USE OF THE ARG7 GENE AS AN INSERTIONAL MUTAGEN TO CLONE PHON24, A GENE REQUIRED FOR DEREPRESSIBLE NEUTRAL PHOSPHATASE-ACTIVITY IN CHLAMYDOMONAS-REINHARDTII
M. Adam et R. Loppes, USE OF THE ARG7 GENE AS AN INSERTIONAL MUTAGEN TO CLONE PHON24, A GENE REQUIRED FOR DEREPRESSIBLE NEUTRAL PHOSPHATASE-ACTIVITY IN CHLAMYDOMONAS-REINHARDTII, MGG. Molecular & general genetics, 258(1-2), 1998, pp. 123-132
In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii transforming DNA apparently integrates at
random locations in the nuclear genome and generates a high number of
mutants by gene inactivation. Twenty-four phoN mutants lacking the de
repressible neutral (DN) phosphatase activity were isolated following
transformation of the cw15arg7 strain with plasmid pASL harbouring the
ARG7 gene encoding argininosuccinate lyase. In all mutants resulting
from the transformation with linearised pASL, a functional ARG7 copy w
as found to be closely linked to a phoN mutation but additional ARG7 c
opies were present elsewhere in the genome. Of the 13 mutants submitte
d to allelism analysis, four were allelic or tightly linked to the pre
viously isolated MNNG-induced phoN mutants (phoN2, phoN3, phoN24), the
remaining mutants were distributed among seven additional loci. To le
arn more about the function of the genes involved in DN phosphatase pr
oduction, we cloned PHON24 by plasmid rescue and screening of a wild-t
ype genomic library. One clone complemented the phoN24 mutation in cot
ransformation experiments, as did several subcloned fragments. In all
phoN24(+) transformants, the DN phosphatase activity was 2-3 times low
er than in the wild-type strain but about 10 times higher than in the
untransformed control. In wild-type, PHON24 transcript accumulation wa
s independent of inorganic phosphate deficiency. The transcripts were
present in the MNNG-induced phoN24 mutant but were lacking in the two
insertional phoN24 mutants. Insertional mutagenesis has thus permitted
the isolation of novel mutants which were missing after induction wit
h a chemical mutagen and the cloning of a gene which is probably invol
ved in the regulation of the DN phosphatase.