scholarly journals TheNitrosopumilus maritimusCdvB, but Not FtsZ, Assembles into Polymers

Archaea ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kian-Hong Ng ◽  
Vinayaka Srinivas ◽  
Ramanujam Srinivasan ◽  
Mohan Balasubramanian
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Heterologous Expression ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Heterologous Expression System

Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota are two major phyla of archaea which use distinct molecular apparatuses for cell division. Euryarchaea make use of the tubulin-related protein FtsZ, while Crenarchaea, which appear to lack functional FtsZ, employ the Cdv (cell division) components to divide. Ammonia oxidizing archaeon (AOA)Nitrosopumilus maritimusbelongs to another archaeal phylum, the Thaumarchaeota, which has both FtsZ and Cdv genes in the genome. Here, we used a heterologous expression system to characterize FtsZ and Cdv proteins fromN. maritimusby investigating the ability of these proteins to form polymers. We show that one of the Cdv proteins inN. maritimus, the CdvB (Nmar_0816), is capable of forming stable polymers when expressed in fission yeast. TheN. maritimusCdvB is also capable of assembling into filaments in mammalian cells. However,N. maritimusFtsZ does not assemble into polymers in our system. The ability of CdvB, but not FtsZ, to polymerize is consistent with a recent finding showing that several Cdv proteins, but not FtsZ, localize to the mid-cell site in the dividingN. maritimus. Thus, we propose that it is Cdv proteins, rather than FtsZ, that function as the cell division apparatus inN. maritimus.

Overexpression Phenotypes of Plk1 and Ndrg2 in Schizosaccharomyces Pombe: Fission Yeast System for Mammalian Gene Study

2005 ◽  
Vol 277-279 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Joo Jang ◽  
Young Sook Kil ◽  
Jee Hee Ahn ◽  
Jae Hoon Ji ◽  
Jong Seok Lim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Rna Splicing ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Protein Modification ◽  
Genetic System ◽  
Functional Study ◽  
Mammalian Genes

The fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a single-celled free-living fungus that shares many features with cells of more complicated eukaryotes. Many of the genes required for the cell-cycle control, proteolysis, protein modification, and RNA splicing are highly conserved with those of higher eukaryotes. Moreover, fission yeast has the merit of genetics and its genetic system is already well characterized. As such, the current study evaluated the use of a fission yeast system as a tool for the functional study of mammalian genes and attempted to set up an assay system for novel genes. Since the phenotypes of a deletion mutant and the overexpression of a gene are generally analyzed for a functional study of specific genes in yeast, the present study used overexpression phenotypes to study the functions of mammalian genes. Therefore, based on using a thiamine-repressive promoter, two mammalian genes were expressed in fission yeast, and their overexpressed phenotypes compared with those in mammalian cells. The phenotypes resulting from overexpression were analyzed using a FACS, which analyzes the DNA contents, and a microscope. One of the selected genes was the mammalian Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), which is activated and plays a role in the mitotic phase of the cell division cycle. The overexpression of various constructs of Plk1 in the HeLa cells caused cell cycle defects, suggesting that the ectopic Plk1s blocked the endogenous Plk1 in the cells. As expected, when the constructs were overexpressed in the fission yeast system, the cells were arrested in mitosis and defected at the end of mitosis. As such, this data suggests that the Plk1-overexpressed phenotypes were similar in the mammalian cells and the fission yeast, thereby enabling the mammalian Plk1 functions to be approximated in the fission yeast. The other selected gene was the N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (ndrg2), which is upregulated during cell differentiation, yet still not well characterized. When the ndrg2 gene was overexpressed in the fission yeast, the cells contained multi-septa. The septa were positioned well, yet their number increased per cell. Therefore, this gene was speculated to block cell division in the last stage of the cell cycle, making the phenotype potentially useful for explaining cell growth and differentiation in mammalian cells. Accordingly, fission yeast is demonstrated to be an appropriate species for the functional study of mammalian genes.

scholarly journals Characterization of Leader Processing Shows That Partially Processed Mersacidin Is Activated by AprE After Export

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob H. Viel ◽  
Amanda Y. van Tilburg ◽  
Oscar P. Kuipers
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Heterologous Expression ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Heterologous Expression System ◽  
Proteolytic Activation ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Precursor Peptide ◽  
Potential Applications

The ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide mersacidin is a class II lanthipeptide with good activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The intramolecular lanthionine rings, that give mersacidin its stability and antimicrobial activity, are specific structures with potential applications in synthetic biology. To add the mersacidin modification enzymes to the synthetic biology toolbox, a heterologous expression system for mersacidin in Escherichia coli has recently been developed. While this system was able to produce fully modified mersacidin precursor peptide that could be activated by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens supernatant and showed that mersacidin was activated in an additional proteolytic step after transportation out of the cell, it lacked a mechanism for clean and straightforward leader processing. Here, the protease responsible for activating mersacidin was identified and heterologously produced in E. coli, improving the previously reported heterologous expression system. By screening multiple proteases, the stringency of proteolytic activity directly next to a very small lanthionine ring is demonstrated, and the full two-step proteolytic activation of mersacidin was elucidated. Additionally, the effect of partial leader processing on diffusion and antimicrobial activity is assessed, shedding light on the function of two-step leader processing.

scholarly journals Assembly of Methyl Coenzyme M Reductase in the Methanogenic ArchaeonMethanococcus maripaludis

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Lyu ◽  
Chau-Wen Chou ◽  
Hao Shi ◽  
Liangliang Wang ◽  
Robel Ghebreab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heterologous Expression ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Active Sites ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Anaerobic Oxidation Of Methane ◽  
Coenzyme M ◽  
Heterologous Expression System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Methyl Coenzyme M Reductase

ABSTRACTMethyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR) is a complex enzyme that catalyzes the final step in biological methanogenesis. To better understand its assembly, the recombinant MCR from the thermophileMethanothermococcus okinawensis(rMCRok) was expressed in the mesophileMethanococcus maripaludis. The rMCRokwas posttranslationally modified correctly and contained McrD and the unique nickel tetrapyrrole coenzyme F430. Subunits of the nativeM. maripaludis(MCRmar) were largely absent, suggesting that the recombinant enzyme was formed by an assembly of cotranscribed subunits. Strong support for this hypothesis was obtained by expressing a chimeric operon comprising the His-taggedmcrAfromM. maripaludisand themcrBDCGfromM. okinawensisinM. maripaludis. The His-tagged purified rMCR then contained theM. maripaludisMcrA and theM. okinawensisMcrBDG. The present study prompted us to form a working model for MCR assembly, which can be further tested by the heterologous expression system established here.IMPORTANCEApproximately 1.6% of the net primary production of plants, algae, and cyanobacteria are processed by biological methane production in anoxic environments. This accounts for about 74% of the total global methane production, up to 25% of which is consumed by anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). Methyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR) is the key enzyme in both methanogenesis and AOM. MCR is assembled as a dimer of two heterotrimers, where posttranslational modifications and F430cofactors are embedded in the active sites. However, this complex assembly process remains unknown. Here, we established a heterologous expression system for MCR to learn how MCR is assembled.

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