scholarly journals Secretion of LamB-LacZ by the Signal Recognition Particle Pathway of Escherichia coli

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (19) ◽  
pp. 5697-5705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Wilson Bowers ◽  
Fion Lau ◽  
Thomas J. Silhavy

ABSTRACT LamB-LacZ fusion proteins have classically been used in studies of the general secretion pathway of Escherichia coli. Here we describe how increasing signal sequence hydrophobicity routes LamB-LacZ Hyb42-1 to the signal recognition particle (SRP) pathway. Secretion of this hydrophobic fusion variant (H*LamB-LacZ) was reduced in the absence of fully functional Ffh and Ffs, and the translocator jamming caused by Hyb42-1 was prevented by efficient delivery of the fusion to the periplasm. Finally, we found that in the absence of the ribosome-associated chaperone, trigger factor (Tig), LamB-LacZ localized to the periplasm in a SecA-dependent, SRP-independent fashion. Collectively, our results provide compelling in vivo evidence that there is an SRP-dependent cotranslational targeting mechanism in E. coli and argue against a role for trigger factor in pathway discrimination.

2003 ◽  
Vol 163 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gottfried Eisner ◽  
Hans-Georg Koch ◽  
Konstanze Beck ◽  
Joseph Brunner ◽  
Matthias Müller

We have systematically analyzed the molecular environment of the signal sequence of a growing secretory protein from Escherichia coli using a stage- and site-specific cross-linking approach. Immediately after emerging from the ribosome, the signal sequence of pOmpA is accessible to Ffh, the protein component of the bacterial signal recognition particle, and to SecA, but it remains attached to the surface of the ribosome via protein L23. These contacts are lost upon further growth of the nascent chain, which brings the signal sequence into sole proximity to the chaperone Trigger factor (TF). In its absence, nascent pOmpA shows extended contacts with L23, and even long chains interact in these conditions proficiently with Ffh. Our results suggest that upon emergence from the ribosome, the signal sequence of an E. coli secretory protein gradually becomes sequestered by TF. Although TF thereby might control the accessibility of pOmpA's signal sequence to Ffh and SecA, it does not influence interaction of pOmpA with SecB.


2002 ◽  
Vol 159 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anat A. Herskovits ◽  
Eyal Shimoni ◽  
Abraham Minsky ◽  
Eitan Bibi

In Escherichia coli, ribosomes must interact with translocons on the membrane for the proper integration of newly synthesized membrane proteins, cotranslationally. Previous in vivo studies indicated that unlike the E. coli signal recognition particle (SRP), the SRP receptor FtsY is required for membrane targeting of ribosomes. Accordingly, a putative SRP-independent, FtsY-mediated ribosomal targeting pathway has been suggested (Herskovits, A.A., E.S. Bochkareva, and E. Bibi. 2000. Mol. Microbiol. 38:927–939). However, the nature of the early contact of ribosomes with the membrane, and the involvement of FtsY in this interaction are unknown. Here we show that in cells depleted of the SRP protein, Ffh or the translocon component SecE, the ribosomal targeting pathway is blocked downstream and unprecedented, membrane-bound FtsY–ribosomal complexes are captured. Concurrently, under these conditions, novel, ribosome-loaded intracellular membrane structures are formed. We propose that in the absence of a functional SRP or translocon, ribosomes remain jammed at their primary membrane docking site, whereas FtsY-dependent ribosomal targeting to the membrane continues. The accumulation of FtsY-ribosome complexes induces the formation of intracellular membranes needed for their quantitative accommodation. Our results with E. coli, in conjunction with recent observations made with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, raise the possibility that the SRP receptor–mediated formation of intracellular membrane networks is governed by evolutionarily conserved principles.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 2728-2734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Bradshaw ◽  
Peter Walter

The RNA component of the signal recognition particle (SRP) is universally required for cotranslational protein targeting. Biochemical studies have shown that SRP RNA participates in the central step of protein targeting by catalyzing the interaction of the SRP with the SRP receptor (SR). SRP RNA also accelerates GTP hydrolysis in the SRP·SR complex once formed. Using a reverse-genetic and biochemical analysis, we identified mutations in the E. coli SRP protein, Ffh, that abrogate the activity of the SRP RNA and cause corresponding targeting defects in vivo. The mutations in Ffh that disrupt SRP RNA activity map to regions that undergo dramatic conformational changes during the targeting reaction, suggesting that the activity of the SRP RNA is linked to the major conformational changes in the signal sequence-binding subunit of the SRP. In this way, the SRP RNA may coordinate the interaction of the SRP and the SR with ribosome recruitment and transfer to the translocon, explaining why the SRP RNA is an indispensable component of the protein targeting machinery.


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.


2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 884-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuyo Nishihara ◽  
Masaaki Kanemori ◽  
Hideki Yanagi ◽  
Takashi Yura

ABSTRACT To examine the effects of overexpression of trigger factor (TF) on recombinant proteins produced in Escherichia coli, we constructed plasmids that permitted controlled expression of TF alone or together with the GroEL-GroES chaperones. The following three proteins that are prone to aggregation were tested as targets: mouse endostatin, human oxygen-regulated protein ORP150, and human lysozyme. The results revealed that TF overexpression had marked effects on the production of these proteins in soluble forms, presumably through facilitating correct folding. Whereas overexpression of TF alone was sufficient to prevent aggregation of endostatin, overexpression of TF together with GroEL-GroES was more effective for ORP150 and lysozyme, suggesting that TF and GroEL-GroES play synergistic roles in vivo. Although coexpression of the DnaK-DnaJ-GrpE chaperones was also effective for endostatin and ORP150, coexpression of TF and GroEL-GroES was more effective for lysozyme. These results attest to the usefulness of the present expression plasmids for improving protein production inE. coli.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (14) ◽  
pp. 4975-4983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine A. Legaree ◽  
Calvin B. Adams ◽  
Anthony J. Clarke

ABSTRACT Penicillin-binding protein 2 (PBP 2) has long been known to be essential for rod-shaped morphology in gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the course of earlier studies with P. aeruginosa PBP 2, we observed that E. coli was sensitive to the overexpression of its gene, pbpA. In this study, we examined E. coli overproducing both P. aeruginosa and E. coli PBP 2. Growth of cells entered a stationary phase soon after induction of gene expression, and cells began to lyse upon prolonged incubation. Concomitant with the growth retardation, cells were observed to have changed morphologically from typical rods into enlarged spheres. Inactive derivatives of the PBP 2s were engineered, involving site-specific replacement of their catalytic Ser residues with Ala in their transpeptidase module. Overproduction of these inactive PBPs resulted in identical effects. Likewise, overproduction of PBP 2 derivatives possessing only their N-terminal non-penicillin-binding module (i.e., lacking their C-terminal transpeptidase module) produced similar effects. However, E. coli overproducing engineered derivatives of PBP 2 lacking their noncleavable, N-terminal signal sequence and membrane anchor were found to grow and divide at the same rate as control cells. The morphological effects and lysis were also eliminated entirely when overproduction of PBP 2 and variants was conducted with E. coli MHD79, a strain lacking six lytic transglycosylases. A possible interaction between the N-terminal domain of PBP 2 and lytic transglycosylases in vivo through the formation of multienzyme complexes is discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (19) ◽  
pp. 5706-5713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clark F. Schierle ◽  
Mehmet Berkmen ◽  
Damon Huber ◽  
Carol Kumamoto ◽  
Dana Boyd ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Escherichia coli cytoplasmic protein thioredoxin 1 can be efficiently exported to the periplasmic space by the signal sequence of the DsbA protein (DsbAss) but not by the signal sequence of alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) or maltose binding protein (MBP). Using mutations of the signal recognition particle (SRP) pathway, we found that DsbAss directs thioredoxin 1 to the SRP export pathway. When DsbAss is fused to MBP, MBP also is directed to the SRP pathway. We show directly that the DsbAss-promoted export of MBP is largely cotranslational, in contrast to the mode of MBP export when the native signal sequence is utilized. However, both the export of thioredoxin 1 by DsbAss and the export of DsbA itself are quite sensitive to even the slight inhibition of SecA. These results suggest that SecA may be essential for both the slow posttranslational pathway and the SRP-dependent cotranslational pathway. Finally, probably because of its rapid folding in the cytoplasm, thioredoxin provides, along with gene fusion approaches, a sensitive assay system for signal sequences that utilize the SRP pathway.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (7) ◽  
pp. 2777-2786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoping Ren ◽  
Xi Wang ◽  
Shufeng Hao ◽  
Hongyu Hu ◽  
Chih-chen Wang

ABSTRACT α-Synuclein is a major component of Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease. Although no signal sequence is apparent, α-synuclein expressed in Escherichia coli is mostly located in the periplasm. The possibilities that α-synuclein translocated into the periplasm across the inner membrane by the SecA or the Tat targeting route identified in bacteria and that α-synuclein was released through MscL were excluded. The signal recognition particle-dependent pathway is involved in the translocation of α-synuclein. The C-terminal 99-to-140 portion of the α-synuclein molecule plays a signal-like role for its translocation into the periplasm, cooperating with the central 61-to-95 section. The N-terminal 1-to-60 region is not required for this translocation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (9) ◽  
pp. 2983-2991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon Huber ◽  
Dana Boyd ◽  
Yu Xia ◽  
Michael H. Olma ◽  
Mark Gerstein ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We have previously reported that the DsbA signal sequence promotes efficient, cotranslational translocation of the cytoplasmic protein thioredoxin-1 via the bacterial signal recognition particle (SRP) pathway. However, two commonly used signal sequences, those of PhoA and MalE, which promote export by a posttranslational mechanism, do not export thioredoxin. We proposed that this difference in efficiency of export was due to the rapid folding of thioredoxin in the cytoplasm; cotranslational export by the DsbA signal sequence avoids the problem of cytoplasmic folding (C. F. Schierle, M. Berkmen, D. Huber, C. Kumamoto, D. Boyd, and J. Beckwith, J. Bacteriol. 185 :5706-5713, 2003). Here, we use thioredoxin as a reporter to distinguish SRP-dependent from non-SRP-dependent cleavable signal sequences. We screened signal sequences exhibiting a range of hydrophobicity values based on a method that estimates hydrophobicity. Successive iterations of screening and refining the method defined a threshold hydrophobicity required for SRP recognition. While all of the SRP-dependent signal sequences identified were above this threshold, there were also a few signal sequences above the threshold that did not utilize the SRP pathway. These results suggest that a simple measure of the hydrophobicity of a signal sequence is an important but not a sufficient indicator for SRP recognition. In addition, by fusing a number of both classes of signal sequences to DsbA, we found that DsbA utilizes an SRP-dependent signal sequence to achieve efficient export to the periplasm. Our results suggest that those proteins found to be exported by SRP-dependent signal sequences may require this mode of export because of their tendency to fold rapidly in the cytoplasm.


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