Functional complementation in the context of elucidating the function(s)/role(s) of a gene is defined as the ability of a particular homologous or orthologous gene to restore a particular mutant with an observable phenotype to the wild-type state when the homologous or orthologous gene is introduced in cis or trans into the mutant background. This technique has been widely used to isolate and identify the function(s)/role(s) of many genes. One particular example is the isolation and identification of orotidine-5-phosphate decarboxylase from Candida albicans using the ura3 mutant of S. cerevisiae and the pyrF mutant of E. coli.1 The authors have used this technique to elucidate the function of genes that are involved in the metabolism of amino acids, peptidoglycan and the stringent response in their research programs and have incorporated this technique into their teaching programs in the Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience (BMB) program at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
The authors teach Fundamentals of Plant Biochemistry/Pathology (FPBP) (Hudson) and Bioseparations: Principles and Practices (BPP) (Hudson/Savka), two upper division elective laboratory based courses in the BMB Program at the RIT. Since some of the topics that are discussed in the courses are affiliated with their research interests, the authors have incorporated many of the techniques and experimental tools that are used in their respective research programs into these two laboratory-based courses. One such example is functional complementation as a laboratory exercise to reinforce the lecture materials pertaining to amino acid metabolism from plants, peptidoglycan and the stringent response metabolism from bacteria.
Three of the amino acid pathways from plants that are discussed in the FPBB course are that of lysine (lys), tyrosine (tyr) and phenylalanine (phe). The lys pathway is highlighted in the course because of the importance of the amino acid as an essential amino acid for all animals particularly humans since animals lack the genetic machinery to synthesize lys de novo. In addition, it was recently discovered that plants employ a pathway for the synthesis of lys that is significantly different from that of bacteria. This discovery was partially facilitated by functional complementation of the E. coli diaminopimelate (dap) mutants using a gene that encodes the enzyme L,L-diaminopimelate aminotransferase (DapL) from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.2 The variant pathways for the synthesis of lys through the intermediate diaminopimelate are shown in Figure 1. In addition, the synthesis of lys facilitates through the aspartate derived family of amino acids which is highly regulated.3 In addition to their importance in protein synthesis, the pathways for tyr and phe are highlighted given their importance in serving as precursor compounds for the anabolism of phenylpropanoid compounds involved the synthesis of plant defense compounds such as: alkaloids, lignins, flavonoids, isoflavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acid among others.4 The tyr and phe pathways are also highlighted to show the difference between the plant and bacterial anabolic pathways. In bacteria, the enzyme tyrosine aminotransferase (TyrB) is involved in the anabolism of both amino acids, whereas in plants, the enzyme is primarily involved in the catabolism of tyr and phe and is not involved in the anabolism of these amino acids. (Figure 2).4
The differences between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria regarding the structure of peptidoglycan (PG) are highlighted in the FPBP course. The PG of Gram negative bacteria is of interest regarding plant pathology based on to the fact that most plant pathogens are Gram negative. A recent review regarding the top 10 bacterial phyto-pathogens revealed that all are Gram negative. The bacteria were from the genera: Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, Agrobacterium, Xanthomonas, Erwinia, Xylella, Dickeya and Pectobacterium.5 One of the chemical differences when comparing the PG stem of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria is the difference between the cross-linking amino acids of both types. The initial step for that different cross-linking of PG occurs in the cytoplasmic step of PG anabolism and is facilitated by the enzyme UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamate-meso-2,6-diaminopimelate ligase (MurE) (Figure 3A). MurE catalyzes the addition of a particular diamine compound at third position of the peptide stem.6 In most Gram negative bacteria, the penultimate lys precursor, meso-diaminopimelate (m-DAP) serves as the cross-linking amino acid and lys serves the same role in the PG of most Gram positive bacteria (Figure 3B).7 This is due to the fact that both m-DAP and lys possess two amine groups and are capable of forming two peptide bonds for peptide stem cross-linking.
In the Bioseparations: Principles and Practices (BPP) course, the differences between open and closed systems for the cultivation of bacteria and how nutrient levels will change significantly in both systems due to environmental changes are discussed. These events are linked to regulatory changes called a "shift down" or "shift up" triggered by starvation or an adequate supply of amino acids or energy. The "shift down" response can occur when a bacterial culture is transferred from a rich and complex medium to a chemically defined medium with a single carbon source. This change in environment leads to the rapid cessation of tRNA and rRNA synthesis. This cessation results in the lack of ribosomes, protein and DNA synthesis even though the biosynthesis of amino acids are upregulated.
Following the "shift down" response, the existing ribosomes are used to produce new enzymes to synthesize the amino acids no longer available in the medium or environment. After a period of time, rRNA synthesis and new ribosomes are assembled and the population of bacterial cells begins to grow although at a reduced rate. The course of events is termed the "stringent response" or "stringent control" and is an example of global cellular regulation and can be thought of as a mechanism for adjusting the cell's biosynthetic machinery to compensate for the availability of the required substrates and energy needs.8 The stringent response thus enables bacteria to respond rapidly to fluxes of nutrients in the environment and contributes and enhances the ability of bacteria to compete in environments that can change rapidly with regards to nutrient and or substrate availability.8-9
The stringent response has an integral role in gene expression when the availability of amino acids, carbon, nitrogen, phosphate, and fatty acids are limited.8,10-14 This stringent response is coordinated by two nucleotides, guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) and guanosine pentaphosphate (pppGpp) commonly referred together as the alarmone (p)ppGpp. For example, when amino acids are limited-which can lead to a bottleneck in protein synthesis-the alarmone, guanosine 3,5-(bis) pyrophosphate (ppGpp), derived from anabolism of guanosine 3-diphosphate 5-triphosphate (pppGpp) accumulates in the cell. The change in (p)ppGpp level is involved in expression of genes that regulate the response to overcome the lack of substrates in the environment that are directly involved in cell growth and development. Two of the genes that are involved in this process are called relA and spoT. RelA is a ribosome-associated (p)ppGpp synthetase that is involved in the response to the accumulation of uncharged tRNAs that is the result of amino acid limitation. SpoT functions as a bifunctional (p)ppGpp synthetase and hydrolase. The synthetase activity of SpoT is involved in the response to the lack of carbon and fatty acid starvation.8 The RelA/SpoT homologs are widespread in plants and bacteria and are referred to as Rsh for RelA/SpoT homologs.8,10-12,16 A recent manuscript showed that there is a specific Rsh protein involved in the synthesis of these alarmones from the bacterium Novosphingobium sp Rr 2-17.17
Here we present four biochemical pathways tethered to the functional complementation assays. The complementation assays outlined in this manuscript provides an avenue to explore employing this in vivo assay as a means of identifying and or characterizing enzymes that are predicted to have unknown/putative function(s) or as teaching tools to supplement the teaching of biochemical pathways.