scholarly journals Protein Localization in Escherichia coli Cells: Comparison of the Cytoplasmic Membrane Proteins ProP, LacY, ProW, AqpZ, MscS, and MscL

2009 ◽  
Vol 192 (4) ◽  
pp. 912-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Romantsov ◽  
Andrew R. Battle ◽  
Jenifer L. Hendel ◽  
Boris Martinac ◽  
Janet M. Wood

ABSTRACT Fluorescence microscopy has revealed that the phospholipid cardiolipin (CL) and FlAsH-labeled transporters ProP and LacY are concentrated at the poles of Escherichia coli cells. The proportion of CL among E. coli phospholipids can be varied in vivo as it is decreased by cls mutations and it increases with the osmolality of the growth medium. In this report we compare the localization of CL, ProP, and LacY with that of other cytoplasmic membrane proteins. The proportion of cells in which FlAsH-labeled membrane proteins were concentrated at the cell poles was determined as a function of protein expression level and CL content. Each tagged protein was expressed from a pBAD24-derived plasmid; tagged ProP was also expressed from the chromosome. The osmosensory transporter ProP and the mechanosensitive channel MscS concentrated at the poles at frequencies correlated with the cellular CL content. The lactose transporter LacY was found at the poles at a high and CL-independent frequency. ProW (a component of the osmoregulatory transporter ProU), AqpZ (an aquaporin), and MscL (a mechanosensitive channel) were concentrated at the poles in a minority of cells, and this polar localization was CL independent. The frequency of polar localization was independent of induction (at arabinose concentrations up to 1 mM) for proteins encoded by pBAD24-derived plasmids. Complementation studies showed that ProW, AqpZ, MscS, and MscL remained functional after introduction of the FlAsH tag (CCPGCC). These data suggest that CL-dependent polar localization in E. coli cells is not a general characteristic of transporters, channels, or osmoregulatory proteins. Polar localization can be frequent and CL independent (as observed for LacY), frequent and CL dependent (as observed for ProP and MscS), or infrequent (as observed for AqpZ, ProW, and MscL).

2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (9) ◽  
pp. 2471-2471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana Romantsov ◽  
Andrew R. Battle ◽  
Jenifer L. Hendel ◽  
Boris Martinac ◽  
Janet M. Wood

1991 ◽  
Vol 174 (5) ◽  
pp. 1167-1177 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Vuopio-Varkila ◽  
G K Schoolnik

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli grow as discrete colonies on the mucous membranes of the small intestine. A similar pattern can be demonstrated in vitro; termed localized adherence (LA), it is characterized by the presence of circumscribed clusters of bacteria attached to the surfaces of cultured epithelial cells. The LA phenotype was studied using B171, an O111:NM enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strain, and HEp-2 cell monolayers. LA could be detected 30-60 min after exposure of HEp-2 cells to B171. However, bacteria transferred from infected HEp-2 cells to fresh monolayers exhibited LA within 15 min, indicating that LA is an inducible phenotype. Induction of the LA phenotype was found to be associated with de novo protein synthesis and changes in the outer membrane proteins, including the production of a new 18.5-kD polypeptide. A partial NH2-terminal amino acid sequence of this polypeptide was obtained and showed it to be identical through residue 12 to the recently described bundle-forming pilus subunit of EPEC. Expression of the 18.5-kD polypeptide required the 57-megadalton enteropathogenic E. coli adherence plasmid previously shown to be required for the LA phenotype in vitro and full virulence in vivo. This observation, the correspondence of the 18.5-kD polypeptide to an EPEC-specific pilus protein, and the temporal correlation of its expression with the development of the LA phenotype suggest that it may contribute to the EPEC colonial mode of growth.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (23) ◽  
pp. 3186-3199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Pathania ◽  
Arvind Kumar Gupta ◽  
Swati Dubey ◽  
Balasubramanian Gopal ◽  
Abhijit A. Sardesai

ABSTRACTArgO and LysE are members of the LysE family of exporter proteins and ordinarily mediate the export ofl-arginine (Arg) inEscherichia coliandl-lysine (Lys) and Arg inCorynebacterium glutamicum, respectively. Under certain conditions, ArgO also mediates Lys export. To delineate the arrangement of ArgO in the cytoplasmic membrane ofE. coli, we have employed a combination of cysteine accessibilityin situ, alkaline phosphatase fusion reporters, and protein modeling to arrive at a topological model of ArgO. Our studies indicate that ArgO assumes an Nin-Coutconfiguration, potentially forming a five-transmembrane helix bundle flanked by a cytoplasmic N-terminal domain (NTD) comprising roughly its first 38 to 43 amino acyl residues and a short periplasmic C-terminal region (CTR). Mutagenesis studies indicate that the CTR, but not the NTD, is dispensable for ArgO functionin vivoand that a pair of conserved aspartate residues, located near the opposing edges of the cytoplasmic membrane, may play a pivotal role in facilitating transmembrane Arg flux. Additional studies on amino acid substitutions that impair ArgO functionin vivoand their derivatives bearing compensatory amino acid alterations indicate a role for intramolecular interactions in the Arg export mechanism, and some interactions are corroborated by normal-mode analyses. Lastly, our studies suggest that ArgO may exist as a monomerin vivo, thus highlighting the requirement for intramolecular interactions in ArgO, as opposed to interactions across multiple ArgO monomers, in the formation of an Arg-translocating conduit.IMPORTANCEThe orthologous proteins LysE ofC. glutamicumand ArgO ofE. colifunction as exporters of the basic amino acidsl-arginine andl-lysine and the basic amino acidl-arginine, respectively, and LysE can functionally substitute for ArgO when expressed inE. coli. Notwithstanding this functional equivalence, studies reported here show that ArgO possesses a membrane topology that is distinct from that reported for LysE, with substantial variation in the topological arrangement of the proximal one-third portions of the two exporters. Additional genetic andin silicostudies reveal the importance of (i) the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain, (ii) a pair of conserved aspartate residues, and (iii) potential intramolecular interactions in ArgO function and indicate that an Arg-translocating conduit is formed by a monomer of ArgO.


mBio ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ido Yosef ◽  
Elena S. Bochkareva ◽  
Eitan Bibi

ABSTRACT The Escherichia coli signal recognition particle (SRP) system plays an important role in membrane protein biogenesis. Previous studies have suggested indirectly that in addition to its role during the targeting of ribosomes translating membrane proteins to translocons, the SRP might also have a quality control role in preventing premature synthesis of membrane proteins in the cytoplasm. This proposal was studied here using cells simultaneously overexpressing various membrane proteins and either SRP, the SRP protein Ffh, its 4.5S RNA, or the Ffh M domain. The results show that SRP, Ffh, and the M domain are all able to selectively inhibit the expression of membrane proteins. We observed no apparent changes in the steady-state mRNA levels or membrane protein stability, suggesting that inhibition may occur at the level of translation, possibly through the interaction between Ffh and ribosome-hydrophobic nascent chain complexes. Since E. coli SRP does not have a eukaryote-like translation arrest domain, we discuss other possible mechanisms by which this SRP might regulate membrane protein translation when overexpressed. IMPORTANCE The eukaryotic SRP slows down translation of SRP substrates by cytoplasmic ribosomes. This activity is important for preventing premature synthesis of secretory and membrane proteins in the cytoplasm. It is likely that an analogous quality control step would be required in all living cells. However, on the basis of its composition and domain structure and limited in vitro studies, it is believed that the E. coli SRP is unable to regulate ribosomes translating membrane proteins. Nevertheless, several in vivo studies have suggested otherwise. To address this issue further in vivo, we utilized unbalanced conditions under which E. coli simultaneously overexpresses SRP and each of several membrane or cytosolic proteins. Surprisingly, our results clearly show that the E. coli SRP is capable of regulating membrane protein synthesis and demonstrate that the M domain of Ffh mediates this activity. These results thus open the way for mechanistic characterization of this quality control process in bacteria.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (6) ◽  
pp. 1913-1922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anindya S. Ghosh ◽  
Kevin D. Young

ABSTRACT In bacteria, several physiological processes once thought to be the products of uniformly dispersed reactions are now known to be highly asymmetric, with some exhibiting interesting geometric localizations. In particular, the cell envelope of Escherichia coli displays a form of subcellular differentiation in which peptidoglycan and outer membrane proteins at the cell poles remain stable for generations while material in the lateral walls is diluted by growth and turnover. To determine if material in the side walls was organized in any way, we labeled outer membrane proteins with succinimidyl ester-linked fluorescent dyes and then grew the stained cells in the absence of dye. Labeled proteins were not evenly dispersed in the envelope but instead appeared as helical ribbons that wrapped around the outside of the cell. By staining the O8 surface antigen of E. coli 2443 with a fluorescent derivative of concanavalin A, we observed a similar helical organization for the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) component of the outer membrane. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching indicated that some of the outer membrane proteins remained freely diffusible in the side walls and could also diffuse into polar domains. On the other hand, the LPS O antigen was virtually immobile. Thus, the outer membrane of E. coli has a defined in vivo organization in which a subfraction of proteins and LPS are embedded in stable domains at the poles and along one or more helical ribbons that span the length of this gram-negative rod.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1288-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Deckers-Hebestreit

The ATP synthase (FoF1) of Escherichia coli couples the translocation of protons across the cytoplasmic membrane by Fo to ATP synthesis or hydrolysis in F1. Whereas good knowledge of the nanostructure and the rotary mechanism of the ATP synthase is at hand, the assembly pathway of the 22 polypeptide chains present in a stoichiometry of ab2c10α3β3γδϵ has so far not received sufficient attention. In our studies, mutants that synthesize different sets of FoF1 subunits allowed the characterization of individually formed stable subcomplexes. Furthermore, the development of a time-delayed in vivo assembly system enabled the subsequent synthesis of particular missing subunits to allow the formation of functional ATP synthase complexes. These observations form the basis for a model that describes the assembly pathway of the E. coli ATP synthase from pre-formed subcomplexes, thereby avoiding membrane proton permeability by a concomitant assembly of the open H+-translocating unit within a coupled FoF1 complex.


2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (17) ◽  
pp. 5785-5790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Maeda ◽  
Tomoko Yoshino ◽  
Tadashi Matsunaga

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli biotin ligase can attach biotin molecules to a lysine residue of biotin acceptor peptide (BAP), and biotinylation of particular BAP-fused proteins in cells was carried out by coexpression of E. coli biotin ligase (in vivo biotinylation). This in vivo biotinylation technology has been applied for protein purification, analysis of protein localization, and protein-protein interaction in eukaryotic cells, while such studies have not been reported in bacterial cells. In this study, in vivo biotinylation of bacterial magnetic particles (BacMPs) synthesized by Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 was attempted by heterologous expression of E. coli biotin ligase. To biotinylate BacMPs in vivo, BAP was fused to a BacMP surface protein, Mms13, and E. coli biotin ligase was simultaneously expressed in the truncated form lacking the DNA-binding domain. This truncation-based approach permitted the growth of AMB-1 transformants when biotin ligase was heterologously expressed. In vivo biotinylation of BAP on BacMPs was confirmed using an alkaline phosphatase-conjugated antibiotin antibody. The biotinylated BAP-displaying BacMPs were then exposed to streptavidin by simple mixing. The streptavidin-binding capacity of BacMPs biotinylated in vivo was 35-fold greater than that of BacMPs biotinylated in vitro, where BAP-displaying BacMPs purified from bacterial cells were biotinylated by being mixed with E. coli biotin ligase. This study describes not only a simple method to produce biotinylated nanomagnetic particles but also a possible expansion of in vivo biotinylation technology for bacterial investigation.


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