scholarly journals Characterization of Lactobacillus coryniformis DSM 20001T Surface Protein Cpf Mediating Coaggregation with and Aggregation among Pathogens

2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 7078-7085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Schachtsiek ◽  
Walter P. Hammes ◽  
Christian Hertel

ABSTRACT Phenotypic characterization of aggregation phenotypes of Lactobacillus coryniformis revealed that strain DSM 20001T coaggregated with Escherichia coli K88, Campylobacter coli, and Campylobacter jejuni but not with other human pathogens. In addition, cells of these pathogens aggregated in the presence of the spent culture supernatant (SCS) of strain DSM 20001T. Cells of E. coli K88 remained viable in the coaggregates and aggregates for up to 24 h. Both coaggregation and aggregation (co/aggregation) occurred at pH 3.5 to 7.5 and was sensitive to heat (85°C for 15 min) and proteinase K. The co/aggregation-promoting factor (Cpf) was purified, and the gene was identified by PCR with degenerate primers derived from internal amino acid sequences. The cpf gene encoded a 19.9-kDa preprotein with a sec-dependent leader and an isoelectric point of 4.4. The amino acid sequence had no significant similarity to proteins with known functions. Northern analysis revealed not only major transcription from the promoter of cpf but also major transcription from the promoter of the preceding insertion element, ISLco1 belonging to the IS3 family. Recombinant Cpf produced in E. coli mediated aggregation of pathogens comparable to the aggregation obtained with purified Cpf or SCS of strain DSM 20001T. Cpf could be removed from cells of strain DSM 20001T by treatment with 5 M LiCl and could be subsequently reattached to the cell surface by using SCS or recombinant Cpf, which resulted in restoration of the co/aggregation property. These results together with those of the amino acid sequence analysis suggest that Cpf is a novel surface protein of L. coryniformis that mediates co/aggregation of some pathogens.

1990 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 538-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Friedberg ◽  
J. Seijffers

We present here the isolation and molecular characterization of acetolactate synthase (ALS) genes from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC7942 which specify a sulfonylurea-sensitive enzyme and from the sulfonylurea-resistant mutant SM3/20, which specify resistance to sulfonylurea herbicides. The ALS gene was cloned and mapped by complementation of an Escherichia coli ilv auxotroph that requires branched-chain amino acids for growth and lacks ALS activity. The cyanobacterial gene is efficiently expressed in this heterologous host. The ALS gene codes for 612 amino acids and shows high sequence homology (46%) at the amino acid level with ALS III of E. coli and with the tobacco ALS. The resistant phenotype is a consequence of proline to serine substitution in residue 115 of the deduced amino acid sequence. Functional expression of the mutant gene in wild-type Synechococcus and in E. coli confirmed that this amino-acid substitution is responsible for the resistance. Yet the deduced amino-acid sequence as compared with othjer ALS proteins supports the notion that the amino-acid context of the substitution is important for the resistance.


1996 ◽  
Vol 314 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanneke L. H. BUSCH ◽  
Jacques L. J. BRETON ◽  
Barry M. BARTLETT ◽  
Richard JAMES ◽  
E. Claude HATCHIKIAN ◽  
...  

Desulfovibrio africanus ferredoxin III is a monomeric protein (molecular mass of 6585 Da) that contains one [3Fe-4S]1+/0 and one [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster when isolated aerobically. The amino acid sequence consists of 61 amino acids, including seven cysteine residues that are all involved in co-ordination to the clusters. In order to isolate larger quantities of D. africanus ferredoxin III, we have overexpressed it in Escherichia coli by constructing a synthetic gene based on the amino acid sequence of the native protein. The recombinant ferredoxin was expressed in E. coli as an apoprotein. We have reconstituted the holoprotein by incubating the apoprotein with excess iron and sulphide in the presence of a reducing agent. The reconstituted recombinant ferredoxin appeared to have a lower stability than that of wild-type D. africanus ferredoxin III. We have shown by low-temperature magnetic circular dichroism and EPR spectroscopy that the recombinant ferredoxin contains a [3Fe-4S]1+/0 and a [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster similar to those found in native D. africanus ferredoxin III. These results indicate that the two clusters have been correctly inserted into the recombinant ferredoxin.


2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 4283-4291 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kralj ◽  
G. H. van Geel-Schutten ◽  
H. Rahaoui ◽  
R. J. Leer ◽  
E. J. Faber ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus reuteri strain 121 produces a unique, highly branched, soluble glucan in which the majority of the linkages are of the α-(1→4) glucosidic type. The glucan also contains α-(1→6)-linked glucosyl units and 4,6-disubstituted α-glucosyl units at the branching points. Using degenerate primers, based on the amino acid sequences of conserved regions from known glucosyltransferase (gtf) genes from lactic acid bacteria, the L. reuteri strain 121 glucosyltransferase gene (gtfA) was isolated. The gtfA open reading frame (ORF) was 5,343 bp, and it encodes a protein of 1,781 amino acids with a deduced M r of 198,637. The deduced amino acid sequence of GTFA revealed clear similarities with other glucosyltransferases. GTFA has a relatively large variable N-terminal domain (702 amino acids) with five unique repeats and a relatively short C-terminal domain (267 amino acids). The gtfA gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, yielding an active GTFA enzyme. With respect to binding type and size distribution, the recombinant GTFA enzyme and the L. reuteri strain 121 culture supernatants synthesized identical glucan polymers. Furthermore, the deduced amino acid sequence of the gtfA ORF and the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the glucosyltransferase isolated from culture supernatants of L. reuteri strain 121 were the same. GTFA is thus responsible for the synthesis of the unique glucan polymer in L. reuteri strain 121. This is the first report on the molecular characterization of a glucosyltransferase from a Lactobacillus strain.


2009 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 811-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Yin ◽  
Jun Cheng ◽  
Zhen Sun ◽  
Ying Ye ◽  
Yu-Feng Gao ◽  
...  

Three clinical strains of Escherichia coli (p168, p517 and p667) were collected in 2006 from three hospitals in Anhui Province (China). PCR and DNA sequencing revealed that E. coli p168 carried a novel extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), which was designated CTX-M-87. The extended-spectrum β-lactamase which was carried by E. coli p517 and E. coli p667 was previously named CTX-M-65. The deduced amino acid sequence of CTX-M-87, with pI 9.1, differed from that of CTX-M-14 by the substitutions Ala77→Val and Pro167→Leu. Like CTX-M-14, CTX-M-87 had a more potent hydrolytic activity against cefotaxime than against ceftazidime and had high affinity for cefuroxime and cefotaxime. These data show that mutations at position 167 in CTX-M do not always affect catalytic activity and substrate preference.


1990 ◽  
Vol 265 (8) ◽  
pp. 4583-4591 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Pearson ◽  
D B DeWald ◽  
W R Mathews ◽  
N M Mozier ◽  
H A Zürcher-Neely ◽  
...  

1992 ◽  
Vol 282 (3) ◽  
pp. 747-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
O A M al-Bar ◽  
C D O'Connor ◽  
I G Giles ◽  
M Akhtar

A 1.2 kb BamHI fragment from pDK30 [Robinson, Kenan, Sweeney & Donachie (1986) J. Bacteriol. 167, 809-817] was cloned in pDOC55 [O'Connor & Timmis (1987) J. Bacteriol. 169, 4457-4482] to give two constructs, pDOC89 and pDOC87, in which the Escherichia coli D-alanine:D-alanine ligase (EC 6.3.2.4) gene (ddl) was placed under the control of the lac and lambda PL promoters respectively. Both constructs, when used to transform E. coli M72, gave similar levels of expression of the ddl gene. The expressed enzyme was purified to homogeneity and the amino acid sequence of its N-terminal region was found to be consistent with that predicted from the gene sequence, except that the N-terminal methionine was not present in the mature protein. [1(S)-Aminoethyl][(2RS)2-carboxy-1-octyl]phosphinic acid (I), previously shown to bind tightly to Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella typhimurium D-alanine:D-alanine ligases following phosphorylation Parsons, Patchett, Bull, Schoen, Taub, Davidson, Combs, Springer, Gadebusch, Weissberger, Valiant, Mellin & Busch (1988) J. Med. Chem. 31, 1772-1778; Duncan & Walsh (1988) Biochemistry 27, 3709-3714], was found to be a classical slow-binding inhibitor of the E. coli ligase.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yasir ◽  
Basit Zeshan ◽  
Nur Hardy A. Daud ◽  
Izzah Shahid ◽  
Hafza Khalid

Abstract There is a need for more efficient and eco-friendly approaches to overcome increasing microbial infections. Bacteriocins and chitinases from Bacillus spp. can be powerful alternatives to conventional antibiotics and antifungal drugs, respectively. The purpose of this study was to assess the inhibitory potential of bacteriocins and chitinase enzymes against multiple resistant bacterial and fungal pathogens. Bacterial isolates were selected by growth on minimal salts medium and after that were morphologically and biochemically characterized. The physiochemical characterization of bacteriocins was carried out. The inhibitory potential of bacteriocins towards six pathogenic bacteria was determined by the well diffusion assay while chitinase activity towards three fungal strains was determined by the dual plate culture assay. Two bacterial strains (WW2P1 and WRE4P2), out of nine showed inhibition of K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa, E. coli and MRSA while WW4P2 was positive against S. typhimurium and E. coli and WRE10P2 against P. aeruginosa, S. pneumoniae. Two bacterial isolates (WW3P1 and WRE10P2) were chosen for further study on the basis of their antifungal activities. Of these, WW3P1 isolate was more effective against A. fumigatus as well as A. niger. The proteinaceous nature of the bacteriocins was confirmed by treatment of the crude extract with proteinase K. It was found that the inhibitory activity of strain WW3P1 against E. coli was highest at 20 °C, and against S. pneumoniae it was at 20 °C and pH 10 after treatment with EDTA. Inhibition by strain the WRE10P2 against P. aeruginosa was highest at 20 °C and pH 14. It was found that EDTA increased the inhibitory activity of strain WW2P1 against P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae and E. coli by 2 ± 0.235, 3.5 ± 0.288, 2.5 ± 1.040 times, respectively, of strain WRE4P2 against P. aeruginosa and E. coli by 2.5 ± 0.763, 2.7 ± 0.5 times, respectively, and of strain WRE10P2 against S. pneumoniae by 3 ± 0.6236 times. The isolates have promising inhibitory activity, which should be further analyzed for the commercial production of antimicrobials. Article highlights The current study aimed to isolate the microbiome from wheat plant (Triticum aestivum L.), to screen for bacteriocin production and to assess its antimicrobial activity against human pathogens. Forty-one phenotypically different bacterial colonies were subjected to bacteriocin purification from which 25 colonies showed positive reactions. These 25 bacterial isolates were screened against six different human bacterial pathogens using the well diffusion method to check the antimicrobial activity. Out of nine bacterial isolates, WW3P1 and WRE10P2 were able to degrade the chitin and utilize it as their sole energy source. Strain WRE4P2 exhibited partial inactivation in its activity against MRSA after treatment with proteinase K.


Author(s):  
Akito Kawai ◽  
Masahiro Suzuki ◽  
Kentaro Tsukamoto ◽  
Yusuke Minato ◽  
Yohei Doi

Post-translational methylation of the A site of 16S rRNA at position A1408 leads to pan-aminoglycoside resistance encompassing both 4,5- and 4,6-disubstituted 2-deoxystreptamine (DOS) aminoglycosides. To date, NpmA is the only acquired enzyme with such function. Here, we present function and structure of NpmB1 whose sequence was identified in Escherichia coli genomes registered from the United Kingdom. NpmB1 possesses 40% amino acid identity with NpmA1 and confers resistance to all clinically relevant aminoglycosides including 4,5-DOS agents. Phylogenetic analysis of NpmB1 and NpmB2, its single amino acid variant, revealed that the encoding gene was likely acquired by E. coli from a soil bacterium. The structure of NpmB1 suggests that it requires a structural change of the β6/7 linker in order to bind to 16S rRNA. These findings establish NpmB1 and NpmB2 as the second group of acquired pan-aminoglycoside resistance 16S rRNA methyltransferases.


2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (22) ◽  
pp. 3411-3423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Zhang ◽  
D. Chen ◽  
M.G. Wheatly

The discontinuous pattern of muscle growth during the moulting cycle of a freshwater crustacean (the crayfish Procambarus clarkii) was used as a model system to examine the regulation of the expression of Sarco/Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA). We describe the cloning, sequencing and characterization of a novel SERCA cDNA (3856 bp) obtained from crayfish axial abdominal muscle by reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) followed by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). This complete sequence contains a 145 base pair (bp) noncoding region at the 5′ end, a 3006 bp open reading frame coding for 1002 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 110 kDa and 705 bp of untranslated region at the 3′ end. This enzyme contains all the conserved domains found in ‘P’-type ATPases, and the hydropathy profile suggests a transmembrane organization typical of other SERCAs. It exhibits 80% amino acid identity with Drosophila melanogaster SERCA, 79% identity with Artemia franciscana SERCA, 72% identity with rabbit fast-twitch muscle neonatal isoform SERCA1b, 71% identity with slow-twitch muscle isoform SERCA2 and 67% identity with SERCA3. Sequence alignment revealed that regions anchoring the cytoplasmic domain in the membrane were highly conserved and that most differences were in the NH(2) terminus, the central loop region and the COOH terminus. Northern analysis of total RNA from crayfish tissues probed with the 460 bp fragment initially isolated showed four bands (7.6, 7.0, 5.8 and 4.5 kilobases) displaying tissue-specific expression. SERCA was most abundant in muscle (axial abdominal, cardiac and stomach), where it is involved in Ca(2+) resequestration during relaxation, and in eggs, where it may be implicated in early embryogenesis. The level of SERCA mRNA expression in axial abdominal muscle varied during the moulting cycle as determined by slot-blot analysis. SERCA expression was greatest during intermoult and decreased to approximately 50% of this level during pre- and postmoult. Patterns of gene expression for SERCA and other sarcomeric proteins during the crustacean moulting cycle may be regulated by ecdysteroids and/or mechanical stimulation.


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