scholarly journals Reassigning Cysteine in the Genetic Code of Escherichia coli

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 150 (2) ◽  
pp. 543-551
Author(s):  
Volker Döring ◽  
Philippe Marlière

Abstract We investigated directed deviations from the universal genetic code. Mutant tRNAs that incorporate cysteine at positions corresponding to the isoleucine AUU, AUC, and AUA and methionine AUG codons were introduced in Escherichia coli K12. Missense mutations at the cysteine catalytic site of thymidylate synthase were systematically crossed with synthetic suppressor tRNACys genes coexpressed from compatible plasmids. Strains harboring complementary codon/anticodon associations could be stably propagated as thymidine prototrophs. A plasmid-encoded tRNACys reading the codon AUA persisted for more than 500 generations in a strain requiring its suppressor activity for thymidylate biosynthesis, but was eliminated from a strain not requiring it. Cysteine miscoding at the codon AUA was also enforced in the active site of amidase, an enzyme found in Helicobacter pylori and not present in wild-type E. coli. Propagating the amidase missense mutation in E. coli with an aliphatic amide as nitrogen source required the overproduction of Cys-tRNA synthetase together with the complementary suppressor tRNACys. The toxicity of cysteine miscoding was low in all our strains. The small size and amphiphilic character of this amino acid may render it acceptable as a replacement at most protein positions and thus apt to overcome the steric and polar constraints that limit evolution of the genetic code.

1975 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 754-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Armstrong ◽  
John A. Fairfield

Six methionine auxotrophs were isolated from an E. coli K-12 strain which required up to 100 times as much methionine for growth as a conventional auxotroph. In these mutants, the methionyl-tRNA synthetase had an increased Km for methionine. The Km value for the mutants ranged from 0.48 to 1.63 mM, compared to 0.078 mM for the wild type. The Km (methionine) for S-adenosyl methionine synthetase was not altered.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (12) ◽  
pp. 3524-3526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bokkee Min ◽  
Makoto Kitabatake ◽  
Carla Polycarpo ◽  
Joanne Pelaschier ◽  
Gregory Raczniak ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Two types of aspartyl-tRNA synthetase exist: the discriminating enzyme (D-AspRS) forms only Asp-tRNAAsp, while the nondiscriminating one (ND-AspRS) also synthesizes Asp-tRNAAsn, a required intermediate in protein synthesis in many organisms (but not in Escherichia coli). On the basis of the E. coli trpA34 missense mutant transformed with heterologous ND-aspS genes, we developed a system with which to measure the in vivo formation of Asp-tRNAAsn and its acceptance by elongation factor EF-Tu. While large amounts of Asp-tRNAAsn are detrimental to E. coli, smaller amounts support protein synthesis and allow the formation of up to 38% of the wild-type level of missense-suppressed tryptophan synthetase.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 242-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Anderson ◽  
E. B. Waygood ◽  
M. H. Saier Jr. ◽  
J. Reizer

The phosphohydrolysis properties of the following phosphoprotein intermediates of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) were investigated: enzyme I, HPr, and the IIAGlc domain of the glucose enzyme II of Bacillus subtilis; and IIAGlc (fast and slow forms) of Escherichia coli. The phosphohydrolysis properties were also studied for the site-directed mutant H68A of B. subtilis IIAGlc. Several conclusions were reached. (i) The phosphohydrolysis properties of the homologous phosphoprotein intermediates of B. subtilis and E. coli are similar. (ii) These properties deviate from those of isolated Nδ1- and Nε2-phosphohistidine indicating the participation of neighbouring residues at the active sites of these proteins. (iii) The rates of phosphohydrolysis of the H68A mutant of B. subtilis IIAGlc were reduced compared with the wild-type protein, suggesting that both His-83 and His-68 are present at the active site of wild-type IIAGlc. (iv) The removal of seven N-terminal residues of E. coli IIAGlc reduced the rates of phosphohydrolysis between pH 5 and 8.Key words: phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system, phosphoproteins, phosphohistidine, phosphorylation, sugar transport.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (8) ◽  
pp. 1294-1304 ◽  
Author(s):  
William P. Maughan ◽  
Stewart Shuman

ABSTRACTEscherichia coliRtcB is a founding member of a family of manganese-dependent RNA repair enzymes that join RNA 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate (RNA>p) or RNA 3′-phosphate (RNAp) ends to 5′-OH RNA (HORNA) ends in a multistep pathway whereby RtcB (i) hydrolyzes RNA>p to RNAp, (ii) transfers GMP from GTP to RNAp to form to RNAppG, and (iii) directs the attack of 5′-OH on RNAppG to form a 3′-5′ phosphodiester splice junction. The crystal structure of the homologous archaeal RtcB enzyme revealed an active site with two closely spaced manganese ions, Mn1 and Mn2, that interact with the GTP phosphates. By studying the reactions of wild-typeE. coliRtcB and RtcB alanine mutants with 3′-phosphate-, 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate-, and 3′-ppG-terminated substrates, we found that enzymic constituents of the two metal coordination complexes (Cys78, His185, and His281 for Mn1 and Asp75, Cys78, and His168 for Mn2 inE. coliRtcB) play distinct catalytic roles. For example, whereas the C78A mutation abolished all steps assayed, the D75A mutation allowed cyclic phosphodiester hydrolysis but crippled 3′-phosphate guanylylation, and the H281A mutant was impaired in overallHORNAp andHORNA>p ligation but was able to seal a preguanylylated substrate. The archaeal counterpart ofE. coliRtcB Arg189 coordinates a sulfate anion construed to mimic the position of an RNA phosphate. We propose that Arg189 coordinates a phosphodiester at the 5′-OH end, based on our findings that the R189A mutation slowed the step of RNAppG/HORNA sealing by a factor of 200 compared to that with wild-type RtcB while decreasing the rate of RNAppG formation by only 3-fold.IMPORTANCERtcB enzymes comprise a widely distributed family of manganese- and GTP-dependent RNA repair enzymes that ligate 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate ends to 5′-OH ends via RNA 3′-phosphate and RNA(3′)pp(5′)G intermediates. The RtcB active site includes two adjacent manganese ions that engage the GTP phosphates. Alanine scanning ofEscherichia coliRtcB reveals distinct contributions of metal-binding residues Cys78, Asp75, and His281 at different steps of the RtcB pathway. The RNA contacts of RtcB are uncharted. Mutagenesis implicates Arg189 in engaging the 5′-OH RNA end.


1989 ◽  
Vol 262 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
A D Miller ◽  
L C Packman ◽  
G J Hart ◽  
P R Alefounder ◽  
C Abell ◽  
...  

A recombinant strain of Escherichia coli has been constructed that produces approx. 200 times the amount of hydroxymethylbilane synthase found in wild-type E. coli [Hart, Abell & Battersby (1986) Biochem. J. 240, 273-276]. Enzyme purified from this strain is shown to be permanently inactivated by pyridoxal 5′-phosphate/NaB1H3(3)H1. The inactivation is not complete despite the fact that approx. 1 mol of lysine residues is modified per mol of enzyme. Evidence is gained showing that (a) modification of one of two conserved lysine residues (Lys-55 or Lys-59) results in inactivation of hydroxymethylbilane synthase and (b) these lysine residues are present in or close to the active site.


1987 ◽  
Vol 248 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Charlier ◽  
R Sanchez

In contrast with most aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, the lysyl-tRNA synthetase of Escherichia coli is coded for by two genes, the normal lysS gene and the inducible lysU gene. During its purification from E. coli K12, lysyl-tRNA synthetase was monitored by its aminoacylation and adenosine(5′)tetraphospho(5′)adenosine (Ap4A) synthesis activities. Ap4A synthesis was measured by a new assay using DEAE-cellulose filters. The heterogeneity of lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysRS) was revealed on hydroxyapatite; we focused on the first peak, LysRS1, because of its higher Ap4A/lysyl-tRNA activity ratio at that stage. Additional differences between LysRS1 and LysRS2 (major peak on hydroxyapatite) were collected. LysRS1 was eluted from phosphocellulose in the presence of the substrates, whereas LysRS2 was not. Phosphocellulose chromatography was used to show the increase of LysRS1 in cells submitted to heat shock. Also, the Mg2+ optimum in the Ap4A-synthesis reaction is much higher for LysRS1. LysRS1 showed a higher thermostability, which was specifically enhanced by Zn2+. These results in vivo and in vitro strongly suggest that LysRS1 is the heat-inducible lysU-gene product.


2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3088-3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Redford ◽  
Paula L. Roesch ◽  
Rodney A. Welch

ABSTRACT Extraintestinal Escherichia coli strains cause meningitis, sepsis, urinary tract infection, and other infections outside the bowel. We examined here extraintestinal E. coli strain CFT073 by differential fluorescence induction. Pools of CFT073 clones carrying a CFT073 genomic fragment library in a promoterless gfp vector were inoculated intraperitoneally into mice; bacteria were recovered by lavage 6 h later and then subjected to fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Eleven promoters were found to be active in the mouse but not in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth culture. Three are linked to genes for enterobactin, aerobactin, and yersiniabactin. Three others are linked to the metabolic genes metA, gltB, and sucA, and another was linked to iha, a possible adhesin. Three lie before open reading frames of unknown function. One promoter is associated with degS, an inner membrane protease. Mutants of the in vivo-induced loci were tested in competition with the wild type in mouse peritonitis. Of the mutants tested, only CFT073 degS was found to be attenuated in peritoneal and in urinary tract infection, with virulence restored by complementation. CFT073 degS shows growth similar to that of the wild type at 37°C but is impaired at 43°C or in 3% ethanol LB broth at 37°C. Compared to the wild type, the mutant shows similar serum survival, motility, hemolysis, erythrocyte agglutination, and tolerance to oxidative stress. It also has the same lipopolysaccharide appearance on a silver-stained gel. The basis for the virulence attenuation is unclear, but because DegS is needed for σE activity, our findings implicate σE and its regulon in E. coli extraintestinal pathogenesis.


2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 3468-3474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyeong Tae Eom ◽  
Jae Kwang Song ◽  
Jung Hoon Ahn ◽  
Yeon Soo Seo ◽  
Joon Shick Rhee

ABSTRACT The ABC transporter (TliDEF) from Pseudomonas fluorescens SIK W1, which mediated the secretion of a thermostable lipase (TliA) into the extracellular space in Escherichia coli, was engineered using directed evolution (error-prone PCR) to improve its secretion efficiency. TliD mutants with increased secretion efficiency were identified by coexpressing the mutated tliD library with the wild-type tliA lipase in E. coli and by screening the library with a tributyrin-emulsified indicator plate assay and a microtiter plate-based assay. Four selected mutants from one round of error-prone PCR mutagenesis, T6, T8, T24, and T35, showed 3.2-, 2.6-, 2.9-, and 3.0-fold increases in the level of secretion of TliA lipase, respectively, but had almost the same level of expression of TliD in the membrane as the strain with the wild-type TliDEF transporter. These results indicated that the improved secretion of TliA lipase was mediated by the transporter mutations. Each mutant had a single amino acid change in the predicted cytoplasmic regions in the membrane domain of TliD, implying that the corresponding region of TliD was important for the improved and successful secretion of the target protein. We therefore concluded that the efficiency of secretion of a heterologous protein in E. coli can be enhanced by in vitro engineering of the ABC transporter.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (17) ◽  
pp. 5187-5197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Sperandio ◽  
Alfredo G. Torres ◽  
Jorge A. Girón ◽  
James B. Kaper

ABSTRACT Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is responsible for outbreaks of bloody diarrhea and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in many countries. EHEC virulence mechanisms include the production of Shiga toxins (Stx) and formation of attaching and effacing (AE) lesions on intestinal epithelial cells. We recently reported that genes involved in the formation of the AE lesion were regulated by quorum sensing through autoinducer-2, which is synthesized by the product of the luxS gene. In this study we hybridized an E. coli gene array with cDNA synthesized from RNA that was extracted from EHEC strain 86-24 and its isogenicluxS mutant. We observed that 404 genes were regulated by luxS at least fivefold, which comprises approximately 10% of the array genes; 235 of these genes were up-regulated and 169 were down-regulated in the wild-type strain compared to in theluxS mutant. Down-regulated genes included several involved in cell division, as well as ribosomal and tRNA genes. Consistent with this pattern of gene expression, theluxS mutant grows faster than the wild-type strain (generation times of 37.5 and 60 min, respectively, in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium). Up-regulated genes included several involved in the expression and assembly of flagella, motility, and chemotaxis. Using operon::lacZ fusions to class I, II, and III flagellar genes, we were able to confirm this transcriptional regulation. We also observed fewer flagella by Western blotting and electron microscopy and decreased motility halos in semisolid agar in the luxS mutant. The average swimming speeds for the wild-type strain and the luxS mutant are 12.5 and 6.6 μm/s, respectively. We also observed an increase in the production of Stx due to quorum sensing. Genes encoding Stx, which are transcribed along with λ-like phage genes, are induced by an SOS response, and genes involved in the SOS response were also regulated by quorum sensing. These results indicate that quorum sensing is a global regulatory mechanism for basic physiological functions of E. coli as well as for virulence factors.


1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 534-537
Author(s):  
S Mitra ◽  
B C Pal ◽  
R S Foote

O(6)-Methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase is induced in Escherichia coli during growth in low levels of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. We have developed a sensitive assay for quantitating low levels of this activity with a synthetic DNA substrate containing 3H-labeled O(6)-methylguanine as the only modified base. Although both wild-type and adaptation-deficient (ada) mutants of E. coli contained low but comparable numbers (from 13 to 60) of the enzyme molecules per cell, adaptation treatment caused a significant increase of the enzyme in the wild type but not in the ada mutants, suggesting that the ada mutation is in a regulatory locus and not in the structural gene for the methyltransferase.


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