scholarly journals Expression of theEscherichia coli ftsZgene: trials and tribulations of gene fusion studies

1993 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Aline Robin ◽  
Richard D'Ari

SummaryTheftsZgene ofEscherichia coli, which codes for an essential cell division protein, is subjected to multiple regulation, as shown in part with studies using anftsZ::lacZoperon fusion located on phage λJFLIOO. Using this same fusion, we sought to isolate regulatory mutants overexpressingftsZby selecting mutants able to grow on lactose. One Lac+mutant was obtained which overexpressed theftsZ::lacZfusion 70-fold. The mutation responsible for the overexpression lies in a new gene,cot, located near 56 min on theE. coligenetic map. Thecotmutation probably affects the transcription of a chromosomal open reading frame, 0RF1, lying downstream of thebioAgene and adjacent to theftzZ::lacZfusion of the λJFL100 prophage integrated atattλ. Using anftsZ84(Ts) strain, in which there was a double selection for overexpression of bothftsZ::lacZandftsZ+, no Lac+Tr mutants were obtained from 3·6 × 1010bacteria; the introduction of amutLallele, increasing spontaneous base substitution mutation rates 75-fold, did not permit us to isolate such a mutant. We conclude that Lac+ftsZ-constitutive mutations cannot be obtained in λJFL100 lysogens by a single base substitution.

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1385
Author(s):  
Giulia Pezzoni ◽  
Lidia Stercoli ◽  
Eleonora Pegoiani ◽  
Emiliana Brocchi

To evaluate the antigenic properties of Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) Open Reading Frame 2 and 3 (ORF2 and ORF3) codified proteins, we expressed different portions of ORF2 and the entire ORF3 in E. coli, a truncated ORF2, was also expressed in baculovirus. A panel of 37 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) was raised against ORF2 (1–660 amino acids) and MAbs were mapped and characterized using the ORF2 expressed portions. Selected HEV positive and negative swine sera were used to evaluate ORF2 and ORF3 antigens’ immunogenicity. The MAbs were clustered in six groups identifying six antigenic regions along the ORF2. Only MAbs binding to the sixth ORF2 antigenic region (394–608 aa) were found to compete with HEV positive sera and efficiently catch the recombinant antigen expressed in baculovirus. The ORF2 portion from 394–608 aa demonstrated to include most immunogenic epitopes with 85% of HEV positive swine sera reacting against the region from 461–544 aa. Only 5% of the selected HEV sera reacted against the ORF3 antigen.


Holzforschung ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang-Hua Chu ◽  
Pei-Min Kuo ◽  
Yu-Rong Chen ◽  
Sheng-Yang Wang

AbstractAnalyzing the gene sequences of terpene synthase (TPS) may contribute to a better understanding of terpenes biosynthesis and evolution of phylogenetic taxonomy.Chamaecyparis formosensisis an endemic and precious conifer of Taiwan. To understand the biosynthesis mechanism of terpenes in this tree, a full length of putative mono-TPS, named asCf-Pin(GeneBank accession no. EU099434), was obtained by PCR method and RACE extension. TheCf-Pinhas an 1887-bp open reading frame and encodes 628 amino acids. To identify the function ofCf-Pin,the recombinant protein fromEscherichia coliwas incubated with geranyl diphosphate, produced one major product, the structure of which was elucidated. GC/MS analysis and matching of retention time and mass spectrum with authentic standards revealed that this product isα-pinene. This is the first report of cloning of a mono-TPS and functionally expressed inE. coliand which could be identified asα-pinene synthase from a Cupressaceae conifer.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus M. Dillon ◽  
Way Sung ◽  
Michael Lynch ◽  
Vaughn S. Cooper

ABSTRACTThe causes and consequences of spatiotemporal variation in mutation rates remains to be explored in nearly all organisms. Here we examine relationships between local mutation rates and replication timing in three bacterial species whose genomes have multiple chromosomes:Vibrio fischeri, Vibrio cholerae, andBurkholderia cenocepacia. Following five evolution experiments with these bacteria conducted in the near-absence of natural selection, the genomes of clones from each lineage were sequenced and analyzed to identify variation in mutation rates and spectra. In lineages lacking mismatch repair, base-substitution mutation rates vary in a mirrored wave-like pattern on opposing replichores of the large chromosome ofV. fischeriandV. cholerae, where concurrently replicated regions experience similar base-substitution mutation rates. The base-substitution mutation rates on the small chromosome are less variable in both species but occur at similar rates as the concurrently replicated regions of the large chromosome. Neither nucleotide composition nor frequency of nucleotide motifs differed among regions experiencing high and low base-substitution rates, which along with the inferred ~800 Kb wave period suggests that the source of the periodicity is not sequence-specific but rather a systematic process related to the cell cycle. These results support the notion that base-substitution mutation rates are likely to vary systematically across many bacterial genomes, which exposes certain genes to elevated deleterious mutational load.


1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 2374-2382 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Bernstein ◽  
W Hoffmann ◽  
G Ammerer ◽  
R Schekman

SEC53, a gene that is required for completion of assembly of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum in yeast, has been cloned, sequenced, and the product localized by cell fractionation. Complementation of a sec53 mutation is achieved with unique plasmids from genomic or cDNA expression banks. These inserts contain the authentic gene, a cloned copy of which integrates at the sec53 locus. An open reading frame in the insert predicts a 29-kD protein with no significant hydrophobic character. This prediction is confirmed by detection of a 28-kD protein overproduced in cells that carry SEC53 on a multicopy plasmid. To follow Sec53p more directly, a LacZ-SEC53 gene fusion has been constructed which allows the isolation of a hybrid protein for use in production of antibody. With such an antibody, quantitative immune decoration has shown that the sec53-6 mutation decreases the level of Sec53p at 37 degrees C, while levels comparable to wild-type are seen at 24 degrees C. An eightfold overproduction of Sec53p accompanies transformation of cells with a multicopy plasmid containing SEC53. Cell fractionation, performed with conditions that preserve the lumenal content of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), shows Sec53p highly enriched in the cytosol fraction. We suggest that Sec53p acts indirectly to facilitate assembly in the ER, possibly by interacting with a stable ER component, or by providing a small molecule, other than an oligosaccharide precursor, necessary for the assembly event.


1999 ◽  
Vol 380 (12) ◽  
pp. 1455-1459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun Young Yun ◽  
Seok Woo Kang ◽  
Jae Sam Hwang ◽  
Tae Won Goo ◽  
Sang Hyun Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract We isolated a cDNA representing a message that was strongly induced by injection with E. coli in Bombyx mori. The 2160 bp cDNA has an open reading frame of 644 amino acids and the deduced product a predicted molecular mass of 71 kDa. The cDNA sequence shared high homology with the transferrins known so far, and its deduced peptide had unique features of transferrins, that is, sites of cystein residues and iron binding. We suggest that the B. mori transferrin plays an important role in the self-defense system.


2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 1570-1575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dae Heoun Baek ◽  
Jae Jun Song ◽  
Seok-Joon Kwon ◽  
Chung Park ◽  
Chang-Min Jung ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A new thermostable dipeptidase gene was cloned from the thermophile Brevibacillus borstelensis BCS-1 by genetic complementation of the d-Glu auxotroph Escherichia coli WM335 on a plate containing d-Ala-d-Glu. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the gene included an open reading frame coding for a 307-amino-acid sequence with an M r of 35,000. The deduced amino acid sequence of the dipeptidase exhibited 52% similarity with the dipeptidase from Listeria monocytogenes. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity from recombinant E. coli WM335 harboring the dipeptidase gene from B. borstelensis BCS-1. Investigation of the enantioselectivity (E) to the P1 and P1′ site of Ala-Ala revealed that the ratio of the specificity constant (k cat /Km ) for l-enantioselectivity to the P1 site of Ala-Ala was 23.4 � 2.2 [E = (k cat /Km ) l,d /(k cat /Km ) d,d ], while the d-enantioselectivity to the P1′ site of Ala-Ala was 16.4 � 0.5 [E = (k cat /Km ) l,d /(k cat /Km ) l,l ] at 55�C. The enzyme was stable up to 55�C, and the optimal pH and temperature were 8.5 and 65�C, respectively. The enzyme was able to hydrolyze l-Asp-d-Ala, l-Asp-d-AlaOMe, Z-d-Ala-d-AlaOBzl, and Z-l-Asp-d-AlaOBzl, yet it could not hydrolyze d-Ala-l-Asp, d-Ala-l-Ala, d-AlaNH2, and l-AlaNH2. The enzyme also exhibited β-lactamase activity similar to that of a human renal dipeptidase. The dipeptidase successfully synthesized the precursor of the dipeptide sweetener Z-l-Asp-d-AlaOBzl.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (15) ◽  
pp. 4499-4504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick M. Hahn ◽  
Anthony P. Hurlburt ◽  
C. Dale Poulter

ABSTRACT Isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase catalyzes the interconversion of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP). In eukaryotes, archaebacteria, and some bacteria, IPP is synthesized from acetyl coenzyme A by the mevalonate pathway. The subsequent isomerization of IPP to DMAPP activates the five-carbon isoprene unit for subsequent prenyl transfer reactions. In Escherichia coli, the isoprene unit is synthesized from pyruvate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate by the recently discovered nonmevalonate pathway. An open reading frame (ORF696) encoding a putative IPP isomerase was identified in the E. coli chromosome at 65.3 min. ORF696 was cloned into an expression vector; the 20.5 kDa recombinant protein was purified in three steps, and its identity as an IPP isomerase was established biochemically. The gene for IPP isomerase, idi, is not clustered with other known genes for enzymes in the isoprenoid pathway. E. coli FH12 was constructed by disruption of the chromosomal idi gene with the aminoglycoside 3′-phosphotransferase gene and complemented by the wild-type idi gene on plasmid pFMH33 with a temperature-sensitive origin of replication. FH12/pFMH33 was able to grow at the restrictive temperature of 44°C and FH12 lacking the plasmid grew on minimal medium, thereby establishing thatidi is a nonessential gene. Although theV max of the bacterial protein was 20-fold lower than that of its yeast counterpart, the catalytic efficiencies of the two enzymes were similar through a counterbalance inKm s. The E. coli protein requires Mg2+ or Mn2+ for activity. The enzyme contains conserved cysteine and glutamate active-site residues found in other IPP isomerases.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (23) ◽  
pp. 7256-7265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgitta Esberg ◽  
Hon-Chiu Eastwood Leung ◽  
Ho-Ching Tiffany Tsui ◽  
Glenn R. Björk ◽  
Malcolm E. Winkler

ABSTRACT The tRNA of the miaB2508::Tn10dCm mutant of Salmonella typhimurium is deficient in the methylthio group of the modified nucleosideN 6-(4-hydroxyisopentenyl)-2-methylthioadenosine (ms2io6A37). By sequencing, we found that the Tn10dCm of this strain had been inserted into thef474 (yleA) open reading frame, which is located close to the nag locus in both S. typhimurium and Escherichia coli. By complementation of the miaB2508::Tn10dCm mutation with a minimal subcloned f474 fragment, we showed thatf474 could be identified as the miaB gene, which is transcribed in the counterclockwise direction on the bacterial chromosome. Transcriptional studies revealed two promoters upstream ofmiaB in E. coli and S. typhimurium. A Rho-independent terminator was identified downstream of themiaB gene, at which the majority (96%) of themiaB transcripts terminate in E. coli, showing that the miaB gene is part of a monocistronic operon. A highly conserved motif with three cysteine residues was present in MiaB. This motif resembles iron-binding sites in other proteins. Only a weak similarity to an AdoMet-binding site was found, favoring the idea that the MiaB protein is involved in the thiolation step and not in the methylating reaction of ms2i(o)6A37 formation.


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