scholarly journals Direct Quantitation of the Numbers of Individual Penicillin-Binding Proteins per Cell in Staphylococcus aureus

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (2) ◽  
pp. 588-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Pucci ◽  
Thomas J. Dougherty

ABSTRACT The penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) are a set of enzymes that participate in bacterial peptidoglycan assembly. The absolute numbers of each PBP were determined by direct measurement and have been reported for two Staphylococcus aureus strains, RN4220 (methicillin-sensitive S. aureus) and RN450M (methicillin-resistant S. aureus). From the specific activity of the labeled penicillin and the absolute number of disintegrations per minute, and from the number of CFU per milliliter calculated from proteins and optical density, a determination of the number of PBPs per cell was made. These numbers ranged from approximately 150 to 825 PBPs/cell and represent the first direct determination of absolute numbers of PBPs in S. aureus.

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lipiński ◽  
Joanna Zeyland ◽  
Andrzej Pławski ◽  
Ryszard Słomski

Determination of the Absolute Number of Transgene Copies in CMVFUT Transgenic PigsThe aim of this research was to determine the number of transgene copies in the DNA of transgenic pigs. The copy number of the transgene was analysed in the transgenic animals with introduced pCMVFUT genetic construct containing a coding sequence of human H transferase under a control of CMV promoter. The copy number of the transgene that had integrated with the genome of the transgenic animals was analysed by qPCR with SYBR Green dye, which enabled nonspecific double-stranded DNA detection. CMVFT-2F and CMVFT-2R primers were used to amplify a 149 bp fragment of DNA. Forward primer had a sequence complementary to a promoter sequence and reverse primer to a coding sequence of H transferase. The copy number of the transgene in the examined samples was established by plotting the CT values obtained on a standard curve, which had been set by the usage of the CT values for the successive standard dilutions with known copy number (1.438-1.431 copies). As a standard we used pCMVFut genetic construct hydrolyzed with Not I restriction enzyme to a linear form. The real-time PCR results helped to establish the range of 3 - 4 as the number of the transgene copies that had integrated to the swine genome.


2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (39) ◽  
pp. 13664-13676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Willing ◽  
Emma Dyer ◽  
Olaf Schneewind ◽  
Dominique Missiakas

Staphylococcal peptidoglycan is characterized by pentaglycine cross-bridges that are cross-linked between adjacent wall peptides by penicillin-binding proteins to confer robustness and flexibility. In Staphylococcus aureus, pentaglycine cross-bridges are synthesized by three proteins: FemX adds the first glycine, and the homodimers FemA and FemB sequentially add two Gly-Gly dipeptides. Occasionally, serine residues are also incorporated into the cross-bridges by enzymes that have heretofore not been identified. Here, we show that the FemA/FemB homologues FmhA and FmhC pair with FemA and FemB to incorporate Gly-Ser dipeptides into cross-bridges and to confer resistance to lysostaphin, a secreted bacteriocin that cleaves the pentaglycine cross-bridge. FmhA incorporates serine residues at positions 3 and 5 of the cross-bridge. In contrast, FmhC incorporates a single serine at position 5. Serine incorporation also lowers resistance toward oxacillin, an antibiotic that targets penicillin-binding proteins, in both methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus. FmhC is encoded by a gene immediately adjacent to lytN, which specifies a hydrolase that cleaves the bond between the fifth glycine of cross-bridges and the alanine of the adjacent stem peptide. In this manner, LytN facilitates the separation of daughter cells. Cell wall damage induced upon lytN overexpression can be alleviated by overexpression of fmhC. Together, these observations suggest that FmhA and FmhC generate peptidoglycan cross-bridges with unique serine patterns that provide protection from endogenous murein hydrolases governing cell division and from bacteriocins produced by microbial competitors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Ceballos ◽  
Choon Kim ◽  
Yuanyuan Qian ◽  
Shahriar Mobashery ◽  
Mayland Chang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The in vitro activities of five quinazolinone antibacterials, compounds Q1 to Q5, were tested against 210 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The MIC50/MIC90 values (in μg/ml) were as follows: Q1, 0.5/2; Q2, 1/4; Q3, 2/4; Q4, 0.06/0.25; and Q5, 0.125/0.5. Several strains with high MIC values (from 8 to >32 μg/ml) for some of these compounds exhibited amino acid changes in the penicillin-binding proteins, which are targeted by these antibacterials.


1957 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-459
Author(s):  
J. E. McKinney ◽  
S. Edelman ◽  
R. S. Marvin

Abstract An apparatus has been developed for the direct measurement of the real and imaginary parts of the dynamic bulk modulus of solid and liquid materials over the frequency range of 50 to 10,000 cps. Piezoelectric crystals serving as driver and detector, together with the sample and a confining liquid, are contained in a cavity small compared with the wavelength of sound at these frequencies. Static pressure is superposed to eliminate the effect of small air bubbles. The complex compliances of the sample, confining liquid, and the cavity, are additive in this region, where the compliance is pure dilatation. The dynamic compliances of several natural rubber-sulfur mixtures were obtained in a preliminary evaluation of the behavior of the apparatus.


1987 ◽  
Vol 162 (2) ◽  
pp. 521-528
Author(s):  
David M. Mueller ◽  
Godfrey S. Getz

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 1238-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsufumi Koga ◽  
Chika Sugihara ◽  
Masayo Kakuta ◽  
Nobuhisa Masuda ◽  
Eiko Namba ◽  
...  

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.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document