isopropyl-thiogalactoside and thiomethylgalactoside

Most commonly used expression systems in bacteria are based on the Escherichia coli lac promoter. Furthermore, lac operon elements are used today in systems and synthetic biology. In the majority of the cases the gratuitous inducers IPTG or TMG are used. Here we report a systematic comparison of lac promoter induction by TMG and IPTG which focuses on the aspects inducer uptake, population heterogeneity and a potential influence of the transacetylase, LacA. We provide induction curves in E. coli LJ110 and in isogenic lacY and lacA mutant strains and we show that both inducers are substrates of the lactose permease at low inducer concentrations but can also enter cells independently of lactose permease if present at higher concentrations. Using a gfp reporter strain we compared TMG and IPTG induction at single cell level and showed that bimodal induction with IPTG occurred at approximately ten-fold lower concentrations than with TMG. Furthermore, we observed that lac operon induction is influenced by the transacetylase, LacA. By comparing two Plac-gfp reporter strains with and without a lacA deletion we could show that in the lacA(+) strain the fluorescence level decreased after few hours while the fluorescence further increased in the lacA(-) strain. The results indicate that through the activity of LacA the IPTG concentration can be reduced below an inducing threshold concentration-an influence that should be considered if low inducer amounts are used.

Topics: Acetyltransferases; beta-Galactosidase; Cell Count; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Proteins; Green Fluorescent Proteins; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; Lac Operon; Methylgalactosides; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; Protein Engineering; Recombinant Proteins; Symporters; Thiogalactosides

In the presence of gratuitous inducers, the lac operon of Escherichia coli exhibits bistability. Most models in the literature assume that the inducer enters the cell via the carrier (permease), and exits by a diffusion-like process. The diffusive influx and carrier efflux are neglected. However, analysis of the data shows that in non-induced cells, the diffusive influx is comparable to the carrier influx, and in induced cells, the carrier efflux is comparable to the diffusive efflux. Since bistability entails the coexistence of steady states corresponding to both non-induced and induced cells, neither one of these fluxes can be ignored. We present a model accounting for both fluxes, and show that: (1) The thresholds (i.e., the extracellular inducer levels at which transcription turns on or off) are profoundly affected by both fluxes. The diffusive influx reduces the on threshold, and eliminates irreversible bistability, a phenomenon that is inconsistent with data. The carrier efflux increases the off threshold, and abolishes bistability at large permease activities, a conclusion that can be tested experimentally. (2) The thresholds are well approximated by simple analytical expressions obtained by considering two limiting cases (no carrier efflux and no diffusive influx). (3) The simulations are in good agreement with the data for isopropyl thiogalactoside (IPTG), but somewhat discrepant with respect to the data for thiomethyl galactoside (TMG). We discuss the potential sources of the discrepancy.

Topics: Biological Transport; Computer Simulation; Escherichia coli; Gene Expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; Lac Operon; Membrane Transport Proteins; Methylgalactosides; Models, Genetic; Thiogalactosides; Transcriptional Activation

Elements of the lactose operon were used to study parameters affecting gene expression in cultured cells and transgenic animals. A Lac repressor protein containing a nuclear transport signal was shown to inhibit expression of a reporter gene by interacting with lac operator sequences. In cultured cells, operator sequence, operator placement and induction parameters were all shown to be important for obtaining tight repression of a reporter gene followed by high level expression upon induction. Induction levels were also dependent on the reporter gene, with the luciferase gene yielding higher induction levels than the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. In transgenic animals, the lacI mRNA was not detected in the C57BL/6 mouse strain until the animal was exposed to a demethylating agent. After 5-azacytidine treatment, expression of lacI mRNA was detected in the brain, heart, kidney, lung and ovary. In the FVB transgenic mouse strain, expression of lacI mRNA was detected without 5-azacytidine treatment in the kidney, liver, lung, and testes. Preliminary experiments with double transgenic animals containing both lacI and operator/luciferase transgenes showed a decrease in luciferase expression compared to the luciferase-only animals in both tissue extracts and transgenic fetal primary cultures, although IPTG induction was not achieved in these animals or primary cultures. The applicability and challenges of the system for regulation of gene expression are discussed.

Topics: Animals; Bacterial Proteins; Base Sequence; Cell Nucleus; Cells, Cultured; Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase; Cloning, Molecular; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Escherichia coli Proteins; Eukaryotic Cells; Female; Fetus; Gene Expression Regulation; Genes, Reporter; Genetic Vectors; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; Lac Repressors; Male; Methylation; Methylgalactosides; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred Strains; Mice, Transgenic; Molecular Sequence Data; Recombinant Proteins; Repressor Proteins; Thiogalactosides; Time Factors; Tissue Distribution

The lactose transport system of Citrobacter freundii was characterized. Both the lactose transport system and beta-galactosidase were induced with either lactose or isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG), the latter being the better inducer. The Km values for methyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (TMG) transport and lactose transport were 0.61 mM and 1.1 mM, respectively, and the Vmax values were 53 nmol/min/mg cell protein and 12 nmol/min/mg cell protein, respectively. Thus, TMG is a better substrate than lactose. Thiogalactopyranoside (TDG) was a very potent competitive inhibitor. Neither Na+ nor Li+ had a significant effect on the TMG transport or the lactose transport. Proton/substrate cotransport (symport) via this system was observed.

Topics: beta-Galactosidase; Citrobacter freundii; Enzyme Induction; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; Lactose; Methylgalactosides; Substrate Specificity; Thiogalactosides

Although the inducible prokaryotic lac repressor system has been successfully adapted for control of gene expression in mammalian cells, little information is available on the pharmacokinetics of beta-galactoside inducers in mammalian cells for optimizing this system. These studies directly measure the cell uptake and clearance in cultured cells and animal tissue cells of lac inducers. In these cells, the beta-galactosides, isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG) and methyl beta-D-thiogalactoside (MTG), are rapidly taken up, exceeding extracellular levels in less than 2 hours. Greater than 5% of this inducer is found in the nuclear fraction, slightly exceeding the cytoplasmic concentration. Although similar in uptake, IPTG is cleared from the cultured cells significantly faster than MTG. In the mouse, the half-life of both inducers in the blood ranges from 15-30 minutes. HPLC analysis of tissue extracts from inducer-injected mice indicates that the inducer is metabolically stable and functionally able to bind to lac repressor. These results should permit improvement in the adaptation of the lac repressor system to mammalian cells and aid in the development of an adaptable system for gene control in transgenic animals.

Topics: Animals; Cell Line; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Escherichia coli; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; Kinetics; L Cells; Lac Operon; Methylgalactosides; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Repressor Proteins; Thiogalactosides

The sugar specificity mutants of the lactose permease containing Val177 or Val177/Asn319 were analyzed with regard to their ability to couple H+ and sugar co-transport. Both mutants were able to transport lactose downhill to a significant degree. The Val177 mutant was partially defective in the active accumulation of galactosides, whereas the Val177/Asn319 mutant was completely defective in the uphill accumulation of sugars. With regard to coupling, the Val177 mutant was shown to catalyze the uncoupled transport of H+ to a substantial degree. This led to a decrease in the H+ electrochemical gradient under aerobic conditions and also resulted in faster H+ uptake when a transient H+ electrochemical gradient was generated under anaerobic conditions. Interestingly, galactosides were shown to diminish the rate of uncoupled H+ transport in the Val177 strain. The Val177/Asn319 strain also catalyzed uncoupled H+ transport, but to a lesser degree than the single Val177 mutant. In addition, the Val177/Asn319 mutant was shown to transport galactosides with or without H+. The observed H+/lactose stoichiometry was 0.30 in the double mutant compared to 0.98 in the wild-type strain. When an H+ electrochemical gradient was generated across the membrane, the Val177/Asn319 mutant permease was shown to facilitate an extremely rapid net H+ leak if nonmetabolizable galactosides had been equilibrated across the membrane. The mechanism of this leak is consistent with a circular pathway involving H+/galactoside influx and uncoupled galactoside efflux. The magnitude of the H+ leak in the presence of nonmetabolizable galactosides was so great in the double mutant that low concentrations of certain galactosides (i.e. 0.5 mM thiodigalactoside) resulted in a complete inhibition of growth. These results are discussed with regard to the possibility that cation and sugar binding to the lactose permease may involve a direct physical coupling at a common recognition site.

Topics: Biological Transport; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Proteins; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; Lactose; Membrane Transport Proteins; Methylgalactosides; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; Recombinant Proteins; Structure-Activity Relationship; Substrate Specificity; Symporters; Thiogalactosides

A Lac+ mutant of Erwinia chrysanthemi was isolated from the Lac- wild type on lactose agar. beta-Galactosidase was expressed independently of lactose transport in both the mutant and the wild type, and neither strain expressed thiogalactoside transacetylase. Lactose transport and alpha-galactosidase, constitutive in the Lac+ strain, were coordinately induced in the Lac- strain by melibiose and raffinose but not by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside or thiomethyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside. Melibiose was a strong inhibitor of both the melibiose- and the raffinose-induced lactose permeases, whereas raffinose was a strong inhibitor of only the raffinose-induced lactose permease.

Topics: Acetyltransferases; alpha-Galactosidase; beta-Galactosidase; Biological Transport; Disaccharides; Enzyme Induction; Erwinia; Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; Lactose; Melibiose; Methylgalactosides; Mutation; Raffinose; Thiogalactosides