Characterization of a new RNase HII and its essential amino acid residues in the archaeon Sulfolobus tokodaii reveals a regulatory C-terminus

ABSTRACT The P1 plasmid addiction operon (a classic toxin-antitoxin system) encodes Phd, an unstable 73-amino-acid repressor-antitoxin protein, and Doc, a stable toxin. It was previously shown by deletion analysis that the N terminus of Phd was required for repressor activity and that the C terminus was required for antitoxin activity. Since only a quarter of the protein or less was required for both activities, it was hypothesized that Phd might have a modular organization. To further test the modular hypothesis, we constructed and characterized a set of 30 point mutations in the third and fourth quarters of Phd. Four mutations (PhdA36H, V37A, I38A, and F44A) had major defects in repressor activity. Five mutations (PhdD53A, D53R, E55A, F56A, and F60A) had major defects in antitoxin activity. As predicted by the modular hypothesis, point mutations affecting each activity belonged to disjoint, rather than overlapping, sets and were separated rather than interspersed within the linear sequence. A final deletion experiment demonstrated that the C-terminal 24 amino acid residues of Phd (preceded by a methionine) retained full antitoxin activity.

Download Full-text

Primary- and secondary-structural analysis of a unique prokaryotic metallothionein from a Synechococcus sp. cyanobacterium

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bj2510691 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 251 (3) ◽

pp. 691-699 ◽

Cited By ~ 106

Author(s):

R W Olafson ◽

W D McCubbin ◽

C M Kay

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Metal Binding ◽

Helical Structure ◽

Basic Amino Acid ◽

Cysteine Residues ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

C Terminus ◽

Empirical Relations ◽

Heavy Metal Binding ◽

Synechococcus Sp

Biochemical and physiological studies of Synechococcus cyanobacteria have indicated the presence of a low-Mr heavy-metal-binding protein with marked similarity to eukaryotic metallothioneins (MTs). We report here the characterization of a Synechococcus prokaryotic MT isolated by gel-permeation and reverse-phase chromatography. The large number of variants of this molecule found during chromatographic separation could not be attributed to the presence of major isoproteins as assessed by amino acid analysis and amino acid sequencing of isoforms. Two of the latter were shown to have identical primary structures that differed substantially from the well-described eukaryotic MTs. In addition to six long-chain aliphatic residues, two aromatic residues were found adjacent to one another near the centre of the molecule, making this the most hydrophobic MT to be described. Other unusual features included a pair of histidine residues located in repeating Gly-His-Thr-Gly sequences near the C-terminus and a complete lack of association of hydroxylated residues with cysteine residues, as is commonly found in eukaryotes. Similarly, aside from a single lysine residue, no basic amino acid residues were found adjacent to cysteine residues in the sequence. Most importantly, sequence alignment analyses with mammalian, invertebrate and fungal MT sequences showed no statistically significant homology aside from the presence of Cys-Xaa-Cys structures common to all MTs. On the other hand, like other MTs, the prokaryotic molecule appears to be free of alpha-helical structure but has a considerable amount of beta-structure, as predicted by both c.d. measurements and the Chou & Fasman empirical relations. Considered together, these data suggested that some similarity between the metal-thiolate clusters of the prokaryote and eukaryote MTs may exist.

Download Full-text

Identification and characterization of amphibian SLC26A5 using RNA-Seq

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/s12864-021-07798-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Zhongying Wang ◽

Qixuan Wang ◽

Hao Wu ◽

Zhiwu Huang

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Inner Ear ◽

Hair Cells ◽

Rana Catesbeiana ◽

Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

Rna Seq ◽

American Bullfrog ◽

Frog Species

Abstract Background Prestin (SLC26A5) is responsible for acute sensitivity and frequency selectivity in the vertebrate auditory system. Limited knowledge of prestin is from experiments using site-directed mutagenesis or domain-swapping techniques after the amino acid residues were identified by comparing the sequence of prestin to those of its paralogs and orthologs. Frog prestin is the only representative in amphibian lineage and the studies of it were quite rare with only one species identified. Results Here we report a new coding sequence of SLC26A5 for a frog species, Rana catesbeiana (the American bullfrog). In our study, the SLC26A5 gene of Rana has been mapped, sequenced and cloned successively using RNA-Seq. We measured the nonlinear capacitance (NLC) of prestin both in the hair cells of Rana’s inner ear and HEK293T cells transfected with this new coding gene. HEK293T cells expressing Rana prestin showed electrophysiological features similar to that of hair cells from its inner ear. Comparative studies of zebrafish, chick, Rana and an ancient frog species showed that chick and zebrafish prestin lacked NLC. Ancient frog’s prestin was functionally different from Rana. Conclusions We mapped and sequenced the SLC26A5 of the Rana catesbeiana from its inner ear cDNA using RNA-Seq. The Rana SLC26A5 cDNA was 2292 bp long, encoding a polypeptide of 763 amino acid residues, with 40% identity to mammals. This new coding gene could encode a functionally active protein conferring NLC to both frog HCs and the mammalian cell line. While comparing to its orthologs, the amphibian prestin has been evolutionarily changing its function and becomes more advanced than avian and teleost prestin.

Download Full-text

Deletion of the Actin-Associated Tropomyosin Tpm3 Leads to Reduced Cell Complexity in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons—New Insights into the Role of the C-Terminal Region of Tpm3.1

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10030715 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 715

Author(s):

Tamara Tomanić ◽

Claire Martin ◽

Holly Stefen ◽

Esmeralda Parić ◽

Peter Gunning ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Hippocampal Neurons ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Growth Cones ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

Terminal Amino Acid ◽

C Terminus ◽

Primary Mouse ◽

Terminal Amino

Tropomyosins (Tpms) have been described as master regulators of actin, with Tpm3 products shown to be involved in early developmental processes, and the Tpm3 isoform Tpm3.1 controlling changes in the size of neuronal growth cones and neurite growth. Here, we used primary mouse hippocampal neurons of C57/Bl6 wild type and Bl6Tpm3flox transgenic mice to carry out morphometric analyses in response to the absence of Tpm3 products, as well as to investigate the effect of C-terminal truncation on the ability of Tpm3.1 to modulate neuronal morphogenesis. We found that the knock-out of Tpm3 leads to decreased neurite length and complexity, and that the deletion of two amino acid residues at the C-terminus of Tpm3.1 leads to more detrimental changes in neurite morphology than the deletion of six amino acid residues. We also found that Tpm3.1 that lacks the 6 C-terminal amino acid residues does not associate with stress fibres, does not segregate to the tips of neurites, and does not impact the amount of the filamentous actin pool at the axonal growth cones, as opposed to Tpm3.1, which lacks the two C-terminal amino acid residues. Our study provides further insight into the role of both Tpm3 products and the C-terminus of Tpm3.1, and it forms the basis for future studies that aim to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying Tpm3.1 targeting to different subcellular compartments.

Download Full-text

Analysis of essential amino acid residues for catalytic activity of cis-epoxysuccinate hydrolase from Bordetella sp. BK-52

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology ◽

10.1007/s00253-013-5019-2 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 98 (4) ◽

pp. 1641-1649 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Wenna Bao ◽

Haifeng Pan ◽

Zhenhong Zhang ◽

Yongqing Cheng ◽

Zhipeng Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Catalytic Activity ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Essential Amino Acid ◽

Amino Acid Residues

Download Full-text

Identification of an Essential Amino Acid Motif within the C Terminus of the Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-activating Polypeptide Type I Receptor That Is Critical for Signal Transduction but Not for Receptor Internalization

Journal of Biological Chemistry ◽

10.1074/jbc.m004612200 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 275 (46) ◽

pp. 36134-36142 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Rong-Ming Lyu ◽

Patrizia M. Germano ◽

Joon Ki Choi ◽

Sang V. Le ◽

Joseph R. Pisegna

Keyword(s):

Signal Transduction ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Adenylate Cyclase ◽

Essential Amino Acid ◽

Receptor Internalization ◽

Type I ◽

Amino Acid Motif ◽

C Terminus ◽

Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase

Download Full-text

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Bifidobacterium bifidum 1,2-α-l-Fucosidase (AfcA), a Novel Inverting Glycosidase (Glycoside Hydrolase Family 95)

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.186.15.4885-4893.2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 186 (15) ◽

pp. 4885-4893 ◽

Cited By ~ 154

Author(s):

Takane Katayama ◽

Akiko Sakuma ◽

Takatoshi Kimura ◽

Yutaka Makimura ◽

Jun Hiratake ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Genomic Library ◽

Bifidobacterium Bifidum ◽

Glycoside Hydrolases ◽

Glycoside Hydrolase Family ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

Gene Encoding ◽

Sugar Chain ◽

Hydrolysis Of

ABSTRACT A genomic library of Bifidobacterium bifidum constructed in Escherichia coli was screened for the ability to hydrolyze the α-(1→2) linkage of 2′-fucosyllactose, and a gene encoding 1,2-α-l-fucosidase (AfcA) was isolated. The afcA gene was found to comprise 1,959 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 205 kDa and containing a signal peptide and a membrane anchor at the N and C termini, respectively. A domain responsible for fucosidase activity (the Fuc domain; amino acid residues 577 to 1474) was localized by deletion analysis and then purified as a hexahistidine-tagged protein. The recombinant Fuc domain specifically hydrolyzed the terminal α-(1→2)-fucosidic linkages of various oligosaccharides and a sugar chain of a glycoprotein. The stereochemical course of the hydrolysis of 2′-fucosyllactose was determined to be inversion by using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance. The primary structure of the Fuc domain exhibited no similarity to those of any glycoside hydrolases (GHs) but showed high similarity to those of several hypothetical proteins in a database. Thus, it was revealed that the AfcA protein constitutes a novel inverting GH family (GH family 95).

Download Full-text

Identification and in silico characterization of hemocyanin γ-type subunit protein in Vibrio harveyi infected freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Journal of Environmental Biology ◽

10.22438/jeb/42/1/mrn-1608 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 14-23

Author(s):

B.B. Patnaik ◽

◽

S. Baliarsingh ◽

S. Sahoo ◽

J.M. Chung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

In Silico ◽

Vibrio Harveyi ◽

Macrobrachium Rosenbergii ◽

Full Length ◽

Freshwater Prawn ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

Subunit Protein ◽

In Silico Tools

Aim: Identification of full-length ORF of hemocyanin subunit-1 (Mr_HC_1) from the hepatopancreas transcriptome of freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii infected with Vibrio harveyi and characterization of its sequence and structure by in silico tools and softwares. Methodology: Illumina HiSeq and de novo assembled unigenes were scanned against PANM-DB to screen Mr_HC_1. FGENESH gene prediction and SMART programs were used to predict the ORF region. Subsequently, Clustal X2 and MEGA in-silico tools were used to understand the sequence relatedness and evolutionary status of Mr_HC_1. Structural prediction was performed by SWISS-MODEL and Ramachandran plot modeling programs Results: The full-length ORF was 1983 bp in length encoding a polypeptide of 661 amino acid residues. Mr_HC_1 showed a putative signal peptide of 21 amino acid residues at the N-terminus and three hemocyanin domains. Homology analysis of Mr_HC_1 amino acid sequence confirms maximum identity to M. nipponense hemocyanin subunit-1 (Mn_HC_1). Phylogenetic analysis showed that Mr_HC_1 is more closely related to the hemocyanin γ-type subunit of freshwater shrimps. Homology modeling of Mr_HC_1 showed homo-hexameric protein containing 12 copper ions. With a QMEAN score of -3.33 and model-template sequence identity of 59.15%, the predicted model of Mr_HC_1 is convincing Interpretation: This study characterizes the hemocyanin γ-type subunit protein of freshwater prawn, M. rosenbergii for future studies on host defense mechanisms.

Download Full-text