scholarly journals Genetic and Functional Analyses of the Conserved C-Terminal Core Domain of Escherichia coli FtsZ

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (24) ◽  
pp. 7531-7544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolan Ma ◽  
William Margolin

ABSTRACT In Escherichia coli, FtsZ is required for the recruitment of the essential cell division proteins FtsA and ZipA to the septal ring. Several C-terminal deletions of E. coliFtsZ, including one of only 12 amino acids that removes the highly conserved C-terminal core domain, failed to complement chromosomalftsZ mutants when expressed on a plasmid. To identify key individual residues within the core domain, six highly conserved residues were replaced with alanines. All but one of these mutants (D373A) failed to complement an ftsZ chromosomal mutant. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that whereas I374A and F377A proteins were unstable in the cell, L372A, D373A, P375A, and L378A proteins were synthesized at normal levels, suggesting that they were specifically defective in some aspect of FtsZ function. In addition, all four of the stable mutant proteins were able to localize and form rings at potential division sites in chromosomal ftsZ mutants, implying a defect in a function other than localization and multimerization. Because another proposed function of FtsZ is the recruitment of FtsA and ZipA, we tested whether the C-terminal core domain was important for interactions with these proteins. Using two different in vivo assays, we found that the 12-amino-acid truncation of FtsZ was defective in binding to FtsA. Furthermore, two point mutants in this region (L372A and P375A) showed weakened binding to FtsA. In contrast, ZipA was capable of binding to all four stable point mutants in the FtsZ C-terminal core but not to the 12-amino-acid deletion.

2000 ◽  
Vol 351 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei KONG ◽  
Susumu SHIOTA ◽  
Yixin SHI ◽  
Hiroaki NAKAYAMA ◽  
Koji NAKAYAMA

We cloned a gene encoding a 17-kDa protein from a cDNA library of the plant Sedum lineare and found that its deduced amino acid sequence showed similarities to those of Escherichia coli bacterioferritin co-migratory protein (Bcp) and its homologues, which comprise a discrete group associated with the peroxiredoxin (Prx) family. Studies of the recombinant 17-kDa protein produced in E. coli cells revealed that it actually had a thioredoxin-dependent peroxidase activity, the hallmark of the Prx family. PrxQ, as we now designate the 17-kDa protein, had two cysteine residues (Cys-44 and Cys-49) well conserved among proteins of the Bcp group. These two cysteines were demonstrated to be essential for the thioredoxin-dependent peroxidase activity by analysis of mutant proteins, suggesting that these residues are involved in the formation of an intramolecular disulphide bond as an intermediate in the reaction cycle. Expression of PrxQ suppressed the hypersensitivity of an E. coli bcp mutant to peroxides, indicating that it might exert an antioxidant activity in vivo. The sequence data presented have been deposited in the GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ nucleotide sequence databases under the accession number AB037598.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1037-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian H. Gross ◽  
Jonathan D. Parsons ◽  
Trudy H. Grossman ◽  
Paul S. Charifson ◽  
Steven Bellon ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT DNA gyrase is a bacterial type II topoisomerase which couples the free energy of ATP hydrolysis to the introduction of negative supercoils into DNA. Amino acids in proximity to bound nonhydrolyzable ATP analog (AMP · PNP) or novobiocin in the gyrase B (GyrB) subunit crystal structures were examined for their roles in enzyme function and novobiocin resistance by site-directed mutagenesis. Purified Escherichia coli GyrB mutant proteins were complexed with the gyrase A subunit to form the functional A2B2 gyrase enzyme. Mutant proteins with alanine substitutions at residues E42, N46, E50, D73, R76, G77, and I78 had reduced or no detectable ATPase activity, indicating a role for these residues in ATP hydrolysis. Interestingly, GyrB proteins with P79A and K103A substitutions retained significant levels of ATPase activity yet demonstrated no DNA supercoiling activity, even with 40-fold more enzyme than the wild-type enzyme, suggesting that these amino acid side chains have a role in the coupling of the two activities. All enzymes relaxed supercoiled DNA to the same extent as the wild-type enzyme did, implying that only ATP-dependent reactions were affected. Mutant genes were examined in vivo for their abilities to complement a temperature-sensitive E. coli gyrB mutant, and the activities correlated well with the in vitro activities. We show that the known R136 novobiocin resistance mutations bestow a significant loss of inhibitor potency in the ATPase assay. Four new residues (D73, G77, I78, and T165) that, when changed to the appropriate amino acid, result in both significant levels of novobiocin resistance and maintain in vivo function were identified in E. coli.


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 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mainak Mustafi ◽  
James C. Weisshaar

ABSTRACT In bacteria, elongation factor Tu is a translational cofactor that forms ternary complexes with aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) and GTP. Binding of a ternary complex to one of four flexible L7/L12 units on the ribosome tethers a charged tRNA in close proximity to the ribosomal A site. Two sequential tests for a match between the aa-tRNA anticodon and the current mRNA codon then follow. Because one elongation cycle can occur in as little as 50 ms and the vast majority of aa-tRNA copies are not cognate with the current mRNA codon, this testing must occur rapidly. We present a single-molecule localization and tracking study of fluorescently labeled EF-Tu in live Escherichia coli. Imaging at 2 ms/frame distinguishes 60% slowly diffusing EF-Tu copies (assigned as transiently bound to translating ribosome) from 40% rapidly diffusing copies (assigned as a mixture of free ternary complexes and free EF-Tu). Combining these percentages with copy number estimates, we infer that the four L7/L12 sites are essentially saturated with ternary complexes in vivo. The results corroborate an earlier inference that all four sites can simultaneously tether ternary complexes near the A site, creating a high local concentration that may greatly enhance the rate of testing of aa-tRNAs. Our data and a combinatorial argument both suggest that the initial recognition test for a codon-anticodon match occurs in less than 1 to 2 ms per aa-tRNA copy. The results refute a recent study (A. Plochowietz, I. Farrell, Z. Smilansky, B. S. Cooperman, and A. N. Kapanidis, Nucleic Acids Res 45:926–937, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw787) of tRNA diffusion in E. coli that inferred that aa-tRNAs arrive at the ribosomal A site as bare monomers, not as ternary complexes. IMPORTANCE Ribosomes catalyze translation of the mRNA codon sequence into the corresponding sequence of amino acids within the nascent polypeptide chain. Polypeptide elongation can be as fast as 50 ms per added amino acid. Each amino acid arrives at the ribosome as a ternary complex comprising an aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA), an elongation factor called EF-Tu, and GTP. There are 43 different aa-tRNAs in use, only one of which typically matches the current mRNA codon. Thus, ternary complexes must be tested very rapidly. Here we use fluorescence-based single-molecule methods that locate and track single EF-Tu copies in E. coli. Fast and slow diffusive behavior determines the fraction of EF-Tu copies that are ribosome bound. We infer simultaneous tethering of ~4 ternary complexes to the ribosome, which may facilitate rapid initial testing for codon matching on a time scale of less than 1 to 2 ms per aa-tRNA.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (38) ◽  
pp. 8942-8946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Vaughan ◽  
Zhengding Su ◽  
Elisabeth Daub ◽  
J. F. Honek

Unusual in vivo processing of a fluorinated amino acid provides unexpected dual protein labeling in E. coli.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (12) ◽  
pp. 3467-3476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhijun Wang ◽  
Zhenghong Yuan ◽  
Li Xiang ◽  
Junjie Shao ◽  
Grzegorz Węgrzyn

Effects of tRNAAla(UGC) and its derivative devoid of the 3′-ACCA motif [tRNAAla(UGC)ΔACCA] on the cleavage of the ColE1-like plasmid-derived RNA I were analysed in vivo and in vitro. In an amino-acid-starved relA mutant, in which uncharged tRNAs occur in large amounts, three products of specific cleavage of RNA I were observed, in contrast to an otherwise isogenic relA + host. Overexpression of tRNAAla(UGC), which under such conditions occurs in Escherichia coli mostly in an uncharged form, induced RNA I cleavage and resulted in an increase in ColE1-like plasmid DNA copy number. Such effects were not observed during overexpression of the 3′-ACCA-truncated tRNAAla(UGC). Moreover, tRNAAla(UGC), but not tRNAAla(UGC)ΔACCA, caused RNA I cleavage in vitro in the presence of MgCl2. These results strongly suggest that tRNA-dependent RNA I cleavage occurs in ColE1-like plasmid-bearing E. coli, and demonstrate that tRNAAla(UGC) participates in specific degradation of RNA I in vivo and in vitro. This reaction is dependent on the presence of the 3′-ACCA motif of tRNAAla(UGC).


2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (24) ◽  
pp. 7660-7668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena A. Mordukhova ◽  
Hee-Soon Lee ◽  
Jae-Gu Pan

ABSTRACT In Escherichia coli, growth is limited at elevated temperatures mainly because of the instability of a single enzyme, homoserine o-succinyltransferase (MetA), the first enzyme in the methionine biosynthesis pathway. The metA gene from the thermophile Geobacillus kaustophilus cloned into the E. coli chromosome was found to enhance the growth of the host strain at elevated temperature (44°C), thus confirming the limited growth of E. coli due to MetA instability. In order to improve E. coli growth at higher temperatures, we used random mutagenesis to obtain a thermostable MetA E. coli protein. Sequencing of the thermotolerant mutant showed five amino acid substitutions: S61T, E213V, I229T, N267D, and N271K. An E. coli strain with the mutated metA gene chromosomally inserted showed accelerated growth over a temperature range of 34 to 44°C. We used the site-directed metA mutants to identify two amino acid residues responsible for the sensitivity of MetA E. coli to both heat and acids. Replacement of isoleucine 229 with threonine and asparagine 267 with aspartic acid stabilized the protein. The thermostable MetA E. coli enzymes showed less aggregation in vivo at higher temperature, as well as upon acetic acid treatment. The data presented here are the first to show improved E. coli growth at higher temperatures solely due to MetA stabilization and provide new knowledge for designing E. coli strains that grow at higher temperatures, thus reducing the cooling cost of bioprocesses.


2005 ◽  
Vol 388 (3) ◽  
pp. 879-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela K. JACQUELÍN ◽  
Adrián FILIBERTI ◽  
Carlos E. ARGARAÑA ◽  
José L. BARRA

Escherichia coli MutS, MutL and MutH proteins act sequentially in the MMRS (mismatch repair system). MutH directs the repair system to the newly synthesized strand due to its transient lack of Dam (DNA-adenine methylase) methylation. Although Pseudomonas aeruginosa does not have the corresponding E. coli MutH and Dam homologues, and consequently the MMRS seems to work differently, we show that the mutL gene from P. aeruginosa is capable of complementing a MutL-deficient strain of E. coli. MutL from P. aeruginosa has conserved 21 out of the 22 amino acids known to affect functioning of E. coli MutL. We showed, using protein affinity chromatography, that the C-terminal regions of P. aeruginosa and E. coli MutL are capable of specifically interacting with E. coli MutH and retaining the E. coli MutH. Although, the amino acid sequences of the C-terminal regions of these two proteins are only 18% identical, they are 88% identical in the predicted secondary structure. Finally, by analysing (E. coli–P. aeruginosa) chimaeric MutL proteins, we show that the N-terminal regions of E. coli and P. aeruginosa MutL proteins function similarly, in vivo and in vitro. These new findings support the hypothesis that a large surface, rather than a single amino acid, constitutes the MutL surface for interaction with MutH, and that the N- and C-terminal regions of MutL are involved in such interactions.


Genetics ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-521
Author(s):  
Nancy J Trun ◽  
Thomas J Silhavy

ABSTRACT The prlC gene of E. coli was originally identified as an allele, prlC1, which suppresses certain signal sequence mutations in the genes for several exported proteins. We have isolated six new alleles of prlC that also confer this phenotype. These mutations can be placed into three classes based on the degree to which they suppress the lamBsignal sequence deletion, lamBs78. Genetic mapping reveals that the physical location of the mutations in prlC correlates with the strength of the suppression, suggesting that different regions of the gene can be altered to yield a suppressor phenotype. We also describe an in vivo cloning procedure using λplacMu9H. The procedure relies on transposition and illegitimate recombination to generate a specialized transducing phage that carries prlC1. This method should be applicable to any gene for which there is a mutant phenotype.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 926
Author(s):  
Maria C. Martins ◽  
Susana F. Fernandes ◽  
Bruno A. Salgueiro ◽  
Jéssica C. Soares ◽  
Célia V. Romão ◽  
...  

Flavodiiron proteins (FDPs) are a family of modular and soluble enzymes endowed with nitric oxide and/or oxygen reductase activities, producing N2O or H2O, respectively. The FDP from Escherichia coli, which, apart from the two core domains, possesses a rubredoxin-like domain at the C-terminus (therefore named flavorubredoxin (FlRd)), is a bona fide NO reductase, exhibiting O2 reducing activity that is approximately ten times lower than that for NO. Among the flavorubredoxins, there is a strictly conserved amino acids motif, -G[S,T]SYN-, close to the catalytic diiron center. To assess its role in FlRd’s activity, we designed several site-directed mutants, replacing the conserved residues with hydrophobic or anionic ones. The mutants, which maintained the general characteristics of the wild type enzyme, including cofactor content and integrity of the diiron center, revealed a decrease of their oxygen reductase activity, while the NO reductase activity—specifically, its physiological function—was almost completely abolished in some of the mutants. Molecular modeling of the mutant proteins pointed to subtle changes in the predicted structures that resulted in the reduction of the hydration of the regions around the conserved residues, as well as in the elimination of hydrogen bonds, which may affect proton transfer and/or product release.


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