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Pentamidine inhibition of group I intron splicing in Candida albicans correlates with growth inhibition.

ABSTRACT: We previously demonstrated that pentamidine, which has been clinically used against Pneumocystis carinii, inhibits in vitro a group I intron ribozyme from that organism. Another fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, also harbors a group I intron ribozyme (Ca.LSU) in the essential rRNA genes in almost half of the clinical isolates analyzed. To determine whether pentamidine inhibits Ca.LSU in vitro and in cells, phylogenetically closely related intron-containing (4-1) and intronless (62-1) strains were studied. Splicing in vitro of the Ca.LSU group I intron ribozyme was completely inhibited by pentamidine at 200 microM. On rich glucose medium, the intron-containing strain was more sensitive to growth inhibition by pentamidine than was the intronless strain, as measured by disk or broth microdilution assays. On rich glycerol medium, they were equally susceptible to pentamidine. At pentamidine levels selectively inhibiting the intron-containing strain (1 microM) in glucose liquid cultures, inhibition of splicing and rRNA maturation was detected by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR within 1 min with a 10- to 15-fold accumulation of precursor rRNA. No comparable effect was seen in the intronless strain. These results correlate the cellular splicing inhibition of Ca.LSU with the growth inhibition of strain 4-1 harboring Ca.LSU. Broth microdilution assays of 13 Candida strains showed that intron-containing strains were generally more susceptible to pentamidine than the intronless strains. Our data suggest that ribozymes found in pathogenic microorganisms but absent in mammals may be targets for antimicrobial therapy.

SUBMITTER: Miletti KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC89798 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Pentamidine inhibition of group I intron splicing in Candida albicans correlates with growth inhibition.

Miletti K E KE Leibowitz M J MJ

Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 20000401 4

We previously demonstrated that pentamidine, which has been clinically used against Pneumocystis carinii, inhibits in vitro a group I intron ribozyme from that organism. Another fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, also harbors a group I intron ribozyme (Ca.LSU) in the essential rRNA genes in almost half of the clinical isolates analyzed. To determine whether pentamidine inhibits Ca.LSU in vitro and in cells, phylogenetically closely related intron-containing (4-1) and intronless (62-1) strains we ...[more]

PMID: 10722497

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Project description:Group II introns are large catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) which are found in bacteria and organellar genomes of several lower eukaryotes, but are particularly prevalent within the mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) in plants, where they reside in numerous critical genes. Their excision is therefore essential for mitochondria biogenesis and respiratory functions, and is facilitated in vivo by various protein cofactors. Typical group II introns are classified as mobile genetic elements, consisting of the self-splicing ribozyme and its intron-encoded maturase protein. A hallmark of maturases is that they are intron specific, acting as cofactors which bind their own cognate containing pre-mRNAs to facilitate splicing. However, the plant organellar introns have diverged considerably from their bacterial ancestors, such as they lack many regions which are necessary for splicing and also lost their evolutionary related maturase ORFs. In fact, only a single maturase has been retained in the mtDNA of various angiosperms: the matR gene encoded in the fourth intron of the NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1 intron 4). Their degeneracy and the absence of cognate ORFs suggest that the splicing of plant mitochondria introns is assisted by trans-acting cofactors. Interestingly, in addition to MatR, the nuclear genomes of angiosperms also harbor four genes (nMat 1-4), which are closely related to maturases and contain N-terminal mitochondrial localization signals. Recently, we established the roles of two of these paralogs in Arabidopsis, nMAT1 and nMAT2, in the splicing of mitochondrial introns. In addition to the nMATs, genetic screens led to the identification of other genes encoding various factors, which are required for the splicing and processing of mitochondrial introns in plants. In this review we will summarize recent data on the splicing and processing of mitochondrial introns and their implication in plant development and physiology, with a focus on maturases and their accessory splicing cofactors.

Dataset Information

Pentamidine inhibition of group I intron splicing in Candida albicans correlates with growth inhibition.

Publications

Pentamidine inhibition of group I intron splicing in Candida albicans correlates with growth inhibition.

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