scholarly journals Molecular Organization of Intrinsic Restriction and Modification Genes BsuM of Bacillus subtilis Marburg

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideyuki Ohshima ◽  
Satoshi Matsuoka ◽  
Kei Asai ◽  
Yoshito Sadaie

ABSTRACT Transcriptional analysis and disruption of five open reading frames (ORFs), ydiO, ydiP, ydiR, ydiS, and ydjA, in the prophage 3 region of the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis Marburg revealed that they are component genes of the intrinsic BsuM restriction and modification system of this organism. The classical mutant strain RM125, which lacks the restriction and modification system of B. subtilis Marburg, lacks the prophage 3 region carrying these five ORFs. These ORFs constitute two operons, the ydiO-ydiP operon and the ydiR-ydiS-ydjA operon, both of which are expressed during the logarithmic phase of growth. The predicted gene products YdiO and YdiP are the orthologues of cytosine DNA methyltransferases. The predicted YdiS product is an orthologue of restriction nucleases, while the predicted YdiR and YdjA products have no apparent paralogues and orthologues whose functions are known. Disruption of the ydiR-ydiS-ydjA operon resulted in enhanced transformation by plasmid DNA carrying multiple BsuM target sequences. Disruption of ydiO or ydiP function requires disruption of at least one of the following genes on the chromosome: ydiR, ydiS, and ydjA. The degrees of methylation of the BsuM target sequences on chromosomal DNAs were estimated indirectly by determining the susceptibility to digestion with XhoI (an isoschizomer of BsuM) of DNAs extracted from the disruptant strains. Six XhoI (BsuM) sites were examined. XhoI digested at the XhoI sites in the DNAs from disruptants with disruptions in both operons, while XhoI did not digest at the XhoI sites in the DNAs from the wild-type strain or from the disruptants with disruptions in the ydiR-ydiS-ydjA operon. Therefore, the ydiO-ydiP operon and the ydiR-ydiS-ydjA operon are considered operons that are responsible for BsuM modification and BsuM restriction, respectively.

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra G. de Melo ◽  
Simon J. Labrie ◽  
Jeannot Dumaresq ◽  
Richard J. Roberts ◽  
Denise M. Tremblay ◽  
...  

Brevibacterium linens is one of the main bacteria found in the smear of surface-ripened cheeses. The genome of the industrial strain SMQ-1335 was sequenced using PacBio. It has 4,209,935 bp, a 62.6% G+C content, 3,848 open reading frames, and 61 structural RNAs. A new type I restriction-modification system was identified.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (6) ◽  
pp. 2231-2238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Zaparty ◽  
Alexander Zaigler ◽  
Claudia Stamme ◽  
Jörg Soppa ◽  
Reinhard Hensel ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In order to unravel the role of regulation on transcript level in central carbohydrate metabolism (CCM) of Thermoproteus tenax, a focused DNA microarray was constructed by using 85 open reading frames involved in CCM. A transcriptional analysis comparing heterotrophic growth on glucose versus autotrophic growth on CO2-H2 was performed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (2) ◽  
pp. 443-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Vitkute ◽  
Kornelijus Stankevicius ◽  
Giedre Tamulaitiene ◽  
Zita Maneliene ◽  
Albertas Timinskas ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Methyltransferases (MTases) of procaryotes affect general cellular processes such as mismatch repair, regulation of transcription, replication, and transposition, and in some cases may be essential for viability. As components of restriction-modification systems, they contribute to bacterial genetic diversity. The genome ofHelicobacter pylori strain 26695 contains 25 open reading frames encoding putative DNA MTases. To assess which MTase genes are active, strain 26695 genomic DNA was tested for cleavage by 147 restriction endonucleases; 24 were found that did not cleave this DNA. The specificities of 11 expressed MTases and the genes encoding them were identified from this restriction data, combined with the known sensitivities of restriction endonucleases to specific DNA modification, homology searches, gene cloning and genomic mapping of the methylated bases m4C, m5C, and m6A.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Urushibata ◽  
Shinji Tokuyama ◽  
Yasutaka Tahara

ABSTRACT The genes required for γ-polyglutamic acid (PGA) production were cloned from Bacillus subtilis IFO16449, a strain isolated from fermented soybeans. There were four open reading frames in the cloned 4.2-kb DNA fragment, and they were almost identical to those in the ywsC and ywtABC genes of B. subtlis 168. Northern blot analysis showed that the four genes constitute an operon. Three genes, ywsC, ywtA, and ywtB, were disrupted to determine which gene plays a central role in PGA biosynthesis. No PGA was produced in ΔywsC and ΔywtA strains, indicating that both of these genes are essential for PGA production. To clarify the function of the YwsC protein, histidine-tagged YwsC (YwsC-His) was produced in the ΔywsC strain and purified from the lysozyme-treated lysate of the transformant by Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid affinity chromatography. Western blot analysis revealed that the YwsC-His protein consists of two subunits, the 44-kDa and 33-kDa proteins, which are encoded by in-phase overlapping in the ywsC gene. 14C-labeled PGA was synthesized by the purified proteins from l-[14C]-glutamate in the presence of ATP and MnCl2, through an acylphosphate intermediate, indicating that the ywsC gene encodes PGA synthetase (EC 6.3.2), a crucial enzyme in PGA biosynthesis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (10) ◽  
pp. 3855-3867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Parschat ◽  
Jörg Overhage ◽  
Axel W. Strittmatter ◽  
Anke Henne ◽  
Gerhard Gottschalk ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The nucleotide sequence of the linear catabolic plasmid pAL1 from the 2-methylquinoline (quinaldine)-degrading strain Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus Rü61a comprises 112,992 bp. A total of 103 open reading frames (ORFs) were identified on pAL1, 49 of which had no annotatable function. The ORFs were assigned to the following functional groups: (i) catabolism of quinaldine and anthranilate, (ii) conjugation, and (iii) plasmid maintenance and DNA replication and repair. The genes for conversion of quinaldine to anthranilate are organized in two operons that include ORFs presumed to code for proteins involved in assembly of the quinaldine-4-oxidase holoenzyme, namely, a MobA-like putative molybdopterin cytosine dinucleotide synthase and an XdhC-like protein that could be required for insertion of the molybdenum cofactor. Genes possibly coding for enzymes involved in anthranilate degradation via 2-aminobenzoyl coenzyme A form another operon. These operons were expressed when cells were grown on quinaldine or on aromatic compounds downstream in the catabolic pathway. Single-stranded 3′ overhangs of putative replication intermediates of pAL1 were predicted to form elaborate secondary structures due to palindromic and superpalindromic terminal sequences; however, the two telomeres appear to form different structures. Sequence analysis of ORFs 101 to 103 suggested that pAL1 codes for one or two putative terminal proteins, presumed to be covalently bound to the 5′ termini, and a multidomain telomere-associated protein (Tap) comprising 1,707 amino acids. Even if the putative proteins encoded by ORFs 101 to 103 share motifs with the Tap and terminal proteins involved in telomere patching of Streptomyces linear replicons, their overall sequences and domain structures differ significantly.


2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Kwong ◽  
Chew Chieng Yeo ◽  
Antonius Suwanto ◽  
Chit Laa Poh

ABSTRACT The endogenous plasmid pRA2 from Pseudomonas alcaligenes NCIB 9867 was determined to have 32,743 bp with a G+C content of 59.8%. Sequence analysis predicted a total of 29 open reading frames, with approximately half of them contributing towards the functions of plasmid replication, mobilization, and stability. ThePac25I restriction-modification system and two mobile elements, Tn5563 and IS1633, were physically localized. An additional eight open reading frames with unknown functions were also detected. pRA2 was genetically tagged with the ΩStrr/Spcr gene cassette by homologous recombination. Intrastrain transfer of pRA2-encoded genetic markers between isogenic mutants of P. alcaligenes NCIB 9867 were observed at high frequencies (2.4 × 10−4 per donor). This transfer was determined to be mediated by a natural transformation process that required cell-cell contact and was completely sensitive to DNase I (1 mg/ml). Efficient transformation was also observed when pRA2 DNA was applied directly onto the cells, while transformation with foreign plasmid DNAs was not observed. pRA2 could be conjugally transferred into Pseudomonas putida RA713 and KT2440 recipients only when plasmid RK2/RP4 transfer functions were provided in trans. Plasmid stability analysis demonstrated that pRA2 could be stably maintained in its original host, P. alcaligenes NCIB 9867, as well as in P. putida RA713 after 100 generations of nonselective growth. Disruption of the pRA2pac25I restriction endonuclease gene did not alter plasmid stability, while the pRA2 minireplicon exhibited only partial stability. This indicates that other pRA2-encoded determinants could have significant roles in influencing plasmid stability.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (7) ◽  
pp. 2157-2164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Le Dantec ◽  
Nathalie Winter ◽  
Brigitte Gicquel ◽  
Véronique Vincent ◽  
Mathieu Picardeau

ABSTRACT Linear plasmids were unknown in mycobacteria until recently. Here, we report the complete nucleotide sequence of 23-kb linear plasmid pCLP from Mycobacterium celatum, an opportunistic pathogen. The sequence of pCLP revealed at least 19 putative open reading frames (ORFs). Expression of pCLP genes in exponential-phase cultures was determined by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). Twelve ORFs were expressed, whereas no transcription of the 7 other ORFs of pCLP was detected. Five of the 12 transcribed ORFs detected by RT-PCR are of unknown function. Sequence analysis revealed similar loci in bothM. celatum pCLP and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis chromosome, including transposase-related sequences. This result suggests horizontal transfer between these two organisms. pCLP also contains ORFs that are similar to genes of bacterial circular plasmids involved in partition (par operon) and postsegregational (pem operon) mechanisms. Functional analysis of these ORFs suggests that they probably carry out similar maintenance roles in pCLP.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (12) ◽  
pp. 3232-3241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Beier ◽  
Per Nygaard ◽  
Hanne Jarmer ◽  
Hans H. Saxild

ABSTRACT The PucR protein of Bacillus subtilis has previously been suggested to regulate the expression of 15 genes, pucABCDE, pucFG, pucH, pucI, pucJKLM, pucR, and gde, all of which encode proteins involved in purine catabolism. When cells are grown under nitrogen-limiting conditions, the expression of these genes is induced and intermediary compounds of the purine catabolic pathway affect this expression. By using pucR deletion mutants, we have found that PucR induces the expression of pucFG, pucH, pucI, pucJKLM, and gde while it represses the expression of pucR and pucABCDE. Deletions in the promoters of the five induced operons and genes combined with bioinformatic analysis suggested a conserved upstream activating sequence, 5′-WWWCNTTGGTTAA-3′, now named the PucR box. Potential PucR boxes overlapping the −35 and −10 regions of the pucABCDE promoter and located downstream of the pucR transcription start point were also found. The positions of these PucR boxes are consistent with PucR acting as a negative regulator of pucABCDE and pucR expression. Site-directed mutations in the PucR box upstream of pucH and pucI identified positions that are essential for the induction of pucH and pucI expression, respectively. Mutants with decreased pucH or increased pucR expression obtained from a library of clones containing random mutations in the pucH-to-pucR intercistronic region all contained mutations in or near the PucR box. The induction of pucR expression under nitrogen-limiting conditions was found to be mediated by the global nitrogen-regulatory protein TnrA. In other gram-positive bacteria, we have found open reading frames that encode proteins similar to PucR located next to other open reading frames encoding proteins with similarity to purine catabolic enzymes. Hence, the PucR homologues are likely to exert the same function in other gram-positive bacteria as PucR does in B. subtilis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (23) ◽  
pp. 6965-6970 ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. Horcajadas ◽  
Wilfried J. J. Meijer ◽  
Fernando Rojo ◽  
Margarita Salas

ABSTRACT Bacteriophage GA-1, which infects Bacillus sp. strain G1R, is evolutionarily related to phage φ29, which infectsBacillus subtilis. We report the characterization of several GA-1 promoters located at either end of its linear genome. Some of them are unique for GA-1 and drive the expression of open reading frames that have no counterparts in the genome of φ29 or related phages. These unique promoters are active at early infection times and are repressed at late times. In vitro transcription reactions revealed that the purified GA-1-encoded protein p6 represses the activity of these promoters, although the amount of p6 required to repress transcription was different for each promoter. The level of protein p6 produced in vivo increases rapidly during the first stage of the infection cycle. The protein p6 concentration may serve to modulate the expression of these early promoters as infection proceeds.


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