scholarly journals Identification and characterization of a new gene of Escherichia coli K-12 involved in outer membrane permeability.

Genetics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
B A Sampson ◽  
R Misra ◽  
S A Benson

Abstract Using a genetic selection for mutations which allow large maltodextrins to cross the outer membrane of Escherichia coli in the absence of the LamB maltoporin, we have obtained and characterized two mutations that define a new locus of E. coli. We have designated this locus imp for increased membrane permeability. Mapping studies show that the imp gene resides at approximately 1.2 min on the E. coli chromosome. The mutations alter the permeability of the outer membrane resulting in increased sensitivity to detergents, antibiotics and dyes. The mutations are nonreverting and codominant. Genetic analysis of the mutations suggest that the imp gene is an essential gene. We describe a general cloning strategy that can be used to clone both dominant and recessive alleles. Using this technique, we have cloned the wild-type and mutant imp alleles onto a low copy number plasmid.

2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
pp. 3941-3949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wil H. F. Goessens ◽  
Akke K. van der Bij ◽  
Ria van Boxtel ◽  
Johann D. D. Pitout ◽  
Peter van Ulsen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA liver transplant patient was admitted with cholangitis, for which meropenem therapy was started. Initial cultures showed a carbapenem-susceptible (CS)Escherichia colistrain, but during admission, a carbapenem-resistant (CR)E. colistrain was isolated. Analysis of the outer membrane protein profiles showed that both CS and CRE. colilacked the porins OmpF and OmpC. Furthermore, PCR and sequence analysis revealed that both CS and CRE. colipossessedblaCTX-M-15andblaOXA-1. The CRE. colistrain additionally harboredblaCMY-2and demonstrated a >15-fold increase in β-lactamase activity against nitrocefin, but no hydrolysis of meropenem was detected. However, nitrocefin hydrolysis appeared strongly inhibited by meropenem. Furthermore, the CMY-2 enzyme demonstrated lower electrophoretic mobility after its incubation eitherin vitroorin vivowith meropenem, indicative of its covalent modification with meropenem. The presence of the acyl-enzyme complex was confirmed by mass spectrometry. By transformation of the CMY-2-encoding plasmid into variousE. colistrains, it was established that both porin deficiency and high-level expression of the enzyme were needed to confer meropenem resistance. In conclusion, carbapenem resistance emerged by a combination of elevated β-lactamase production and lack of porin expression. Due to the reduced outer membrane permeability, only small amounts of meropenem can enter the periplasm, where they are trapped but not degraded by the large amount of the β-lactamase. This study, therefore, provides evidence that the mechanism of “trapping” by CMY-2 β-lactamase plays a role in carbapenem resistance.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (22) ◽  
pp. 6093-6099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Heidrich ◽  
Astrid Ursinus ◽  
Jürgen Berger ◽  
Heinz Schwarz ◽  
Joachim-Volker Höltje

ABSTRACT The multiplicity of murein hydrolases found in most bacteria presents an obstacle to demonstrating the necessity of these potentially autolytic enzymes. Therefore, Escherichia coli mutants with deletions in multiple murein hydrolases, including lytic transglycosylases, amidases, and dd-endopeptidases, were constructed. Even a mutant from which seven different hydrolases were deleted was viable and grew at a normal rate. However, penicillin-induced lysis was retarded. Most of the mutants were affected in septum cleavage, which resulted in the formation of chains of cells. All three enzymes were shown to be capable of splitting the septum. Failure to cleave the septum resulted in an increase in outer membrane permeability, and thus the murein hydrolase mutants did not grow on MacConkey agar plates. In addition, the hydrolase mutants not only could be lysed by lysozyme in the absence of EDTA but also were sensitive to high-molecular-weight antibiotics, such as vancomycin and bacitracin, which are normally ineffective against E. coli.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Flórez-Castillo ◽  
P. Rondón-Villareal ◽  
J. L. Ropero-Vega ◽  
S. Y. Mendoza-Espinel ◽  
J. A. Moreno-Amézquita ◽  
...  

The Ib-M6 peptide has antibacterial activity against non-pathogenic Escherichia coli K-12 strain. The first part of this study determines the antibacterial activity of Ib-M6 against fourteen pathogenic strains of E. coli O157:H7. Susceptibility assay showed that Ib-M6 had values of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) lower than streptomycin, used as a reference antibiotic. Moreover, to predict the possible interaction between Ib-M6 and outer membrane components of E. coli, we used molecular docking simulations where FhuA protein and its complex with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS–FhuA) were used as targets of the peptide. FhuA/Ib-M6 complexes had energy values between −39.5 and −40.5 Rosetta Energy Units (REU) and only one hydrogen bond. In contrast, complexes between LPS–FhuA and Ib-M6 displayed energy values between −25.6 and −40.6 REU, and the presence of five possible hydrogen bonds. Hence, the antimicrobial activity of Ib-M6 peptide shown in the experimental assays could be caused by its interaction with the outer membrane of E. coli.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (3) ◽  
pp. 928-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean M. Bower ◽  
Matthew A. Mulvey

ABSTRACT During the course of a urinary tract infection, substantial levels of nitric oxide and reactive nitrogen intermediates are generated. We have found that many uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli display far greater resistance to nitrosative stress than the K-12 reference strain MG1655. By selecting and screening for uropathogenic E. coli transposon mutants that are unable to grow in the presence of acidified nitrite, the cadC gene product was identified as a key facilitator of nitrosative stress resistance. Mutation of cadC, or its transcriptional targets cadA and cadB, results in loss of significant production of the polyamine cadaverine and increased sensitivity to acidified nitrite. Exogenous addition of cadaverine or other polyamines rescues growth of cad mutants under nitrosative stress. In wild-type cells, the concentration of cadaverine produced per cell is substantially increased by exposure to acidified nitrite. The mechanism behind polyamine-mediated rescue from nitrosative stress is unclear, but it is not attributable solely to chemical quenching of reactive nitrogen species or reduction in mutation frequency.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (14) ◽  
pp. 5127-5131 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Donald ◽  
Matthew G. Hicks ◽  
David J. Richardson ◽  
Tracy Palmer

ABSTRACT We have functionally produced the outer membrane cytochrome OmcA from Shewanella oneidensis in Escherichia coli. Substrate accessibility experiments indicate that OmcA is surface exposed in an E. coli B strain but not in a K-12 strain. We show that a functional type II secretion system is required for surface localization.


1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 1459-1462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martti Vaara ◽  
Marjatta Nurminen

ABSTRACT The tight packing of six fatty acids in the lipid A constituent of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been proposed to contribute to the unusually low permeability of the outer membrane of gram-negative enteric bacteria to hydrophobic antibiotics. Here it is shown that theEscherichia coli msbB mutant, which elaborates defective, penta-acylated lipid A, is practically as resistant to a representative set of hydrophobic solutes (rifampin, fusidic acid, erythromycin, clindamycin, and azithromycin) as the parent-type control strain. The susceptibility index, i.e., the approximate ratio between the MIC for the msbB mutant and that for the parent-type control, was maximally 2.7-fold. In comparison, the rfa mutant defective in the deep core oligosaccharide part of LPS displayed indices ranging from 20 to 64. The lpxA and lpxD lipid A mutants had indices higher than 512. Furthermore, the msbBmutant was resistant to glycopeptides (vancomycin, teicoplanin), whereas the rfa, lpxA, and lpxDmutants were susceptible. The msbB htrB double mutant, which elaborates even-more-defective, partially tetra-acylated lipid A, was still less susceptible than the rfa mutant. These findings indicate that hexa-acylated lipid A is not a prerequisite for the normal function of the outer membrane permeability barrier.


Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (11) ◽  
pp. 2341-2351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Juhas ◽  
Daniel R. Reuß ◽  
Bingyao Zhu ◽  
Fabian M. Commichau

Investigation of essential genes, besides contributing to understanding the fundamental principles of life, has numerous practical applications. Essential genes can be exploited as building blocks of a tightly controlled cell ‘chassis’. Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli K-12 are both well-characterized model bacteria used as hosts for a plethora of biotechnological applications. Determination of the essential genes that constitute the B. subtilis and E. coli minimal genomes is therefore of the highest importance. Recent advances have led to the modification of the original B. subtilis and E. coli essential gene sets identified 10 years ago. Furthermore, significant progress has been made in the area of genome minimization of both model bacteria. This review provides an update, with particular emphasis on the current essential gene sets and their comparison with the original gene sets identified 10 years ago. Special attention is focused on the genome reduction analyses in B. subtilis and E. coli and the construction of minimal cell factories for industrial applications.


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