scholarly journals Sequences near the Active Site in Chimeric Penicillin Binding Proteins 5 and 6 Affect Uniform Morphology of Escherichia coli

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (7) ◽  
pp. 2178-2186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anindya S. Ghosh ◽  
Kevin D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Globular Domain ◽  
Morphological Effect ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
Terminal Amino ◽  
Domain I

ABSTRACT Penicillin binding protein (PBP) 5, a dd-carboxypeptidase that removes the terminal d-alanine from peptide side chains of peptidoglycan, plays an important role in creating and maintaining the uniform cell shape of Escherichia coli. PBP 6, a highly similar homologue, cannot substitute for PBP 5 in this respect. Previously, we localized the shape-maintaining characteristics of PBP 5 to the globular domain that contains the active site (domain I), where PBPs 5 and 6 share substantial identity. To identify the specific segment of domain I responsible for shape control, we created a set of hybrids and determined which ones complemented the aberrant morphology of a misshapen PBP mutant, E. coli CS703-1. Fusion proteins were constructed in which 47, 199 and 228 amino-terminal amino acids of one PBP were fused to the corresponding carboxy-terminal amino acids of the other. The morphological phenotype was reversed only by hybrid proteins containing PBP 5 residues 200 to 228, which are located next to the KTG motif of the active site. Because residues 220 to 228 were identical in these proteins, the morphological effect was determined by alterations in amino acids 200 to 219. To confirm the importance of this segment, we constructed mosaic proteins in which these 20 amino acids were grafted from PBP 5 into PBP 6 and vice versa. The PBP 6/5/6 mosaic complemented the aberrant morphology of CS703-1, whereas PBP 5/6/5 did not. Site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated that the Asp218 and Lys219 residues were important for shape maintenance by these mosaic PBPs, but the same mutations in wild-type PBP 5 did not eliminate its shape-promoting activity. Homologous enzymes from five other bacteria also complemented the phenotype of CS703-1. The overall conclusion is that creation of a bacterial cell of regular diameter and uniform contour apparently depends primarily on a slight alteration of the enzymatic activity or substrate accessibility at the active site of E. coli PBP 5.

scholarly journals Roles of the C-Terminal Amino Acids of Non-Hexameric Helicases: Insights from Escherichia coli UvrD

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1018
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Yokota
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
E Coli ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Terminal Amino

Helicases are nucleic acid-unwinding enzymes that are involved in the maintenance of genome integrity. Several parts of the amino acid sequences of helicases are very similar, and these quite well-conserved amino acid sequences are termed “helicase motifs”. Previous studies by X-ray crystallography and single-molecule measurements have suggested a common underlying mechanism for their function. These studies indicate the role of the helicase motifs in unwinding nucleic acids. In contrast, the sequence and length of the C-terminal amino acids of helicases are highly variable. In this paper, I review past and recent studies that proposed helicase mechanisms and studies that investigated the roles of the C-terminal amino acids on helicase and dimerization activities, primarily on the non-hexermeric Escherichia coli (E. coli) UvrD helicase. Then, I center on my recent study of single-molecule direct visualization of a UvrD mutant lacking the C-terminal 40 amino acids (UvrDΔ40C) used in studies proposing the monomer helicase model. The study demonstrated that multiple UvrDΔ40C molecules jointly participated in DNA unwinding, presumably by forming an oligomer. Thus, the single-molecule observation addressed how the C-terminal amino acids affect the number of helicases bound to DNA, oligomerization, and unwinding activity, which can be applied to other helicases.

scholarly journals Molecular Characterization of the Acid-Inducible asr Gene of Escherichia coli and Its Role in Acid Stress Response

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (8) ◽  
pp. 2475-2484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaida Šeputienė ◽  
Domantas Motiejūnas ◽  
Kęstutis Sužiedėlis ◽  
Henrik Tomenius ◽  
Staffan Normark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Signal Peptide ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Acid Stress ◽  
Acid Tolerance ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Acid Shock

ABSTRACT Enterobacteria have developed numerous constitutive and inducible strategies to sense and adapt to an external acidity. These molecular responses require dozens of specific acid shock proteins (ASPs), as shown by genomic and proteomic analysis. Most of the ASPs remain poorly characterized, and their role in the acid response and survival is unknown. We recently identified an Escherichia coli gene, asr (acid shock RNA), encoding a protein of unknown function, which is strongly induced by high environmental acidity (pH < 5.0). We show here that Asr is required for growth at moderate acidity (pH 4.5) as well as for the induction of acid tolerance at moderate acidity, as shown by its ability to survive subsequent transfer to extreme acidity (pH 2.0). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western analysis of acid-shocked E. coli cells harboring a plasmid-borne asr gene demonstrated that the Asr protein is synthesized as a precursor with an apparent molecular mass of 18 kDa. Mutational studies of the asr gene also demonstrated the Asr preprotein contains 102 amino acids. This protein is subjected to an N-terminal cleavage of the signal peptide and a second processing event, yielding 15- and 8-kDa products, respectively. Only the 8-kDa polypeptide was detected in acid-shocked cells containing only the chromosomal copy of the asr gene. N-terminal sequencing and site-directed mutagenesis revealed the two processing sites in the Asr protein precursor. Deletion of amino acids encompassing the processing site required for release of the 8-kDa protein resulted in an acid-sensitive phenotype similar to that observed for the asr null mutant, suggesting that the 8-kDa product plays an important role in the adaptation to acid shock. Analysis of Asr:PhoA fusions demonstrated a periplasmic location for the Asr protein after removal of the signal peptide. Homologues of the asr gene from other Enterobacteriaceae were cloned and shown to be induced in E. coli under acid shock conditions.

scholarly journals Identification of Arg-12 in the active site of Escherichia coli K1 CMP-sialic acid synthetase

1999 ◽  
Vol 343 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. STOUGHTON ◽  
Gerardo ZAPATA ◽  
Robert PICONE ◽  
Willie F. VANN
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Sialic Acid ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Positive Charge ◽  
Enzymic Activity ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Steady State Kinetic ◽  
State Kinetic ◽  
Escherichia Coli K1

Escherichia coli K1 CMP-sialic acid synthetase catalyses the synthesis of CMP-sialic acid from CTP and sialic acid. The active site of the 418 amino acid E. coli enzyme was localized to its N-terminal half. The bacterial CMP-sialic acid synthetase enzymes have a conserved motif, IAIIPARXXSKGLXXKN, at their N-termini. Several basic residues have been identified at or near the active site of the E. coli enzyme by chemical modification and site-directed mutagenesis. Only one of the lysines in the N-terminal motif, Lys-21, appears to be essential for activity. Mutation of Lys-21 in the N-terminal motif results in an inactive enzyme. Furthermore, Arg-12 of the N-terminal motif appears to be an active-site residue, based on the following evidence. Substituting Arg-12 with glycine or alanine resulted in inactive enzymes, indicating that this residue is required for enzymic activity. The Arg-12 → Lys mutant was partially active, demonstrating that a positive charge is required at this site. Steady-state kinetic analysis reveals changes in kcat, Km and Ks for CTP, which implicates Arg-12 in catalysis and substrate binding.

scholarly journals Mistranslation of a TGA termination codon as tryptophan in recombinant platelet-derived growth factor expressed in Escherichia coli

1995 ◽  
Vol 309 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
K V Lu ◽  
M F Rohde ◽  
A R Thomason ◽  
W C Kenney ◽  
H S Lu
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Growth Factor ◽  
Translation Termination ◽  
Termination Codon ◽  
Platelet Derived Growth Factor ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Translation Termination Codon ◽  
Terminal Amino

The mature 109-amino-acid human platelet-derived growth factor B (PDGF-B) peptide is derived by intracellular processing from a 241-amino-acid precursor synthesized in mammalian cells, with removal of 81 N-terminal and 51 C-terminal amino acids. In order to produce directly the mature 109-amino acid PDGF-B peptide as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli, a CGA codon at position 110 of a DNA sequence encoding the full-length precursor form of PDGF-B was converted into the translation termination codon TGA by in vitro mutagenesis. Expression of this DNA via a plasmid vector in E. coli resulted in production of two distinct PDGF-B proteins having apparent molecular masses of 15 and 19 kDa, with the latter species predominating. Structural characterization employing N- and C-terminal amino acid sequencing and MS analyses indicated that the 15 kDa protein is the expected 109-amino-acid PDGF-B, and that the 19 kDa protein represents a C-terminal extended PDGF-B containing 160 amino acids. Characterization of a unique tryptic peptide derived from the 19 kDa protein revealed that this longer form of PDGF-B results from mistranslation of the introduced TGA termination codon at position 110 as tryptophan, with translation subsequently proceeding to the naturally occurring TAG termination codon at position 161. Owing to the high rate of translation readthrough of TGA codons in this and occasionally other proteins, it appears that the use of TGA as a translation termination codon for proteins to be expressed in E. coli should be avoided when possible.

Effects of amino acid substitutions at the active site in Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase.

Genetics ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 637-644
Author(s):  
C G Cupples ◽  
J H Miller
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Amino Acid Substitutions ◽  
Lacz Gene ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Proteins ◽  
Beta Galactosidase

Abstract Forty-nine amino acid substitutions were made at four positions in the Escherichia coli enzyme beta-galactosidase; three of the four targeted amino acids are thought to be part of the active site. Many of the substitutions were made by converting the appropriate codon in lacZ to an amber codon, and using one of 12 suppressor strains to introduce the replacement amino acid. Glu-461 and Tyr-503 were replaced, independently, with 13 amino acids. All 26 of the strains containing mutant enzymes are Lac-. Enzyme activity is reduced to less than 10% of wild type by substitutions at Glu-461 and to less than 1% of wild type by substitutions at Tyr-503. Many of the mutant enzymes have less than 0.1% wild-type activity. His-464 and Met-3 were replaced with 11 and 12 amino acids, respectively. Strains containing any one of these mutant proteins are Lac+. The results support previous evidence that Glu-461 and Tyr-503 are essential for catalysis, and suggest that His-464 is not part of the active site. Site-directed mutagenesis was facilitated by construction of an f1 bacteriophage containing the complete lacZ gene on a single EcoRI fragment.

scholarly journals The effect of replacing the conserved active-site residues His-264, Asp-312 and Arg-314 on the binding and catalytic properties of Escherichia coli citrate synthase

1994 ◽  
Vol 300 (3) ◽  
pp. 765-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
W J Man ◽  
Y Li ◽  
C D O'Connor ◽  
D C Wilton
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Catalytic Mechanism ◽  
Citrate Synthase ◽  
Salt Bridge ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Rate Limiting Step ◽  
Rate Limiting

The first step in the overall catalytic mechanism of citrate synthase is the binding and polarization of oxaloacetate. Active-site residues Arg-314, Asp-312 and His-264 in Escherichia coli citrate synthase, which are involved in oxaloacetate binding, were converted by site-directed mutagenesis to Gln-314, Asn-312 and Asn-264 respectively. The R314Q and D312N mutants expressed negligible overall catalytic activity at pH 8.0, the normal assay pH, but substantial activities for the partial reactions that reflect the cleavage and hydrolysis of the substrate intermediate citryl-CoA. However, when the pH was lowered to 7.0, the overall reaction of the mutants became significant, in contrast to the wild-type enzyme, whereas the two mutants exhibited reduced activities for the partial reactions. This result is consistent with the existence of a rate-limiting step between the two partial reactions for these mutants that is pH-dependent. The Km for oxaloacetate for the two mutants was increased 10-fold and was paralleled by an increase in the Km for citryl-CoA, whereas the Km for acetyl-CoA was increased only 2-fold. Overall, there was a striking parallel between the results obtained for these two mutants, which suggests that they are functionally linked in the E. coli enzyme. The equivalent of these two residues form a salt bridge in the pig heart citrate synthase crystal structure. The H264N mutant, in which the amide nitrogen of asparagine should mimic the delta-nitrogen of histidine, showed negligible activity in terms of both overall and partial catalysis, which may result from a hindrance of conformational change upon oxaloacetate binding. The affinity of this mutant for oxaloacetate appeared to be greatly reduced when investigated using indirect fluorescence and chemical modification techniques.

scholarly journals The rfaE Gene from Escherichia coli Encodes a Bifunctional Protein Involved in Biosynthesis of the Lipopolysaccharide Core Precursor ADP-l-glycero-d-manno-Heptose

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (2) ◽  
pp. 488-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A. Valvano ◽  
Cristina L. Marolda ◽  
Mauricio Bittner ◽  
Mike Glaskin-Clay ◽  
Tania L. Simon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Predicted Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
E Coli ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Domain I

ABSTRACT The intermediate steps in the biosynthesis of the ADP-l-glycero-d-manno-heptose precursor of inner core lipopolysaccharide (LPS) are not yet elucidated. We isolated a mini-Tn10 insertion that confers a heptoseless LPS phenotype in the chromosome of Escherichia coli K-12. The mutation was in a gene homologous to the previously reported rfaE gene from Haemophilus influenzae. The E. coli rfaE gene was cloned into an expression vector, and an in vitro transcription-translation experiment revealed a polypeptide of approximately 55 kDa in mass. Comparisons of the predicted amino acid sequence with other proteins in the database showed the presence of two clearly separate domains. Domain I (amino acids 1 to 318) shared structural features with members of the ribokinase family, while Domain II (amino acids 344 to 477) had conserved features of the cytidylyltransferase superfamily that includes the aut gene product of Ralstonia eutrophus. Each domain was expressed individually, demonstrating that only Domain I could complement therfaE::Tn10 mutation in E. coli, as well as the rfaE543 mutation ofSalmonella enterica SL1102. DNA sequencing of therfaE543 gene revealed that Domain I had one amino acid substitution and a 12-bp in-frame deletion resulting in the loss of four amino acids, while Domain II remained intact. We also demonstrated that the aut::Tn5 mutation inR. eutrophus is associated with heptoseless LPS, and this phenotype was restored following the introduction of a plasmid expressing the E. coli Domain II. Thus, both domains ofrfaE are functionally different and genetically separable confirming that the encoded protein is bifunctional. We propose that Domain I is involved in the synthesis ofd-glycero-d-manno-heptose 1-phosphate, whereas Domain II catalyzes the ADP transfer to form ADP-d-glycero-d-manno-heptose.

scholarly journals A genetically detoxified derivative of heat-labile Escherichia coli enterotoxin induces neutralizing antibodies against the A subunit.

1994 ◽  
Vol 180 (6) ◽  
pp. 2147-2153 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Pizza ◽  
M R Fontana ◽  
M M Giuliani ◽  
M Domenighini ◽  
C Magagnoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cholera Toxin ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Heat Labile ◽  
A Subunit ◽  
Adp Ribosyltransferase ◽  
Derivatives Of

Escherichia coli enterotoxin (LT) and the homologous cholera toxin (CT) are A-B toxins that cause travelers' diarrhea and cholera, respectively. So far, experimental live and killed vaccines against these diseases have been developed using only the nontoxic B portion of these toxins. The enzymatically active A subunit has not been used because it is responsible for the toxicity and it is reported to induce a negligible titer of toxin neutralizing antibodies. We used site-directed mutagenesis to inactivate the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of the A subunit and obtained nontoxic derivatives of LT that elicited a good titer of neutralizing antibodies recognizing the A subunit. These LT mutants and equivalent mutants of CT may be used to improve live and killed vaccines against cholera and enterotoxinogenic E. coli.

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