Spontaneous mutagenesis can be divided into three main steps: the introduction of DNA damage and lesions, damage recognition and DNA repair. All sources of spontaneous mutagenesis originate from within the cell itself, e.g., polymerase errors cause DNA mismatches and reactive oxygen species alter the chemical composition of DNA bases. The combined effects of all these processes influence spontaneous genomic mutation rates, which are thought to be a characteristic of individual species and/or groups of species. Although much is known about different mutagens and how they cause mutations the sequence context of these mutations are less well understood. The results of this MSc study on mutation in the filamentous fungus Fusarium circinatum showed that the 5ʹ and 3ʹ neighbouring bases of a single nucleotide polymorphism can significantly influence the type of substitution that occurred leading to the formation of mutational motifs. This was the case for both sets of genes examined (core housekeeping and non-ribosomal protein synthetase genes), whose evolution is known to differ. The fact that none of the identified motifs are shared between the two sets of genes could indicate that the cellular mutagens and/or repair machinery function differently for the two gene groups. Furthermore, none of the mutable motifs that have been identified for the well-known mutagens in model organisms could be detected in the fungus, which suggests that mutagens and/or DNA repair mechanisms of this fungus are unique. Although limited information is available for non-model eukaryotes, an estimate for the rate at which mutations arise across the genome of F. circinatum could be a good starting point for comparisons of its evolutionary rate to those of its close relatives. This was accomplished using a fluctuation analysis involving nitrate non-utilizing mutation reversion. Although mutation rate determined in this study is probably not precisely accurate, it represents a good starting point for future comparative studies on the evolutionary rate of Fusarium species. As a whole this study laid the foundation for a better understanding of spontaneous mutagenesis at specific sites in certain groups of genes as well as across the genome of the economically important plant pathogen F. circinatum. Restricted until August 2017 / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / Unrestricted

Neste trabalho desvendamos o papel das DNA polimerases dinB e dnaE2 em C. crescentus na mutagênese espontânea usando dois marcadores moleculares xylbla e CItet. Observamos que as taxas de mutação dos marcadores não variam significativamente entre dinB, dnaE2 e parental, coincidindo com os resultados prévios com o gene rpoB. As trocas de bases, tanto no gene cI, como em xylR, há um predomínio de mutações ATCG, como observado em rpoB, e diferente da região PxylX em xylbla. O gene xylR apresenta um hotspot que promove a inserção de uma citosina após a base 230. Neste marcador observamos que a presença de pequenas deleções (frameshifts-1) de uma base na cepa selvagem e dnaE2. Esse tipo de mutação não está presente na linhagem dinB. Esses resultados sugerem um papel importante de dinB na formação de deleções (frameshifts-1) in vivo em C. crescentus. Também observou-se que o agente 4-NQO não induz mutagênese em C. crescentus, ao contrário de E. coli. Também observamos pouca eficiência da atividade de uracila glicosilase em C. crescentus quando comparada com E. coli. / In this work we analyzed the role of DNA polymerases dinB and dnaE2 in spontaneous mutagenesis in C. crescentus, using two molecular markers: xylbla and Cltet. Our studies show that there is no significant difference in mutation rates in both markers between dinB, dnaE2 and wild type; this agrees with previous results using rpoB gene. Here, we report that there is a predominance of ATGC transitions in either cl gene or xylR, which was also shown in rpoB; however, this differs in PxylX region of xylbla. We also observed that xylR presents a mutation hotspot that promotes cytosine insertion after base 230.The presence of small one-base deletions (frameshifts-1) in wild typecbut ells, this type of mutation does not occur in the dinB strain. These results suggest an important role for dinB in the formation of deletions (frameshifts-1) in vivo in C. crescentus. We also saw that 4-NQO agent does not induce mutagenesis in C. crescentus, as it does in E. coli. Finally, the results demonstrate a poor efficiency in UDG activity in C. crescentus, when compared to E. coli.

TEM and SHV β-lactamases are the most prevalent β-lactamases among Gram-negative bacteria. The introduction and widespread use of expanded-spectrum antibiotics, particularly third generation cephalosporins, has led to the evolution of bacterial strains expressing extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs). ESBLs emerge by genetic point mutation from non-extended spectrum precursors. It was found that multiple β-lactamase families within single isolates complicate the process of detecting the resistance status of isolate using non-quantitative DNA diagnostic methods. Preliminary phenotypic characterisation of probable β-lactamase enzyme family types present in 100 isolates from the Asia-Pacific and South African locales showed that single isolates frequently contained multiple β-lactamase families. SHV, TEM, AMPC and CTX-M β-lactamase families were detected in these isolates using PCR detection methods. Ninety-eight percent of all isolates tested contained as least one β-lactamase gene, with up to four to β-lactamase gene families found to co-exist in single isolates. Kinetic PCR methods for interrogating the polymorphic sites at blaSHV codons 238 & 240 and blaTEM codons 164, 238, 240 as well as promoter polymorphism were developed. A high proportion of blaSHV 238 and 240 mutant alleles was found to correlate with cefotaxime, ceftazidime and aztreonam resistance levels. In an attempt to understand the molecular basis for the co-existence of multiple blaSHV alleles within single isolates, the blaSHV promoter region was cloned from one ESBL expressing isolate. Experimental results showed that blaSHV can exist downstream of two different promoters within a single isolate. Both promoters have previously been reported, and differ by the presence or absence of IS26, which results in a change in the transcription initiation site. The blaSHV gene copy numbers in cis with the different promoters were measured, and it was found that the copy number of the IS26::blaSHV promoter was positively correlated with resistance levels. Cloning and analysis of PCR products showed that different blaSHV variants existed in cis with promoters in individual isolates. However, mutant genes were more abundant downstream of the IS26 promoter. There were no ESBL+ isolates without this promoter. It was concluded that blaSHV in cis with the IS26 promoter is located on an amplifiable replicon, and the presence of the IS26 insertion may facilitate the acquisition of an ESBL+ phenotype. To further confirm the role of IS26 in resistance acquisition, ESBL negative isolates were subjected to serial passage in vitro evolution experiments and fluctuation assays. Results confirm that the insertion of the IS26 element upstream of blaSHV is positively correlated with the ability to exhibit an ESBL phenotype, when such isolates also contain the critical G238S substitution. It was also found that IS26 can catalyse the duplication and mobilisation of blaSHV within an isolate. Fluctuation experiments have shown that the frequency at which such genomic events occur resulting in ESBL phenotypes is extremely low and requires many generations of selection under sub-lethal conditions. A survey of a geographically diverse set of isolates has shown that IS26-blaSHV was found in all of the bacterial populations surveyed. However, it does not appear to be exclusively associated with SHV-mediated ESBL production.