scholarly journals The priB Gene of Klebsiella pneumoniae Encodes a 104-Amino Acid Protein That Is Similar in Structure and Function to Escherichia coli PriB

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. e24494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Berg ◽  
Matthew E. Lopper
2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 2638-2650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona Mruk ◽  
Tadeusz Kaczorowski

ABSTRACT The EcoVIII restriction-modification (R-M) system is carried by the Escherichia coli E1585-68 natural plasmid pEC156 (4,312 bp). The two genes were cloned and characterized. The G+C content of the EcoVIII R-M system is 36.1%, which is significantly lower than the average G+C content of either plasmid pEC156 (43.6%) or E. coli genomic DNA (50.8%). The difference suggests that there is a possibility that the EcoVIII R-M system was recently acquired by the genome. The 921-bp EcoVIII endonuclease (R · EcoVIII) gene (ecoVIIIR) encodes a 307-amino-acid protein with an M r of 35,554. The convergently oriented EcoVIII methyltransferase (M · EcoVIII) gene (ecoVIIIM) consists of 912 bp that code for a 304-amino-acid protein with an M r of 33,930. The exact positions of the start codon AUG were determined by protein microsequencing. Both enzymes recognize the specific palindromic sequence 5′-AAGCTT-3′. Preparations of EcoVIII R-M enzymes purified to homogeneity were characterized. R · EcoVIII acts as a dimer and cleaves a specific sequence between two adenine residues, leaving 4-nucleotide 5′ protruding ends. M · EcoVIII functions as a monomer and modifies the first adenine residue at the 5′ end of the specific sequence to N 6-methyladenine. These enzymes are thus functionally identical to the corresponding enzymes of the HindIII (Haemophilus influenzae Rd) and LlaCI (Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris W15) R-M systems. This finding is reflected by the levels of homology of M · EcoVIII with M · HindIII and M · LlaCI at the amino acid sequence level (50 and 62%, respectively) and by the presence of nine sequence motifs conserved among m6 N-adenine β-class methyltransferases. The deduced amino acid sequence of R · EcoVIII shows weak homology with its two isoschizomers, R · HindIII (26%) and R · LlaCI (17%). A catalytic sequence motif characteristic of restriction endonucleases was found in the primary structure of R · EcoVIII (D108X12DXK123), as well as in the primary structures of R · LlaCI and R · HindIII. Polyclonal antibodies raised against R · EcoVIII did not react with R · HindIII, while anti-M · EcoVIII antibodies cross-reacted with M · LlaCI but not with M · HindIII. R · EcoVIII requires Mg(II) ions for phosphodiester bond cleavage. We found that the same ions are strong inhibitors of the M · EcoVIII enzyme. The biological implications of this finding are discussed.


Amino Acids ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 733-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideyuki Tomitori ◽  
Keiko Kashiwagi ◽  
Kazuei Igarashi

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M Bauer ◽  
Rose Dicovitsky ◽  
Maria Pellegrini ◽  
Olga Zhaxybayeva ◽  
Michael J Ragusa

ABSTRACTCyanobacteria of the Prochlorococcus and marine Synechococcus genera are the most abundant photosynthetic microbes in the ocean. Intriguingly, the genomes of these bacteria are very divergent even within each genus, both in gene content and at amino acid level of the encoded proteins. One striking exception to this is a 62 amino acid protein, termed Prochlorococcus/SynechococcusHyper Conserved Protein (PSHCP). PSHCP is not only found in all sequenced Prochlorococcus and marine Synechococcus genomes but it is also nearly 100% identical in its amino acid sequence across all sampled genomes. Such universal distribution and sequence conservation suggests an essential cellular role of the encoded protein in these bacteria. However, the function of PSHCP is unknown. We used Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to determine its structure. We found that 52 of the 62 amino acids in PSHCP form a Tudor domain, while the remainder of the protein is disordered. NMR titration experiments revealed that PSHCP has only a weak affinity for DNA, but an 18.5 fold higher affinity for tRNA, hinting at an involvement of PSHCP in translation. Computational docking and mutagenesis studies identified a positively charged patch surrounding residue K30 that serves as the primary docking site for tRNA on PSHCP. These results provide the first insight into the structure and function of PSHCP and suggest a new function for Tudor domains in recognizing tRNA.


1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 687-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamo Fukamizo ◽  
Ryszard Brzezinski

Novel information on the structure and function of chitosanase, which hydrolyzes the beta -1,4-glycosidic linkage of chitosan, has accumulated in recent years. The cloning of the chitosanase gene from Streptomyces sp. strain N174 and the establishment of an efficient expression system using Streptomyces lividans TK24 have contributed to these advances. Amino acid sequence comparisons of the chitosanases that have been sequenced to date revealed a significant homology in the N-terminal module. From energy minimization based on the X-ray crystal structure of Streptomyces sp. strain N174 chitosanase, the substrate binding cleft of this enzyme was estimated to be composed of six monosaccharide binding subsites. The hydrolytic reaction takes place at the center of the binding cleft with an inverting mechanism. Site-directed mutagenesis of the carboxylic amino acid residues that are conserved revealed that Glu-22 and Asp-40 are the catalytic residues. The tryptophan residues in the chitosanase do not participate directly in the substrate binding but stabilize the protein structure by interacting with hydrophobic and carboxylic side chains of the other amino acid residues. Structural and functional similarities were found between chitosanase, barley chitinase, bacteriophage T4 lysozyme, and goose egg white lysozyme, even though these proteins share no sequence similarities. This information can be helpful for the design of new chitinolytic enzymes that can be applied to carbohydrate engineering, biological control of phytopathogens, and other fields including chitinous polysaccharide degradation. Key words: chitosanase, amino acid sequence, overexpression system, reaction mechanism, site-directed mutagenesis.


1970 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Neuhoff ◽  
Wolf-Bernhard Schill ◽  
Hans Sternbach

By using micro disc electrophoresis and micro-diffusion techniques, the interaction of pure DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (EC 2.7.7.6) from Escherichia coli with the template, the substrates and the inhibitors heparin and rifampicin was investigated. The following findings were obtained: (1) heparin converts the 24S and 18S particles of the polymerase into the 13S form; (2) heparin inhibits RNA synthesis by dissociating the enzyme–template complex; (3) rifampicin does not affect the attachment of heparin to the enzyme; (4) the substrates ATP and UTP are bound by enzyme loaded with rifampicin; (5) rifampicin is bound by an enzyme–template complex to the same extent as by an RNA-synthesizing enzyme–template complex. From this it is concluded that the mechanism of the inhibition of RNA synthesis by rifampicin is radically different from that by heparin. As a working hypothesis to explain the inhibitory mechanism of rifampicin, it is assumed that it becomes very firmly attached to a position close to the synthesizing site and only blocks this when no synthesis is in progress.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Santiago Mejia ◽  
Erik N. Arthun ◽  
Richard G. Titus

One approach to identify epitopes that could be used in the design of vaccines to control several arthropod-borne diseases simultaneously is to look for common structural features in the secretome of the pathogens that cause them. Using a novel bioinformatics technique, cysteine-abundance and distribution analysis, we found that many different proteins secreted by several arthropod-borne pathogens, includingPlasmodium falciparum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and eight species of Proteobacteria, are devoid of cysteine residues. The identification of three cysteine-abundance and distribution patterns in several families of proteins secreted by pathogenic and nonpathogenic Proteobacteria, and not found when the amino acid analyzed was tryptophan, provides evidence of forces restricting the content of cysteine residues in microbial proteins during evolution. We discuss these findings in the context of protein structure and function, antigenicity and immunogenicity, and host-parasite relationships.


1996 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 673-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J Kreuz ◽  
A Simcox ◽  
D Maughan

Drosophila indirect flight muscle (IFM) contains two different types of tropomyosin: a standard 284-amino acid muscle tropomyosin, Ifm-TmI, encoded by the TmI gene, and two > 400 amino acid tropomyosins, TnH-33 and TnH-34, encoded by TmII. The two IFM-specific TnH isoforms are unique tropomyosins with a COOH-terminal extension of approximately 200 residues which is hydrophobic and rich in prolines. Previous analysis of a hypomorphic TmI mutant, Ifm(3)3, demonstrated that Ifm-TmI is necessary for proper myofibrillar assembly, but no null TmI mutant or TmII mutant which affects the TnH isoforms have been reported. In the current report, we show that four flightless mutants (Warmke et al., 1989) are alleles of TmI, and characterize a deficiency which deletes both TmI and TmII. We find that haploidy of TmI causes myofibrillar disruptions and flightless behavior, but that haploidy of TmII causes neither. Single fiber mechanics demonstrates that power output is much lower in the TmI haploid line (32% of wild-type) than in the TmII haploid line (73% of wild-type). In myofibers nearly depleted of Ifm-TmI, net power output is virtually abolished (< 1% of wild-type) despite the presence of an organized fibrillar core (approximately 20% of wild-type). The results suggest Ifm-TmI (the standard tropomyosin) plays a key role in fiber structure, power production, and flight, with reduced Ifm-TmI expression producing corresponding changes of IFM structure and function. In contrast, reduced expression of the TnH isoforms has an unexpectedly mild effect on IFM structure and function.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (15) ◽  
pp. 5067-5074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Kasai ◽  
Eiji Masai ◽  
Keisuke Miyauchi ◽  
Yoshihiro Katayama ◽  
Masao Fukuda

ABSTRACT Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6 converts vanillate and syringate to protocatechuate (PCA) and 3-O-methylgallate (3MGA) in reactions with the tetrahydrofolate-dependent O-demethylases LigM and DesA, respectively. PCA is further degraded via the PCA 4,5-cleavage pathway, whereas 3MGA is metabolized via three distinct pathways in which PCA 4,5-dioxygenase (LigAB), 3MGA 3,4-dioxygenase (DesZ), and 3MGA O-demethylase (LigM) are involved. In the 3MGA O-demethylation pathway, LigM converts 3MGA to gallate, and the resulting gallate appears to be degraded by a dioxygenase other than LigAB or DesZ. Here, we isolated the gallate dioxygenase gene, desB, which encodes a 418-amino-acid protein with a molecular mass of 46,843 Da. The amino acid sequences of the N-terminal region (residues 1 to 285) and the C-terminal region (residues 286 to 418) of DesB exhibited ca. 40% and 27% identity with the sequences of the PCA 4,5-dioxygenase β and α subunits, respectively. DesB produced in Escherichia coli was purified and was estimated to be a homodimer (86 kDa). DesB specifically attacked gallate to generate 4-oxalomesaconate as the reaction product. The Km for gallate and the V max were determined to be 66.9 ± 9.3 μM and 42.7 ± 2.4 U/mg, respectively. On the basis of the analysis of various SYK-6 mutants lacking the genes involved in syringate degradation, we concluded that (i) all of the three-ring cleavage dioxygenases are involved in syringate catabolism, (ii) the pathway involving LigM and DesB plays an especially important role in the growth of SYK-6 on syringate, and (iii) DesB and LigAB are involved in gallate degradation.


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