scholarly journals Production and analysis of a mammalian septin hetero-octamer complex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry T. DeRose ◽  
Robert S. Kelley ◽  
Roshni Ravi ◽  
Bashkim Kokona ◽  
Elias T. Spiliotis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Mechanistic Study ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Protein Fusion ◽  
Recombinant Production ◽  
And Function ◽  
Order Structures

AbstractThe septins are filament-forming proteins found in diverse eukaryotes from fungi to vertebrates, with roles in cytokinesis, shaping of membranes and modifying cytoskeletal organization. These GTPases assemble into rod-shaped soluble hetero-hexamers and hetero-octamers in mammals, which polymerize into filaments and higher order structures. While the cell biology and pathobiology of septins are advancing rapidly, mechanistic study of the mammalian septins is limited by a lack of recombinant hetero-octamer materials. We describe here the production and characterization of a recombinant mammalian septin hetero-octamer of defined stoichiometry, the SEPT2/SEPT6/SEPT7/SEPT3 complex. Using a fluorescent protein fusion to the complex, we observed filaments assembled from this complex. In addition, we used this novel tool to resolve recent questions regarding the organization of the soluble septin complex. Biochemical characterization of a SEPT3 truncation that disrupts SEPT3-SEPT3 interactions is consistent with SEPT3 occupying a central position in the complex while the SEPT2 subunits are at the ends of the rod-shaped octameric complexes. Consistent with SEPT2 being on the complex ends, we find that our purified SEPT2/SEPT6/SEPT7/SEPT3 hetero-octamer copolymerizes into mixed filaments with separately purified SEPT2/SEPT6/SEPT7 hetero-hexamer. We expect this new recombinant production approach to lay essential groundwork for future studies into mammalian septin mechanism and function.

scholarly journals N-linked glycosylation enzymes in the diatom Thalassiosira oceanica exhibit a diel cycle in transcript abundance and favor for NXT-type sites

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joerg Behnke ◽  
Alejandro M. Cohen ◽  
Julie LaRoche
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Transcript Abundance ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Iron Starvation ◽  
Glycosylation Sites ◽  
Glycosylation Pathway ◽  
And Function

AbstractN-linked glycosylation is a posttranslational modification affecting protein folding and function. The N-linked glycosylation pathway in algae is poorly characterized, and further knowledge is needed to understand the cell biology of algae and the evolution of N-linked glycosylation. This study investigated the N-linked glycosylation pathway in Thalassiosira oceanica, an open ocean diatom adapted to survive at growth-limiting iron concentrations. Here we identified and annotated the genes coding for the essential enzymes involved in the N-linked glycosylation pathway of T. oceanica. Transcript levels for genes coding for calreticulin, oligosaccharyltransferase (OST), N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT1), and UDP-glucose glucosyltransferase (UGGT) under high- and low-iron growth conditions revealed diel transcription patterns with a significant decrease of calreticulin and OST transcripts under iron-limitation. Solid-phase extraction of N-linked glycosylated peptides (SPEG) revealed 118 N-linked glycosylated peptides from cells grown in high- and low-iron growth conditions. The identified peptides had 81% NXT-type motifs, with X being any amino acids except proline. The presence of N-linked glycosylation sites in the iron starvation-induced protein 1a (ISIP1a) confirmed its predicted topology, contributing to the biochemical characterization of ISIP1 proteins. Analysis of extensive oceanic gene databases showed a global distribution of calreticulin, OST, and UGGT, reinforcing the importance of glycosylation in microalgae.

scholarly journals Functional Characterization of a Drought-Responsive Invertase Inhibitor from Maize (Zea mays L.)

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (17) ◽  
pp. 4081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Chen ◽  
Xiaohong Liu ◽  
Xiaojia Huang ◽  
Wei Luo ◽  
Yuming Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Protein Fusion ◽  
Drought Treatment ◽  
Vacuolar Invertase ◽  
Maize Leaves ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Proteinaceous Inhibitor

Invertases (INVs) play essential roles in plant growth in response to environmental cues. Previous work showed that plant invertases can be post-translationally regulated by small protein inhibitors (INVINHs). Here, this study characterizes a proteinaceous inhibitor of INVs in maize (Zm-INVINH4). A functional analysis of the recombinant Zm-INVINH4 protein revealed that it inhibited both cell wall and vacuolar invertase activities from maize leaves. A Zm-INVINH4::green fluorescent protein fusion experiment indicated that this protein localized in the apoplast. Transcript analysis showed that Zm-INVINH4 is specifically expressed in maize sink tissues, such as the base part of the leaves and young kernels. Moreover, drought stress perturbation significantly induced Zm-INVINH4 expression, which was accompanied with a decrease of cell wall invertase (CWI) activities and an increase of sucrose accumulation in both base parts of the leaves 2 to 7 days after pollinated kernels. In summary, the results support the hypothesis that INV-related sink growth in response to drought treatment is (partially) caused by a silencing of INV activity via drought-induced induction of Zm-INVINH4 protein.

scholarly journals Molecular cloning and biochemical characterization of rabbit factor XI

2002 ◽  
Vol 367 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipali SINHA ◽  
Mariola MARCINKIEWICZ ◽  
David GAILANI ◽  
Peter N. WALSH
Keyword(s):  
Human Factor ◽  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Factor Xi ◽  
Sds Page ◽  
Exclusion Chromatography ◽  
Intracellular Process ◽  
And Function

Human factor XI, a plasma glycoprotein required for normal haemostasis, is a homodimer (160kDa) formed by a single interchain disulphide bond linking the Cys-321 of each Apple 4 domain. Bovine, porcine and murine factor XI are also disulphide-linked homodimers. Rabbit factor XI, however, is an 80kDa polypeptide on non-reducing SDS/PAGE, suggesting that rabbit factor XI exists and functions physiologically either as a monomer, as does prekallikrein, a structural homologue to factor XI, or as a non-covalent homodimer. We have investigated the structure and function of rabbit factor XI to gain insight into the relation between homodimeric structure and factor XI function. Characterization of the cDNA sequence of rabbit factor XI and its amino acid translation revealed that in the rabbit protein a His residue replaces the Cys-321 that forms the interchain disulphide linkage in human factor XI, explaining why rabbit factor XI is a monomer in non-reducing SDS/PAGE. On size-exclusion chromatography, however, purified plasma rabbit factor XI, like the human protein and unlike prekallikrein, eluted as a dimer, demonstrating that rabbit factor XI circulates as a non-covalent dimer. In functional assays rabbit factor XI and human factor XI behaved similarly. Both monomeric and dimeric factor XI were detected in extracts of cells expressing rabbit factor XI. We conclude that the failure of rabbit factor XI to form a covalent homodimer due to the replacement of Cys-321 with His does not impair its functional activity because it exists in plasma as a non-covalent homodimer and homodimerization is an intracellular process.

scholarly journals Characterization of sarR, a Modulator ofsar Expression in Staphylococcus aureus

2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 885-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adhar Manna ◽  
Ambrose L. Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Virulence Determinants ◽  
Protein Fusion ◽  
Putative Gene ◽  
P2 Promoter ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Overlapping Transcripts

ABSTRACT The expression of virulence determinants in Staphylococcus aureus is controlled by global regulatory loci (e.g.,sar and agr). The sar locus is composed of three overlapping transcripts (sar P1, P3, and P2 transcripts from P1, P3, and P2 promoters, respectively), all encoding the 372-bp sarA gene. The level of SarA, the major regulatory protein, is partially controlled by the differential activation of sar promoters. We previously partially purified a ∼12 kDa protein with a DNA-specific column containing asar P2 promoter fragment. In this study, the putative gene, designated sarR, was identified and found to encode a 13.6-kDa protein with homology to SarA. Transcriptional and immunoblot studies revealed the sarR gene to be expressed in other staphylococcal strains. Recombinant SarR protein bound sarP1, P2, and P3 promoter fragments in gel shift and footprinting assays. A sarR mutant expressed a higher level of P1 transcript than the parent, as confirmed by promoter green fluorescent protein fusion assays. As the P1 transcript is the predominant sartranscript, we confirmed that the sarR mutant expressed more SarA than the parental strain. We thus proposed that SarR is a regulatory protein that binds to the sar promoters to down-regulate P1 transcription and the ensuing SarA protein expression.

scholarly journals Detailed structural and biochemical characterization of the nexin-dynein regulatory complex

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Oda ◽  
Haruaki Yanagisawa ◽  
Masahide Kikkawa
Keyword(s):  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Dynein Motor ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography ◽  
Regulatory Complex ◽  
And Function

The nexin-dynein regulatory complex (N-DRC) forms a cross-bridge between the outer doublet microtubules of the axoneme and regulates dynein motor activity in cilia/flagella. Although the molecular composition and the three-dimensional structure of N-DRC have been studied using mutant strains lacking N-DRC subunits, more accurate approaches are necessary to characterize the structure and function of N-DRC. In this study, we precisely localized DRC1, DRC2, and DRC4 using cryo–electron tomography and structural labeling. All three N-DRC subunits had elongated conformations and spanned the length of N-DRC. Furthermore, we purified N-DRC and characterized its microtubule-binding properties. Purified N-DRC bound to the microtubule and partially inhibited microtubule sliding driven by the outer dynein arms (ODAs). Of interest, microtubule sliding was observed even in the presence of fourfold molar excess of N-DRC relative to ODA. These results provide insights into the role of N-DRC in generating the beating motions of cilia/flagella.

scholarly journals Copper binding by a unique family of metalloproteins is dependent on kynurenine formation

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (23) ◽  
pp. e2100680118
Author(s):  
Anastasia C. Manesis ◽  
Richard J. Jodts ◽  
Brian M. Hoffman ◽  
Amy C. Rosenzweig
Keyword(s):  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Copper Ion ◽  
Copper Homeostasis ◽  
Metabolic Enzyme ◽  
Copper Binding ◽  
Methane Oxidizing Bacteria ◽  
And Function

Some methane-oxidizing bacteria use the ribosomally synthesized, posttranslationally modified natural product methanobactin (Mbn) to acquire copper for their primary metabolic enzyme, particulate methane monooxygenase. The operons encoding the machinery to biosynthesize and transport Mbns typically include genes for two proteins, MbnH and MbnP, which are also found as a pair in other genomic contexts related to copper homeostasis. While the MbnH protein, a member of the bacterial diheme cytochrome c peroxidase (bCcP)/MauG superfamily, has been characterized, the structure and function of MbnP, the relationship between the two proteins, and their role in copper homeostasis remain unclear. Biochemical characterization of MbnP from the methanotroph Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b now reveals that MbnP binds a single copper ion, present in the +1 oxidation state, with high affinity. Copper binding to MbnP in vivo is dependent on oxidation of the first tryptophan in a conserved WxW motif to a kynurenine, a transformation that occurs through an interaction of MbnH with MbnP. The 2.04-Å-resolution crystal structure of MbnP reveals a unique fold and an unusual copper-binding site involving a histidine, a methionine, a solvent ligand, and the kynurenine. Although the kynurenine residue may not serve as a CuI primary-sphere ligand, being positioned ∼2.9 Å away from the CuI ion, its presence is required for copper binding. Genomic neighborhood analysis indicates that MbnP proteins, and by extension kynurenine-containing copper sites, are widespread and may play diverse roles in microbial copper homeostasis.

scholarly journals Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases in Drosophila melanogaster

2005 ◽  
Vol 388 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. DAY ◽  
Julian A. T. DOW ◽  
Miles D. HOUSLAY ◽  
Shireen-A. DAVIES
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Cyclic Nucleotide ◽  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Renal Tubules ◽  
Drosophila Genome ◽  
Dual Specificity ◽  
And Function ◽  
High Degree

Cyclic nucleotide PDEs (phosphodiesterases) are important enzymes that regulate intracellular levels of cAMP and cGMP. In the present study, we identify and characterize novel PDEs in the genetic model, Drosophila melanogaster. The Drosophila genome encodes five novel PDE genes in addition to dunce. Predicted PDE sequences of Drosophila show highly conserved critical domains when compared with human PDEs. Thus PDE-encoding genes of D. melanogaster are CG14940-PDE1C, CG8279-PDE6β, CG5411-PDE8A, CG32648-PDE9 and CG10231-PDE11. Reverse transcriptase–PCRs of adult tissues reveal widespread expression of PDE genes. Drosophila Malpighian (renal) tubules express all the six PDEs: Drosophila PDE1, dunce (PDE4), PDE6, PDE8, PDE9 and PDE11. Antipeptide antibodies were raised against PDE1, PDE6, PDE9 and PDE11. Verification of antibody specificity by Western blotting of cloned and expressed PDE constructs allowed the immunoprecipitation studies of adult Drosophila lysates. Biochemical characterization of immunoprecipitated endogenous PDEs showed that PDE1 is a dual-specificity PDE (Michaelis constant Km for cGMP: 15.3±1 μM; Km cAMP: 20.5±1.5 μM), PDE6 is a cGMP-specific PDE (Km cGMP: 37±13 μM) and PDE11 is a dual-specificity PDE (Km cGMP: 6±2 μM; Km cAMP: 18.5±5.5 μM). Drosophila PDE1, PDE6 and PDE11 display sensitivity to vertebrate PDE inhibitors, zaprinast (IC50 was 71±39 μM for PDE1, 0.65±0.015 μM for PDE6 and 1.6±0.5 μM for PDE11) and sildenafil (IC50 was 1.3±0.9 μM for PDE1, 0.025±0.005 μM for PDE6 and 0.12±0.06 μM for PDE11). We provide the first characterization of a cGMP-specific PDE and two dual-specificity PDEs in Drosophila, and show a high degree of similarity in structure and function between human and Drosophila PDEs.

scholarly journals Polar Localization of the CckA Histidine Kinase and Cell Cycle Periodicity of the Essential Master Regulator CtrA in Caulobacter crescentus

2009 ◽  
Vol 192 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Angelastro ◽  
Oleksii Sliusarenko ◽  
Christine Jacobs-Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Histidine Kinase ◽  
Cell Cycle Progression ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Caulobacter Crescentus ◽  
Replication Initiation ◽  
Protein Fusion ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Polar Localization ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACT The phosphorylated form of the response regulator CtrA represses DNA replication initiation and regulates the transcription of about 100 cell cycle-regulated genes in Caulobacter crescentus. CtrA activity fluctuates during the cell cycle, and its periodicity is a key element of the engine that drives cell cycle progression. The histidine kinase CckA controls the phosphorylation not only of CtrA but also of CpdR, whose unphosphorylated form promotes CtrA proteolysis. Thus, CckA has a central role in establishing the cell cycle periodicity of CtrA activity by controlling both its phosphorylation and stability. Evidence suggests that the polar localization of CckA during the cell cycle plays a role in CckA function. However, the exact pattern of CckA localization remains controversial. Here, we describe a thorough, quantitative analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of a functional and chromosomally produced CckA-monomeric green fluorescent protein fusion that affects current models of cell cycle regulation. We also identify two cis-acting regions in CckA that are important for its proper localization and function. The disruption of a PAS-like motif in the sensor domain affects the stability of CckA accumulation at the poles. This is accompanied by a partial loss in CckA function. Shortening an extended linker between β-sheets within the CckA catalysis-assisting ATP-binding domain has a more severe effect on CckA polar localization and function. This mutant strain exhibits a dramatic cell-to-cell variability in CpdR levels and CtrA cell cycle periodicity, suggesting that the cell cycle-coordinated polar localization of CckA may be important for the robustness of signal transduction and cell cycle progression.

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