), equilibrated with 20 mmol Tris/HCl ml1 (pH 7.0) containing 0.1 M NaCl. Peak fractions cross-reacting with anti-CHB1 antibodies were separated in 12.5 % polyacrylamide gels containing 0.1 % SDS and stained with Coomassie brilliant blue R250 (Laemmli, 1970
).
Electron microscopy.
Gold labelling of CHB1 was based on the instructions of the colloidal gold manufacturer (British BioCell International). After overnight dialysis against 2 mmol borax ml1 pH 8.6 (corresponds to the pI value of CHB1), one part of the protein solution (0.1 mg ml1) was mixed dropwise with 18.75 parts of the colloidal gold (diameter 10 nm) suspension that had been adjusted to pH 8.6 with K2CO3 (100 mmol ml1). Following a 5 min incubation at room temperature, BSA (10 % w/v) was added to the final concentration of 0.9 % and the solution was agitated for 10 min. After centrifugation (25 000 g, 60 min at 4 °C) the supernatant containing the unlabelled CHB1 was removed and the pellet comprising gold-labelled CHB1 was washed with 100 mmol Tris/HCl ml1 pH 8.2 buffer containing BSA (1 %) and NaN3 (0.1 %), centrifuged and suspended in the same buffer. Aliquots (10 µl) were placed on carbon-coated copper grids (300 mesh), treated with uranyl acetate (Leal-Morales et al., 1988
), and inspected by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with an EM9 microscope (Zeiss). For immunodetection, aliquots (10 µl) of freshly isolated CHB1 were placed on the grids. After saturation with PBS pH 8.3 containing BSA (2 %), the grids were incubated with anti-CHB1 antibodies and, subsequently, with gold-labelled secondary antibodies (Sigma-Aldrich). The grids were contrasted with uranyl acetate and inspected by TEM.
| RESULTS |
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C mutant
C (see Methods) contains the tsr gene in place of the major portion of the chb1 gene.
The spores of the
C mutant and the WT strain germinated equally well in minimal medium containing low-molecular-mass carbon sources (NAG, sucrose, glucose or glycerol). Many short germ tubes outgrew within 4 h and often formed fine networks that rapidly (within 10 h) expanded to build substrate mycelia, as exemplified for the WT strain (Fig. 1a, b
) and the
C mutant (Fig. 1d, e
) growing in minimal medium supplemented with NAG.
|
Responses of S. olivaceoviridis WT and A. proliferans during co-cultivation
For further studies, spores of each S. olivaceoviridis strain were co-cultured with those of the fungus in minimal medium without soluble carbon source. The spores of S. olivaceoviridis WT germinated within 4 h and the tiny hyphae formed a tangled network (Fig. 2a
), closely associating with the clusters of A. proliferans spores (white arrow in Fig. 2a
). During prolonged incubation (up to 10 h), the network of the S. olivaceoviridis WT hyphae extended considerably (Fig. 2b
) among large clusters of many fungal spores (white arrow in Fig. 2b
).
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C mutant
C mutant developed slowly on a few fungal spores (white arrows in Fig. 2c and d
C mutant extended (Fig. 3g, i, k
C mutant (Fig. 3j
If NAG was added to each type of co-cultures, the growth characteristics of each S. olivaceoviridis strain were very similar (up to 22 h), leading to dominant growth of S. olivaceoviridis hyphae (of WT or
C) compared to the fungus (Fig. 4
). The data indicate that the low-molecular-mass carbon source NAG (0.5 %) is used preferentially in the additional presence of fungal spores, which cannot germinate with NAG as carbon source (Fig. 1gi
).
|
C strain (Fig. 5e, f
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| DISCUSSION |
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C, respectively) do not form germ tubes. In contrast, the bacterial and fungal spores germinate when mixed in minimal medium lacking a carbon source. In co-culture the spores of S. olivaceoviridis WT (Fig. 2a, b
C mutant (Fig. 2c, d
C) spores. Knowledge of the molecular mechanism(s) of spore germination in streptomycetes is still scarce. The process is usually observed after exposure to low-molecular-mass nutrients (Kutzner, 1981
RasA, a small GTP-binding protein, is important for carbon source sensing during Aspergillus nidulans germination. In addition, the cAMP/PKA pathway is believed to be involved. Thus germ tube formation is delayed in the absence of the adenylate cyclase gene (Fillinger et al., 2002
). GasC, a member of the group III G
proteins, appears to control germination but not the carbon sensing in Penicillium marneffei and it has been proposed that GasC signals through the cAMP/PKA pathway (Zuber et al., 2002
). Interestingly, serine/threonine and tyrosine kinases, which control cellular responses to environmental stimuli via complex signal transduction networks in eukaryotes, have recently been found in streptomycetes (Umeyama et al., 2002
) and their participation in morphogenesis seems likely.
In contrast to S. olivaceoviridis WT, the development of the mutant
C, which does not secrete the chitin-binding protein CHB1, is considerably retarded during co-culture with A. proliferans (Fig. 2
). As visualized by immunomicroscopy, CHB1 forms patches within the network of the S. olivaceoviridis WT hyphae interwoven with fungal hyphae and residual fungal spores (Fig. 5a, b
). The biochemical and electron microscopy studies revealed that even CHB1 alone forms high-molecular-mass aggregates (Fig. 6
), probably via hydrophobic interactions.
During further extension of the co-culture time, the S. olivaceoviridis WT strain develops a very well-extended and living mycelium. The fungal hyphae also wrap around the individual or bunched S olivaceoviridis hyphae (Fig. 3a, b
). As reported earlier, streptomycetes secrete many extracellular hydrolytic enzymes degrading macromolecules such as glucans, chitin and proteins, which are also located in the cell wall of fungi. Interestingly, the chitinase ChiO1 from S. olivaceoviridis was primarily found bound to the fungal spores, suggesting its participation in their degradation. Previous studies have shown that the binding domain of this chitinase mediates its adherence to chitin-containing substrates (Vionis et al., 1996
). Therefore, it was not surprising that during early steps of co-cultivation the occurrence of rapidly developing S olivaceoviridis hyphae correlated with the decay of emerging fungal hyphae (Fig. 3b, c, d
). Previously, it had been shown that S. olivaceoviridis has uptake systems for degradation products such as NAG and chitobiose (Wang et al., 2002
; Saito & Schrempf, 2004
). Ultimately, the S. olivaceoviridis WT and the fungus co-grow in a balanced and sustainable manner (Fig. 3e
).
In co-culture with A. proliferans the S. olivaceoviridis
C mutant shows considerably retarded development (Fig. 2c, d
) compared to the WT strain (Fig. 2a, b
). After 34 h of co-culture the hyphae of A. proliferans develop very well and overgrow (Fig. 3k
) the
C hyphae, a large portion of which was shown to be no longer alive (Fig. 3l
). Thus, the fungal hyphae appear to feed well on the decaying
C strain. Interestingly, various Aspergillus species produce a range of enzymes (Klein & Paschke, 2004
), some of which (e.g. proteases) and antibiotics (
-lactams) could contribute to the damage of the emerging bacterial hyphae.
This study is believed to be the first to demonstrate an intimate interaction between a Streptomyces and an Aspergillus strain. Deeper insights into the socio-microbiology of streptomycetes and free-living fungi are of great value for applications and are of high ecological importance.
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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Edited by: C. W. Chen
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Received 9 August 2006;
revised 27 October 2006;
accepted 30 October 2006.
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