scholarly journals Regulation of a New Cell Wall Hydrolase Gene,cwlF, Which Affects Cell Separation in Bacillus subtilis

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (9) ◽  
pp. 2549-2555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Ishikawa ◽  
Yoshiko Hara ◽  
Ryo Ohnishi ◽  
Junichi Sekiguchi
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Exponential Growth Phase ◽  
High Sequence Similarity ◽  
Cell Wall Hydrolase ◽  
Mutant Cells

ABSTRACT Bacillus subtilis produces a 35-kDa cell wall hydrolase, CwlF, during vegetative growth. The CwlF protein was extracted from B. subtilis cwlB sigD mutant cells and separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. N-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed that its sequence is completely identical to that of the internal region of thepapQ gene product. Disruption of the papQ gene in the B. subtilis chromosome led to the complete loss of CwlF, indicating that papQ is identical tocwlF. CwlF exhibits high sequence similarity to the p60 proteins of Listeria species, NlpC proteins ofEscherichia coli and Haemophilus influenzae, and Enp2 protein of Bacillus sphaericus. The β-galactosidase activity of the cwlF-lacZ transcriptional fusion and Northern blot analysis of the cwlF gene indicated that the gene is expressed as a monocistronic operon during the exponential growth phase, and primer extension analysis suggested that the cwlF gene is transcribed mainly by EςA RNA polymerase and weakly by EςH RNA polymerase. While the cells of the cwlF-deficient mutant were about twice as long as those of the wild-type strain, the cwlF sigD double mutant cells exhibited extraordinary microfiber formation, in contrast to the filamentation of the sigD mutant. The CwlF production was not affected by the pleiotropic mutationsflaD1 and degU32(Hy), which endow cells with the ability of extensive filamentation.

scholarly journals O-Acetylserine Sulfhydrylase fromMethanosarcina thermophila

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birthe Borup ◽  
James G. Ferry
Keyword(s):  
Specific Activity ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Substrate Inhibition ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
Cysteine Biosynthesis ◽  
High Sequence Similarity ◽  
Methanosarcina Thermophila ◽  
Moderately Thermophilic

ABSTRACT Cysteine is the major source of fixed sulfur for the synthesis of sulfur-containing compounds in organisms of the Bacteriaand Eucarya domains. Though pathways for cysteine biosynthesis have been established for both of these domains, it is unknown how the Archaea fix sulfur or synthesize cysteine. None of the four archaeal genomes sequenced to date contain open reading frames with identities to eitherO-acetyl-l-serine sulfhydrylase (OASS) or homocysteine synthase, the only sulfur-fixing enzymes known in nature. We report the purification and characterization of OASS from acetate-grown Methanosarcina thermophila, a moderately thermophilic methanoarchaeon. The purified OASS contained pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and catalyzed the formation of l-cysteine and acetate from O-acetyl-l-serine and sulfide. The N-terminal amino acid sequence has high sequence similarity with other known OASS enzymes from the Eucarya andBacteria domains. The purified OASS had a specific activity of 129 μmol of cysteine/min/mg, with a Km of 500 ± 80 μM for sulfide, and exhibited positive cooperativity and substrate inhibition withO-acetyl-l-serine. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed a single band at 36 kDa, and native gel filtration chromatography indicated a molecular mass of 93 kDa, suggesting that the purified OASS is either a homodimer or a homotrimer. The optimum temperature for activity was between 40 and 60°C, consistent with the optimum growth temperature for M. thermophila. The results of this study provide the first evidence for a sulfur-fixing enzyme in the Archaea domain. The results also provide the first biochemical evidence for an enzyme with the potential for involvement in cysteine biosynthesis in theArchaea.

scholarly journals The engL Gene Cluster ofClostridium cellulovorans Contains a Gene for Cellulosomal ManA

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 244-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yutaka Tamaru ◽  
Roy H. Doi
Keyword(s):  
Gene Cluster ◽  
Plant Cell Wall ◽  
Catalytic Domain ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Glycosyl Hydrolases ◽  
High Sequence Similarity ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Plant Cell Wall Degradation

ABSTRACT A five-gene cluster around the gene in Clostridium cellulovorans that encodes endoglucanase EngL, which is involved in plant cell wall degradation, has been cloned and sequenced. As a result, a mannanase gene, manA, has been found downstream of engL. The manA gene consists of an open reading frame with 1,275 nucleotides encoding a protein with 425 amino acids and a molecular weight of 47,156. ManA has a signal peptide followed by a duplicated sequence (DS, or dockerin) at its N terminus and a catalytic domain which belongs to family 5 of the glycosyl hydrolases and shows high sequence similarity with fungal mannanases, such as Agaricus bisporus Cel4 (17.3% identity),Aspergillus aculeatus Man1 (23.7% identity), andTrichoderma reesei Man1 (22.7% identity). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and N-terminal amino acid sequence analyses of the purified recombinant ManA (rManA) indicated that the N-terminal region of the rManA contained a DS and was truncated in Escherichia coli cells. Furthermore, Western blot analysis indicated that ManA is one of the cellulosomal subunits. ManA production is repressed by cellobiose.

scholarly journals Effects of High Pressure on the Viability, Morphology, Lysis, and Cell Wall Hydrolase Activity of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 4357-4363 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. S. Malone ◽  
T. H. Shellhammer ◽  
P. D. Courtney
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Lactococcus Lactis ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Cell Suspensions ◽  
Hydrolase Activity ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Cell Wall Hydrolase ◽  
Sds Page

ABSTRACT Viability, morphology, lysis, and cell wall hydrolase activity of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris MG1363 and SK11 were determined after exposure to pressure. Both strains were completely inactivated at pressures of 400 to 800 MPa but unaffected at 100 and 200 MPa. At 300 MPa, the MG1363 and SK11 populations decreased by 7.3 and 2.5 log cycles, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that pressure caused intracellular and cell envelope damage. Pressure-treated MG1363 cell suspensions lysed more rapidly over time than did non-pressure-treated controls. Twenty-four hours after pressure treatment, the percent lysis ranged from 13.0 (0.1 MPa) to 43.3 (300 MPa). Analysis of the MG1363 supernatants by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) confirmed pressure-induced lysis. Pressure did not induce lysis or membrane permeability of SK11. Renaturing SDS-PAGE (zymogram analysis) revealed two hydrolytic bands from MG1363 cell extracts treated at all pressures (0.1 to 800 MPa). Measuring the reducing sugars released during enzymatic cell wall breakdown provided a quantitative, nondenaturing assay of cell wall hydrolase activity. Cells treated at 100 MPa released significantly more reducing sugar than other samples, including the non-pressure-treated control, indicating that pressure can activate cell wall hydrolase activity or increase cell wall accessibility to the enzyme. The cell suspensions treated at 200 and 300 MPa did not differ significantly from the control, whereas cells treated at pressures greater than 400 MPa displayed reduced cell wall hydrolase activity. These data suggest that high pressure can cause inactivation, physical damage, and lysis in L. lactis. Pressure-induced lysis is strain dependent and not solely dependent upon cell wall hydrolase activity.

C25, an essential RNA polymerase III subunit related to the RNA polymerase II subunit RPB7

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 6164-6170
Author(s):  
P P Sadhale ◽  
N A Woychik
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Rna Polymerase Iii ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Polymerase Iii ◽  
Conditional Mutant ◽  
5.8S Rrna ◽  
Cell Growth And Viability

We identified a partially sequenced Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene which encodes a protein related to the S. cerevisiae RNA polymerase II subunit, RPB7. Several lines of evidence suggest that this related gene, YKL1, encodes the RNA polymerase III subunit C25. C25, like RPB7, is present in submolar ratios, easily dissociates from the enzyme, is essential for cell growth and viability, but is not required in certain transcription assays in vitro. YKL1 has ABF-1 and PAC upstream sequences often present in RNA polymerase subunit genes. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis mobility of the YKL1 gene product is equivalent to that of the RNA polymerase III subunit C25. Finally, a C25 conditional mutant grown at the nonpermissive temperature synthesizes tRNA at reduced rates relative to 5.8S rRNA, a hallmark of all characterized RNA polymerase III mutants.

scholarly journals Requirement of Autolytic Activity for Bacteriocin-Induced Lysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 3174-3179 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carmen Martínez-Cuesta ◽  
Jan Kok ◽  
Elisabet Herranz ◽  
Carmen Peláez ◽  
Teresa Requena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate ◽  
Growth Phase ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Exponential Growth Phase ◽  
Cell Wall Degradation ◽  
Intracellular Proteins ◽  
Autolytic Activity

ABSTRACT The bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis IFPL105 is bactericidal against several Lactococcus andLactobacillus strains. Addition of the bacteriocin to exponential-growth-phase cells resulted in all cases in bacteriolysis. The bacteriolytic response of the strains was not related to differences in sensitivity to the bacteriocin and was strongly reduced in the presence of autolysin inhibitors (Co2+ and sodium dodecyl sulfate). When L. lactis MG1363 and its derivative deficient in the production of the major autolysin AcmA (MG1363acmAΔ1) were incubated with the bacteriocin, the latter did not lyse and no intracellular proteins were released into the medium. Incubation of cell wall fragments of L. lactisMG1363, or of L. lactis MG1363acmAΔ1 to which extracellular AcmA was added, in the presence or absence of the bacteriocin had no effect on the speed of cell wall degradation. This result indicates that the bacteriocin does not degrade cell walls, nor does it directly activate the autolysin AcmA. The autolysin was also responsible for the observed lysis of L. lactis MG1363 cells during incubation with nisin or the mixture of lactococcins A, B, and M. The results presented here show that lysis of L. lactis after addition of the bacteriocins is caused by the resulting cell damage, which promotes uncontrolled degradation of the cell walls by AcmA.

Extraction and properties of hemagglutinin from cell wall fragments of Fusobacterium nucleatum

1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 298-305
Author(s):  
P Dehazya ◽  
R S Coles
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Fusobacterium Nucleatum ◽  
Blue Staining ◽  
Sephadex Column ◽  
Dodecyl Sulfate ◽  
Triton X

To study the hemagglutinin of Fusobacterium nucleatum, methods were sought to solubilize and purify this component. When cells of F. nucleatum were ruptured by passage through a French press, the fragments lost virtually all ability to agglutinate human erythrocytes. Extraction of the fragments with 2% Triton X-100 for 30 min at 22 degrees C restored hemagglutinating activity (HA). Hemagglutination by these fragments could be inhibited by arginine, as can hemagglutination by intact bacteria. Treatment of active cell wall fragments with pronase and 2% Triton X-100-EDTA at 37 degrees C or with pronase and 0.1% Triton X-100-EDTA at pH 10.0 allowed recovery of solubilized HA. The former HA was inhibited by arginine (arg+) whereas the latter was not (arg-). Fractionation of the arg+ extract by preparative isoelectric focusing showed that HA was recovered from the gel sections having a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. Hemagglutination by this preparation was still arg+. Chromatography of this hemagglutinin on DEAE-Sephadex increased the specific activity to high levels with a loss of inhibition by arginine. A fraction from the DEAE-Sephadex column containing 10,700 HA units per mg of protein was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Solubilization at 22 degrees C before electrophoresis revealed three Coomassie blue-staining bands which migrated with apparent molecular weights of about 21,000, 38,000 and 60,000. When the same DEAE fraction was boiled in sodium dodecyl sulfate, electrophoresis revealed only one band with an apparent molecular weight of 21,000.

Isolation and Preliminary Characterization of a Bacteriocin Produced by Lactobacillus plantarum N014 Isolated from Nham, a Traditional Thai Fermented Pork

2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 1937-1943 ◽  
Author(s):  
PONGSAK RATTANACHAIKUNSOPON ◽  
PARICHAT PHUMKHACHORN
Keyword(s):  
Lactobacillus Plantarum ◽  
Proteolytic Enzymes ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Proteinase K ◽  
Exponential Growth Phase ◽  
Plasmid Isolation ◽  
Inhibitory Spectrum ◽  
Lipase A

Lactobacillus plantarum N014 was isolated from nham, a traditional Thai fermented pork, and exhibited antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes. Its bacteriocin had a broad inhibitory spectrum toward both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The bacteriocin activity was sensitive to all proteolytic enzymes used in this study, including papain, pepsin, pronase E, proteinase K, and trypsin, but was resistant to the other enzymes, such as α-amylase, lipase A, and lysozyme. Furthermore, activity was stable over various heat treatments and pH values. The bacteriocin exerted a bacteriolytic mode of action. It was produced during the exponential growth phase and reached its highest level as producer cells entered the stationary phase. Adsorption of the bacteriocin onto producer cells was pH-dependent. No bacteriocin adsorption was detected at pH 1 to 3, whereas 100% bacteriocin adsorption was found at pH 7. Plasmid isolation revealed that L. plantarum N014 contained no plasmids. From Tricine–sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and growth inhibition testing against L. monocytogenes, the estimated molecular mass of L. plantarum N014 bacteriocin was 8 kDa.

scholarly journals Bacillus subtilis Tolerance of Moderate Concentrations of Rifampin Involves the σB-Dependent General and Multiple Stress Response

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Elisabeth Bandow ◽  
Heike Brötz ◽  
Michael Hecker
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Rna Polymerase ◽  
Stress Proteins ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Growth Arrest ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
General Stress ◽  
Inhibition Of Growth ◽  
Increased Sensitivity

ABSTRACT Low concentrations of the RNA polymerase inhibitor rifampin added to an exponentially growing culture of Bacillus subtilis led to an instant inhibition of growth. Survival experiments revealed that during the growth arrest the cells became tolerant to the antibiotic and the culture was able to resume growth some time after rifampin treatment. l-[35S]methionine pulse-labeled protein extracts were separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to investigate the change in the protein synthesis pattern in response to rifampin. The σB-dependent general stress proteins were found to be induced after treatment with the antibiotic. Part of the oxidative stress signature was induced as indicated by the catalase KatA and MrgA. The target protein of rifampin, the β subunit (RpoB) of the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, and the flagellin protein Hag belonging to the σD regulon were also induced. The rifampin-triggered growth arrest was extended in a sigB mutant in comparison to the wild-type strain, and the higher the concentration, the more pronounced this effect was. Activity of the RsbP energy-signaling phosphatase in the σB signal transduction network was also important for this protection against rifampin, but the RsbU environmental signaling phosphatase was not required. The sigB mutant strain was less capable of growing on rifampin-containing agar plates. When plated from a culture that had already reached stationary phase without previous exposure to the antibiotic during growth, the survival rate of the wild type exceeded that of the sigB mutant by a factor of 100. We conclude that the general stress response of B. subtilis is induced by rifampin depending on RsbP activity and that loss of SigB function causes increased sensitivity to the antibiotic.

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