scholarly journals Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate Degradation in Rhizobium (Sinorhizobium) meliloti: Isolation and Characterization of a Gene Encoding 3-Hydroxybutyrate Dehydrogenase

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (3) ◽  
pp. 849-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Aneja ◽  
T. C. Charles
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Consensus Sequence ◽  
Start Codon ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Isolation And Characterization

ABSTRACT We have cloned and sequenced the 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase-encoding gene (bdhA) from Rhizobium (Sinorhizobium) meliloti. The gene has an open reading frame of 777 bp that encodes a polypeptide of 258 amino acid residues (molecular weight 27,177, pI 6.07). The R. meliloti Bdh protein exhibits features common to members of the short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase superfamily. bdhA is the first gene transcribed in an operon that also includes xdhA, encoding xanthine oxidase/dehydrogenase. Transcriptional start site analysis by primer extension identified two transcription starts. S1, a minor start site, was located 46 to 47 nucleotides upstream of the predicted ATG start codon, while S2, the major start site, was mapped 148 nucleotides from the start codon. Analysis of the sequence immediately upstream of either S1 or S2 failed to reveal the presence of any known consensus promoter sequences. Although a ς54 consensus sequence was identified in the region between S1 and S2, a corresponding transcript was not detected, and a rpoN mutant of R. meliloti was able to utilize 3-hydroxybutyrate as a sole carbon source. The R. meliloti bdhA gene is able to confer uponEscherichia coli the ability to utilize 3-hydroxybutyrate as a sole carbon source. An R. meliloti bdhA mutant accumulates poly-3-hydroxybutyrate to the same extent as the wild type and shows no symbiotic defects. Studies with a strain carrying alacZ transcriptional fusion to bdhAdemonstrated that gene expression is growth phase associated.

scholarly journals Isolation and Characterization of a Mutant of the Marine Bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2 Defective in Lipid Biosynthesis

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 2884-2894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efraín Manilla-Pérez ◽  
Alvin Brian Lange ◽  
Stephan Hetzler ◽  
Marc Wältermann ◽  
Rainer Kalscheuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Sole Carbon Source ◽  
Marine Bacterium ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Nile Red ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Wax Ester ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Key Enzyme

ABSTRACT In many microorganisms, the key enzyme responsible for catalyzing the last step in triacylglycerol (TAG) and wax ester (WE) biosynthesis is an unspecific acyltransferase which is also referred to as wax ester synthase/acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA):diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT; AtfA). The importance and function of two AtfA homologues (AtfA1 and AtfA2) in the biosynthesis of TAGs and WEs in the hydrocarbon-degrading marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2 have been described recently. However, after the disruption of both the AtfA1 and AtfA2 genes, reduced but substantial accumulation of TAGs was still observed, indicating the existence of an alternative TAG biosynthesis pathway. In this study, transposon-induced mutagenesis was applied to an atfA1 atfA2 double mutant to screen for A. borkumensis mutants totally defective in biosynthesis of neutral lipids in order to identify additional enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of these lipids. At the same time, we have searched for a totally TAG-negative mutant in order to study the function of TAGs in A. borkumensis. Thirteen fluorescence-negative mutants were identified on Nile red ONR7a agar plates and analyzed for their abilities to synthesize lipids. Among these, mutant 2 M131 was no longer able to synthesize and accumulate TAGs if pyruvate was used as the sole carbon source. The transposon insertion was localized in a gene encoding a putative cytochrome c family protein (ABO_1185). Growth and TAG accumulation experiments showed that the disruption of this gene resulted in the absence of TAGs in 2 M131 but that growth was not affected. In cells of A. borkumensis SK2 grown on pyruvate as the sole carbon source, TAGs represented about 11% of the dry weight of the cells, while in the mutant 2 M131, TAGs were not detected by thin-layer and gas chromatography analyses. Starvation and lipid mobilization experiments revealed that the lipids play an important role in the survival of the cells. The function of neutral lipids in A. borkumensis SK2 is discussed.

scholarly journals Regulation of the furA and catC Operon, Encoding a Ferric Uptake Regulator Homologue and Catalase-Peroxidase, Respectively, in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (13) ◽  
pp. 3767-3774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Sook Hahn ◽  
So-Young Oh ◽  
Jung-Hye Roe
Keyword(s):  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Protein Product ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Start Codon ◽  
Multicopy Plasmid ◽  
Ferric Uptake Regulator ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Catalase Peroxidase

ABSTRACT We isolated the catC gene, encoding catalase-peroxidase in Streptomyces coelicolor, using sequence homology with the katG gene from Escherichia coli. Upstream of the catC gene, an open reading frame (furA) encoding a homologue of ferric uptake regulator (Fur) was identified. S1 mapping analysis indicated that the furA gene was cotranscribed with the catC gene. The transcriptional start site of the furA-catC mRNA was mapped to the translation start codon ATG of the furA gene. The putative promoter contains consensus −10 and −35 elements similar to those recognized by ςHrdB, the major sigma factor of S. coelicolor. The transcripts were produced maximally at late-exponential phase and decreased at the stationary phase in liquid culture. The change in the amount of mRNA was consistent with that of CatC protein and enzyme activity. When the furA gene was introduced into S. lividans on a multicopy plasmid, the increased production of catC transcripts and protein product at late growth phase was inhibited, implying a role for FurA as the negative regulator of the furA-catC operon. FurA protein bound to its own promoter region between −59 and −39 nucleotides from the transcription start site. The binding affinity of FurA increased under reducing conditions and in the presence of metals such as Ni2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, or Fe2+. Addition of these metals to the growth medium decreased the production of CatC protein, consistent with the role of FurA as a metal-dependent repressor.

scholarly journals The tra Region of the Conjugative Plasmid pIP501 Is Organized in an Operon with the First Gene Encoding the Relaxase

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (6) ◽  
pp. 1801-1805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitta Kurenbach ◽  
Dagmar Grothe ◽  
María Eugenia Farías ◽  
Ulrich Szewzyk ◽  
Elisabeth Grohmann
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Conjugative Plasmid ◽  
Start Codon ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Cleavage Activity ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Single Operon

ABSTRACT The tra genes orf1 to orf11 of pIP501 were shown to be transcribed as a single operon of 11.3 kb in Enterococcus faecalis by reverse transcription-PCR. The transcriptional start site of the tra mRNA was mapped at 110 bp upstream from the predicted TTG start codon of the first gene of the operon, the traA relaxase. The TraA protein (660 amino acids) and a C-terminally truncated version of the TraA protein (293 amino acids) were purified as fusions with glutathione S-transferase. oriT cleavage activity of both TraA proteins was demonstrated in vitro on supercoiled plasmid pVA2241 DNA containing oriTpIP501 . The activity of the DNA relaxase TraA is strictly dependent on the presence of Mg2+ or Mn2+ and is highest at temperatures of between 42 and 45°C.

scholarly journals Transcriptional Analysis and Regulation of Expression of the ScrFI Restriction-Modification System of Lactococcus lactis subsp.cremoris UC503

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (15) ◽  
pp. 4668-4673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Butler ◽  
Gerald F. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Transcriptional Analysis ◽  
Start Codon ◽  
Northern Analysis ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Regulation Of Expression ◽  
Modification System ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Restriction Modification System ◽  
Restriction Modification

ABSTRACT ScrFI is a type II restriction-modification system from Lactococcus lactis which recognizes the nucleotide sequence 5′-CC↓ NGG-3′, cleaving at the point indicated by the arrow, and it comprises an endonuclease gene that is flanked on either side by genes encoding two 5-methylcytosine methylases. An open reading frame (orfX) of unknown function is located immediately upstream of these genes. In this study Northern analysis was performed, and it revealed that orfX, scrFIBM, andscrFIR are cotranscribed as a single polygenic mRNA molecule, while scrFIAM is transcribed independently. 5′ extension analysis indicated that the start site for thescrFIAM promoter was a thymine located 4 bp downstream of the −10 motif. The transcriptional start site for theorfX promoter was also found to be a thymine which is more atypically located 24 bp downstream of the −10 motif proximal to the start codon. A helix-turn-helix motif was identified at the N-terminal end of one of the methylases (M.ScrFIA). In order to determine if this motif played a role in regulation of the ScrFI locus, M.ScrFIA was purified. It was then employed in gel retardation assays using fragments containing the two promoters found on the ScrFI operon, one located upstream oforfX and the other located just upstream ofscrFIAM. M.ScrFIA was found to bind to the promoter region upstream of the gene encoding it, indicating that it may have a regulatory role. In further studies the two putative promoters were introduced into a vector (pAK80) upstream of a promoterless lacZ gene, and cloned fragments of theScrFI locus were introduced in trans with each of these promoter constructs to investigate the effect on promoter activity. These results implicated M.ScrFIA in regulation of both promoters on the ScrFI locus.

scholarly journals Molecular and Functional Characterization of theRhodopseudomonas palustris No. 7 Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase Gene

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (9) ◽  
pp. 2689-2696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Inui ◽  
Kaori Nakata ◽  
Jung Hyeob Roh ◽  
Kenneth Zahn ◽  
Hideaki Yukawa
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Rhodopseudomonas Palustris ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Upstream Sequence ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Reading Frame

ABSTRACT The pckA gene, encoding the gluconeogenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), was cloned by PCR amplification from the purple nonsulfur bacteriumRhodopseudomonas palustris No. 7. Sequencing of a 2.5-kb chromosomal SmaI-PstI fragment containing the structural gene revealed an open reading frame encoding 537 amino acids, homologous to known pckA genes. Primer extension analysis identified a transcriptional start site 72 bp upstream of thepckA initiation codon and an upstream sequence similar to ς70 promoters. Studies of a pckA-lacZ gene fusion indicated that when cells were grown in minimal media with various carbon sources, such as succinate, malate, pyruvate, lactate, or ethanol, under both anaerobic light and aerobic dark conditions, thepckA gene was induced in log phase, irrespective of the carbon source. A R. palustris No. 7 PEPCK-deficient strain showed growth characteristics identical to those of the wild-type strain either anaerobically in the light or aerobically in the dark when a C4-dicarboxylic acid, such as succinate or malate, was used as a carbon source. These results indicate that in R. palustris No. 7, an alternative gluconeogenic pathway may exist in addition to PEPCK.

Nucleotide Structure and Characterization of the Murine Gene Encoding Anticoagulant Protein C

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (02) ◽  
pp. 310-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Jalbert ◽  
Elliot Rosen ◽  
Ann Lissens ◽  
Peter Carmeliet ◽  
Désiré Collen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein C ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Consensus Sequence ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Exon 2 ◽  
Exon 1 ◽  
Translation Stop Codon

SummaryThe 15,160 bp murine gene encoding anticoagulation protein C (PC) was cloned and sequenced, including 414 bp upstream of exon 1 and 80 bp downstream of the translation stop codon. Nine exons and eight introns were identified. The first exon was untranslated and contained the major transcriptional start site, the surrounding nucleotide sequence of which matched reasonably well with the consensus eukaryotic Cap element sequence. The translational initiator methio-nine residue was located in exon 2. The other introns were positioned as splices between the major domain units of the protein. The 5’ untranslated region contained two possible CCAAT sequences and GC boxes, but no TATA box was obvious within the optimal range of distances from the transcription start site. The 3’-flanking nucleotides included a probable polyadenylation site (ATTAAA), beginning 80 nucleotides downstream of the translation stop codon, and a downstream consensus sequence (AGTGTTTC) required for the efficient formation of a 3’ terminus of mRNA. Several high probability transcription factor recognition sequences, including proteins that are enriched in, or specific to, the liver, such as C/EBP, C/EBP, HNF1, and HNF3, have been located in the 5’ region of the gene. These results indicate that all elements are present for liver-based transcription of the gene for murine PC.

scholarly journals Forespore-Specific Expression of Bacillus subtilis yqfS, Which Encodes Type IV Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease, a Component of the Base Excision Repair Pathway

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (1) ◽  
pp. 340-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norma Urtiz-Estrada ◽  
José M. Salas-Pacheco ◽  
Ronald E. Yasbin ◽  
Mario Pedraza-Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Excision Repair ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Northern Blotting ◽  
Start Codon ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Type Iv

ABSTRACT The temporal and spatial expression of the yqfS gene of Bacillus subtilis, which encodes a type IV apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease, was studied. A reporter gene fusion to the yqfS opening reading frame revealed that this gene is not transcribed during vegetative growth but is transcribed during the last steps of the sporulation process and is localized to the developing forespore compartment. In agreement with these results, yqfS mRNAs were mainly detected by both Northern blotting and reverse transcription-PCR, during the last steps of sporulation. The expression pattern of the yqfS-lacZ fusion suggested that yqfS may be an additional member of the EσG regulon. A primer extension product mapped the transcriptional start site of yqfS, 54 to 55 bp upstream of translation start codon of yqfS. Such an extension product was obtained from RNA samples of sporulating cells but not from those of vegetatively growing cells. Inspection of the nucleotide sequence lying upstream of the in vivo-mapped transcriptional yqfS start site revealed the presence of a sequence with good homology to promoters preceding genes of the σG regulon. Although yqfS expression was temporally regulated, neither oxidative damage (after either treatment with paraquat or hydrogen peroxide) nor mitomycin C treatment induced the transcription of this gene.

scholarly journals Isolation and characterization of a vinculin cDNA from chick-embryo fibroblasts

1987 ◽  
Vol 245 (2) ◽  
pp. 595-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
G J Price ◽  
P Jones ◽  
M D Davison ◽  
B Patel ◽  
I C Eperon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chick Embryo ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Tyrosine Kinases ◽  
Consensus Sequence ◽  
Coli Strain ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Internal Repeat ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Embryo Fibroblasts

A chick-embryo fibroblast lambda gt11 cDNA library was screened with affinity-purified antibodies to chick gizzard vinculin. One recombinant was purified to homogeneity and the fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli strain C600. The fusion protein was unstable, but polypeptides that reacted with vinculin antibodies, but not non-immune immunoglobulin, were detected by Western blotting. The recombinant contained a single EcoRI fragment of 2891 bp with a single open reading frame. The deduced protein sequence could be aligned with that of six CNBr-cleavage peptides and two tryptic peptides derived from chicken gizzard vinculin. AUG-247 has tentatively been identified as the initiation codon, as it is contained within the consensus sequence for initiation sites of higher eukaryotes. The cDNA lacks 3′ sequence and encodes 74% of the vinculin sequence, presuming the molecular mass of vinculin to be 130,000 Da. Analysis of the deduced sequence showed no homologies with other protein sequences, but it does display a triple internal repeat of 112 amino acid residues covering residues 259-589. The sequences surrounding the seven tyrosine residues in the available sequence were aligned with the tyrosine autophosphorylation consensus sequence found in protein tyrosine kinases. Tyr-822 showed a good match to this consensus, and may represent one of the two major sites of tyrosine phosphorylation by pp60v-sre. Northern blots showed that the 2.89 kb vinculin cDNA hybridized to one size of mRNA (approx. 7 kb) in chick-embryo fibroblasts, chick smooth muscle and chick skeletal muscle. Southern blots revealed multiple hybridizing bands in genomic DNA.

scholarly journals Characterization of PmfR, the Transcriptional Activator of the pAO1-Borne purU-mabO-folD Operon of Arthrobacter nicotinovorans

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (9) ◽  
pp. 3062-3070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calin B. Chiribau ◽  
Cristinel Sandu ◽  
Gabor L. Igloi ◽  
Roderich Brandsch
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Transcriptional Start Site ◽  
Transcriptional Activator ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Start Site ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Chloramphenicol Resistance ◽  
Nuclease Digestion ◽  
Arthrobacter Nicotinovorans

ABSTRACT Nicotine catabolism by Arthrobacter nicotinovorans is linked to the presence of the megaplasmid pAO1. Genes involved in this catabolic pathway are arranged on the plasmid into gene modules according to function. During nicotine degradation γ-N-methylaminobutyrate is formed from the pyrrolidine ring of nicotine. Analysis of the pAO1 open reading frames (ORF) resulted in identification of the gene encoding a demethylating γ-N-methylaminobutyrate oxidase (mabO). This gene was shown to form an operon with purU- and folD-like genes. Only in bacteria grown in the presence of nicotine could transcripts of the purU-mabO-folD operon be detected, demonstrating that this operon constitutes part of the pAO1 nicotine regulon. Its transcriptional start site was determined by primer extension analysis. Transcription of the operon was shown to be controlled by a new transcriptional regulator, PmfR, the product of a gene that is transcribed divergently from the purU, mabO, and folD genes. PmfR was purified, and electromobility shift assays and DNase I-nuclease digestion experiments were used to determine that its DNA binding site is located between −48 and −88 nucleotides upstream of the transcriptional start site of the operon. Disruption of pmfR by homologous recombination with a chloramphenicol resistance cassette demonstrated that PmfR acts in vivo as a transcriptional activator. Mutagenesis of the PmfR target DNA suggested that the sequence GTTT-14 bp-AAAC is the core binding site of the regulator upstream of the −35 promoter region of the purU-mabO-folD operon.

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