scholarly journals Escherichia coli Mutants Lacking All Possible Combinations of Eight Penicillin Binding Proteins: Viability, Characteristics, and Implications for Peptidoglycan Synthesis

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (13) ◽  
pp. 3981-3993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia A. Denome ◽  
Pamela K. Elf ◽  
Thomas A. Henderson ◽  
David E. Nelson ◽  
Kevin D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Kanamycin Resistance ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis ◽  
Kanamycin Resistance Cassette ◽  
Genes Encoding

ABSTRACT The penicillin binding proteins (PBPs) synthesize and remodel peptidoglycan, the structural component of the bacterial cell wall. Much is known about the biochemistry of these proteins, but little is known about their biological roles. To better understand the contributions these proteins make to the physiology ofEscherichia coli, we constructed 192 mutants from which eight PBP genes were deleted in every possible combination. The genes encoding PBPs 1a, 1b, 4, 5, 6, and 7, AmpC, and AmpH were cloned, and from each gene an internal coding sequence was removed and replaced with a kanamycin resistance cassette flanked by two ressites from plasmid RP4. Deletion of individual genes was accomplished by transferring each interrupted gene onto the chromosome of E. coli via λ phage transduction and selecting for kanamycin-resistant recombinants. Afterwards, the kanamycin resistance cassette was removed from each mutant strain by supplying ParA resolvase in trans, yielding a strain in which a long segment of the original PBP gene was deleted and replaced by an 8-bpres site. These kanamycin-sensitive mutants were used as recipients in further rounds of replacement mutagenesis, resulting in a set of strains lacking from one to seven PBPs. In addition, thedacD gene was deleted from two septuple mutants, creating strains lacking eight genes. The only deletion combinations not produced were those lacking both PBPs 1a and 1b because such a combination is lethal. Surprisingly, all other deletion mutants were viable even though, at the extreme, 8 of the 12 known PBPs had been eliminated. Furthermore, when both PBPs 2 and 3 were inactivated by the β-lactams mecillinam and aztreonam, respectively, several mutants did not lyse but continued to grow as enlarged spheres, so that one mutant synthesized osmotically resistant peptidoglycan when only 2 of 12 PBPs (PBPs 1b and 1c) remained active. These results have important implications for current models of peptidoglycan biosynthesis, for understanding the evolution of the bacterial sacculus, and for interpreting results derived by mutating unknown open reading frames in genome projects. In addition, members of the set of PBP mutants will provide excellent starting points for answering fundamental questions about other aspects of cell wall metabolism.

scholarly journals Interactions between Penicillin-Binding Proteins (PBPs) and Two Novel Classes of PBP Inhibitors, Arylalkylidene Rhodanines and Arylalkylidene Iminothiazolidin-4-ones

2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 961-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Zervosen ◽  
Wei-Ping Lu ◽  
Zhouliang Chen ◽  
Ronald E. White ◽  
Thomas P. Demuth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant ◽  
Inhibitory Activities

ABSTRACT Several non-β-lactam compounds were active against various gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains. The MICs of arylalkylidene rhodanines and arylalkylidene iminothiazolidin-4-ones were lower than those of ampicillin and cefotaxime for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MI339 and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium EF12. Several compounds were found to inhibit the cell wall synthesis of S. aureus and the last two steps of peptidoglycan biosynthesis catalyzed by ether-treated cells of Escherichia coli or cell wall membrane preparations of Bacillus megaterium. The effects of the arylalkylidene rhodanines and arylalkylidene iminothiazolidin-4-one derivatives on E. coli PBP 3 and PBP 5, Streptococcus pneumoniae PBP 2xS (PBP 2x from a penicillin-sensitive strain) and PBP 2xR (PBP 2x from a penicillin-resistant strain), low-affinity PBP 2a of S. aureus, and the Actinomadura sp. strain R39 and Streptomyces sp. strain R61 dd-peptidases were studied. Some of the compounds exhibited inhibitory activities in the 10 to 100 μM concentration range. The inhibition of PBP 2xS by several of them appeared to be noncompetitive. The dissociation constant for the best inhibitor (Ki = 10 μM) was not influenced by the presence of the substrate.

Expression of bacteriophage ϕEa1h lysozyme in Escherichia coli and its activity in growth inhibition of Erwinia amylovora

Microbiology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 150 (8) ◽  
pp. 2707-2714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won-Sik Kim ◽  
Heike Salm ◽  
Klaus Geider
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Expression Vector ◽  
Erwinia Amylovora ◽  
Kanamycin Resistance ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Sequence Alignments ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Kanamycin Resistance Cassette ◽  
Genes Encoding

A 3·3 kb fragment from Erwinia amylovora phage ϕEa1h in plasmid pJH94 was previously characterized and found to contain an exopolysaccharide depolymerase (dpo) gene and two additional ORFs encoding 178 and 119 amino acids. ORF178 (lyz) and ORF119 (hol) were found to overlap by 19 bp and they resembled genes encoding lysozymes and holins. In nucleotide sequence alignments, lyz had structurally conserved regions with residues important for lysozyme function. The lyz gene was cloned into an expression vector and expressed in Escherichia coli. Active lysozyme was detected only when E. coli cells with the lyz gene and a kanamycin-resistance cassette were grown in the presence of kanamycin. Growth of Erw. amylovora was inhibited after addition of enzyme exceeding a threshold for lysozyme to target cells. When immature pears were soaked in lysates of induced cells, symptoms such as ooze formation and necrosis were retarded or inhibited after inoculation with Erw. amylovora.

scholarly journals Enterobactin- and salmochelin-β-lactam conjugates induce cell morphologies consistent with inhibition of penicillin-binding proteins in uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Sargun ◽  
Timothy C. Johnstone ◽  
Hui Zhi ◽  
Manuela Raffatellu ◽  
Elizabeth M. Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli

Siderophore-β-lactam conjugates based on enterobactin and diglucosylated enterobactin enter the periplasm of uropathogenic E. coli CFT073 via the FepA and IroN transporters, and target penicillin-binding proteins.

scholarly journals Affinity of Tomopenem (CS-023) for Penicillin-Binding Proteins in Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 1238-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsufumi Koga ◽  
Chika Sugihara ◽  
Masayo Kakuta ◽  
Nobuhisa Masuda ◽  
Eiko Namba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Penicillin Binding Protein ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
High Affinity

ABSTRACT Tomopenem (formerly CS-023), a novel 1β-methylcarbapenem, exhibited high affinity for penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 2 in Staphylococcus aureus, PBP 2 in Escherichia coli, and PBPs 2 and 3 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which are considered major lethal targets. Morphologically, tomopenem induced spherical forms in E. coli and short filamentation with bulges in P. aeruginosa, which correlated with the drug's PBP profiles. The potential of resistance of these bacteria to tomopenem was comparable to that to imipenem.

scholarly journals Bioaccumulation of Copper Ions by Escherichia coli Expressing Vanabin Genes from the Vanadium-Rich Ascidian Ascidia sydneiensis samea

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (11) ◽  
pp. 6442-6446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsuya Ueki ◽  
Yasuhisa Sakamoto ◽  
Nobuo Yamaguchi ◽  
Hitoshi Michibata
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Metal Binding ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Copper Ions ◽  
Maltose Binding Protein ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Periplasmic Space ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Genes Encoding

ABSTRACT The genes encoding two vanadium-binding proteins, vanabin1 and vanabin2, from a vanadium-rich ascidian, Ascidia sydneiensis samea, were recently identified and cloned (T. Ueki, T. Adachi, S. Kawano, M. Aoshima, N. Yamaguchi, K. Kanamori, and H. Michibata, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1626:43-50, 2003). The vanabins were found to bind vanadium(IV), and an excess of copper(II) ions inhibited the binding of vanadium(IV) to the vanabins in vitro. In this study, we constructed Escherichia coli strains that expressed vanabin1 or vanabin2 fused to maltose-binding protein (MBP) in the periplasmic space. We found that both strains accumulated about twenty times more copper(II) ions than the control BL21 strain, while no significant accumulation of vanadium was observed. The strains expressing either MBP-vanabin1 or MBP-vanabin2 absorbed approximately 70% of the copper ions in the medium to which 10 μM copper (II) ions were initially added. The MBP-vanabin1 and MBP-vanabin2 protein expressed in the periplasm bound to copper ions at a copper:protein molar ratio of 8:1 and 5:1, respectively, but MBP did not bind to copper ions. These data showed that the metal-binding proteins vanabin1 and vanabin2 bound copper ions directly and enhanced the bioaccumulation of copper ions by E. coli.

scholarly journals The complete genome and comparative analysis of the phage phiC120 infecting multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella strains

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Amarillas ◽  
Claudia Villicaña ◽  
Luis Lightbourn-Rojas ◽  
Arturo González-Robles ◽  
Josefina León-Félix
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Foodborne Pathogens ◽  
Complete Genome ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Double Stranded Dna ◽  
Genes Encoding

Abstract Phages infecting Salmonella and Escherichia coli are promising agents for therapeutics and biological control of these foodborne pathogens, in particular those strains with resistance to several antibiotics. In an effort to assess the potential of the phage phiC120, a virulent phage isolated from horse feces in Mexico, we characterized its morphology, host range and complete genome. Herein, we showed that phiC120 possesses strong lytic activity against several multidrug-resistant E. coli O157: H7 and Salmonella strains, and its morphology indicated that is a member of Myoviridae family. The phiC120 genome is double-stranded DNA and consists of 186,570 bp in length with a 37.6% G + C content. A total of 281 putative open reading frames (ORFs) and two tRNAs were found, where 150 ORFs encoded hypothetical proteins with unknown function. Comparative analysis showed that phiC120 shared high similarity at nucleotide and protein levels with coliphages RB69 and phiE142. Detailed phiC120 analysis revealed that ORF 94 encodes a putative depolymerase, meanwhile genes encoding factors associated with lysogeny, toxins, and antibiotic resistance were absent; however, ORF 95 encodes a putative protein with potential allergenic and pro-inflammatory properties, making needed further studies to guarantee the safety of phiC120 for human use. The characterization of phiC120 expands our knowledge about the biology of coliphages and provides novel insights supporting its potential for the development of phage-based applications to control unwanted bacteria.

scholarly journals Cloning and Expression of clt Genes Encoding Milk-Clotting Proteases from Myxococcus xanthus 422

2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 6337-6341 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Poza ◽  
M. Prieto-Alcedo ◽  
C. Sieiro ◽  
T. G. Villa
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Cloning And Expression ◽  
Gene Library ◽  
Expression Systems ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Milk Clotting ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Reading Frames

ABSTRACT The screening of a gene library of the milk-clotting strain Myxococcus xanthus 422 constructed in Escherichia coli allowed the description of eight positive clones containing 26 open reading frames. Only three of them (cltA, cltB, and cltC) encoded proteins that exhibited intracellular milk-clotting ability in E. coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Pichia pastoris expression systems.

scholarly journals Contributions of PBP 5 anddd-Carboxypeptidase Penicillin Binding Proteins to Maintenance of Cell Shape in Escherichia coli

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (10) ◽  
pp. 3055-3064 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Nelson ◽  
Kevin D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Penicillin Binding Proteins ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Morphological Defects ◽  
Membrane Anchoring ◽  
Binding Sequence

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli has 12 recognized penicillin binding proteins (PBPs), four of which (PBPs 4, 5, and 6 and DacD) havedd-carboxypeptidase activity. Although the enzymology of the dd-carboxypeptidases has been studied extensively, the in vivo functions of these proteins are poorly understood. To explain why E. coli maintains four independent loci encoding enzymes of considerable sequence identity and comparable in vitro activity, it has been proposed that thedd-carboxypeptidases may substitute for one another in vivo. We tested the validity of this equivalent substitution hypothesis by investigating the effects of these proteins on the aberrant morphology of ΔdacA mutants, which produce no PBP 5. Although cloned PBP 5 complemented the morphological phenotype of a ΔdacA mutant lacking a total of seven PBPs, controlled expression of PBP 4, PBP 6, or DacD did not. Also, a truncated PBP 5 protein lacking its amphipathic C-terminal membrane binding sequence did not reverse the morphological defects and was lethal at low levels of expression, implying that membrane anchoring is essential for the proper functioning of PBP 5. By examining a set of mutants from which multiple PBP genes were deleted, we found that significant morphological aberrations required the absence of at least three different PBPs. The greatest defects were observed in cells lacking, at minimum, PBPs 5 and 6 and one of the endopeptidases (either PBP 4 or PBP 7). The results further differentiate the roles of the low-molecular-weight PBPs, suggest a functional significance for the amphipathic membrane anchor of PBP 5 and, when combined with the recently determined crystal structure of PBP 5, suggest possible mechanisms by which these PBPs may contribute to maintenance of a uniform cell shape in E. coli.

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