scholarly journals Characterization of glutamine synthetase from the ammonium-excreting strain HM053 of Azospirillum brasilense

2022 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Ghenov ◽  
Edileusa Cristina Marques Gerhardt ◽  
Luciano Fernandes Huergo ◽  
Fabio Oliveira Pedrosa ◽  
Roseli Wassem ◽  
...  

Abstract Glutamine synthetase (GS), encoded by glnA, catalyzes the conversion of L-glutamate and ammonium to L-glutamine. This ATP hydrolysis driven process is the main nitrogen assimilation pathway in the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azospirillum brasilense. The A. brasilense strain HM053 has poor GS activity and leaks ammonium into the medium under nitrogen fixing conditions. In this work, the glnA genes of the wild type and HM053 strains were cloned into pET28a, sequenced and overexpressed in E. coli. The GS enzyme was purified by affinity chromatography and characterized. The GS of HM053 strain carries a P347L substitution, which results in low enzyme activity and rendered the enzyme insensitive to adenylylation by the adenilyltransferase GlnE.

1990 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 538-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Friedberg ◽  
J. Seijffers

We present here the isolation and molecular characterization of acetolactate synthase (ALS) genes from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC7942 which specify a sulfonylurea-sensitive enzyme and from the sulfonylurea-resistant mutant SM3/20, which specify resistance to sulfonylurea herbicides. The ALS gene was cloned and mapped by complementation of an Escherichia coli ilv auxotroph that requires branched-chain amino acids for growth and lacks ALS activity. The cyanobacterial gene is efficiently expressed in this heterologous host. The ALS gene codes for 612 amino acids and shows high sequence homology (46%) at the amino acid level with ALS III of E. coli and with the tobacco ALS. The resistant phenotype is a consequence of proline to serine substitution in residue 115 of the deduced amino acid sequence. Functional expression of the mutant gene in wild-type Synechococcus and in E. coli confirmed that this amino-acid substitution is responsible for the resistance. Yet the deduced amino-acid sequence as compared with othjer ALS proteins supports the notion that the amino-acid context of the substitution is important for the resistance.


1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 530-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takaaki Akasaka ◽  
Yoshikuni Onodera ◽  
Mayumi Tanaka ◽  
Kenichi Sato

ABSTRACT The topoisomerase IV subunit A gene, parC homolog, has been cloned and sequenced from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, with cDNA encoding the N-terminal region of Escherichia coli parC used as a probe. The homolog and its upstream gene were presumed to be parC and parE through sequence homology with the parC and parE genes of other organisms. The deduced amino acid sequence of ParC and ParE showed 33 and 32% identity with that of the P. aeruginosa DNA gyrase subunits, GyrA and GyrB, respectively, and 69 and 75% identity with that of E. coli ParC and ParE, respectively. The putative ParC and ParE proteins were overexpressed and separately purified by use of a fusion system with a maltose-binding protein, and their enzymatic properties were examined. The reconstituted enzyme had ATP-dependent decatenation activity, which is the main catalytic activity of bacterial topoisomerase IV, and relaxing activities but had no supercoiling activity. So, the cloned genes were identified asP. aeruginosa topoisomerase IV genes. The inhibitory effects of quinolones on the activities of topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase were compared. The 50% inhibitory concentrations of quinolones for the decatenation activity of topoisomerase IV were from five to eight times higher than those for the supercoiling activities ofP. aeruginosa DNA gyrase. These results confirmed that topoisomerase IV is less sensitive to fluoroquinolones than is DNA gyrase and may be a secondary target of new quinolones in wild-typeP. aeruginosa.


1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (13) ◽  
pp. 73-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Itzigsohn ◽  
Oded Yarden ◽  
Yaacov Okon

The considerable industrial interest in the qualitative and quantitative production of polyhydroxyalkanoates in microorganisms has led to the characterization of those synthesized in the nitrogen-fixing bacteria Azospirillum brasilense and Azotobacter paspali. In contrast to some other bacterial species, Azospirillum brasilense does not produce copolymers of hydroxyalkanoates when grown under the different carbon sources assayed, namely n-alkanoic acids, hydroxyalkanoates, and sugars with varying C:N ratios. Rather, only homopolymers of polyhydroxybutyrate were detected, comprising up to 70% of the cell dry mass. No copolymers were detected in Azotobacter paspali. Quantitative analyses of poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) are also presented.Key words: Azospirillum spp., Azotobacter paspali, polyhydroxyalkanoate analysis, PHA, PHB.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1037-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian H. Gross ◽  
Jonathan D. Parsons ◽  
Trudy H. Grossman ◽  
Paul S. Charifson ◽  
Steven Bellon ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT DNA gyrase is a bacterial type II topoisomerase which couples the free energy of ATP hydrolysis to the introduction of negative supercoils into DNA. Amino acids in proximity to bound nonhydrolyzable ATP analog (AMP · PNP) or novobiocin in the gyrase B (GyrB) subunit crystal structures were examined for their roles in enzyme function and novobiocin resistance by site-directed mutagenesis. Purified Escherichia coli GyrB mutant proteins were complexed with the gyrase A subunit to form the functional A2B2 gyrase enzyme. Mutant proteins with alanine substitutions at residues E42, N46, E50, D73, R76, G77, and I78 had reduced or no detectable ATPase activity, indicating a role for these residues in ATP hydrolysis. Interestingly, GyrB proteins with P79A and K103A substitutions retained significant levels of ATPase activity yet demonstrated no DNA supercoiling activity, even with 40-fold more enzyme than the wild-type enzyme, suggesting that these amino acid side chains have a role in the coupling of the two activities. All enzymes relaxed supercoiled DNA to the same extent as the wild-type enzyme did, implying that only ATP-dependent reactions were affected. Mutant genes were examined in vivo for their abilities to complement a temperature-sensitive E. coli gyrB mutant, and the activities correlated well with the in vitro activities. We show that the known R136 novobiocin resistance mutations bestow a significant loss of inhibitor potency in the ATPase assay. Four new residues (D73, G77, I78, and T165) that, when changed to the appropriate amino acid, result in both significant levels of novobiocin resistance and maintain in vivo function were identified in E. coli.


1996 ◽  
Vol 314 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanneke L. H. BUSCH ◽  
Jacques L. J. BRETON ◽  
Barry M. BARTLETT ◽  
Richard JAMES ◽  
E. Claude HATCHIKIAN ◽  
...  

Desulfovibrio africanus ferredoxin III is a monomeric protein (molecular mass of 6585 Da) that contains one [3Fe-4S]1+/0 and one [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster when isolated aerobically. The amino acid sequence consists of 61 amino acids, including seven cysteine residues that are all involved in co-ordination to the clusters. In order to isolate larger quantities of D. africanus ferredoxin III, we have overexpressed it in Escherichia coli by constructing a synthetic gene based on the amino acid sequence of the native protein. The recombinant ferredoxin was expressed in E. coli as an apoprotein. We have reconstituted the holoprotein by incubating the apoprotein with excess iron and sulphide in the presence of a reducing agent. The reconstituted recombinant ferredoxin appeared to have a lower stability than that of wild-type D. africanus ferredoxin III. We have shown by low-temperature magnetic circular dichroism and EPR spectroscopy that the recombinant ferredoxin contains a [3Fe-4S]1+/0 and a [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster similar to those found in native D. africanus ferredoxin III. These results indicate that the two clusters have been correctly inserted into the recombinant ferredoxin.


2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 3240-3247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Z. Baum ◽  
Steven M. Crespo-Carbone ◽  
Barbara D. Foleno ◽  
Lee D. Simon ◽  
Jerome Guillemont ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT MurF catalyzes the last cytoplasmic step of bacterial cell wall synthesis and is essential for bacterial survival. Our previous studies used a pharmacophore model of a MurF inhibitor to identify additional inhibitors with improved properties. We now present the characterization of two such inhibitors, the diarylquinolines DQ1 and DQ2. DQ1 inhibited Escherichia coli MurF (50% inhibitory concentration, 24 μM) and had modest activity (MICs, 8 to 16 μg/ml) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-defective E. coli and wild-type E. coli rendered permeable with polymyxin B nonapeptide. DQ2 additionally displayed activity against gram-positive bacteria (MICs, 8 to 16 μg/ml), including methicillin (meticillin)-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates and vancomycin-susceptible and -resistant Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates. Treatment of LPS-defective E. coli cells with ≥2× MIC of DQ1 resulted in a 75-fold-greater accumulation of the MurF substrate compared to the control, a 70% decline in the amount of the MurF product, and eventual cell lysis, consistent with the inhibition of MurF within bacteria. DQ2 treatment of S. aureus resulted in similar effects on the MurF substrate and product quantities. At lower levels of DQ1 (≤1× MIC), the level of accumulation of the substrate was less pronounced (15-fold greater compared to the amount for the control). However, a 50% increase in the amount of the MurF product compared to the control was reproducibly observed, consistent with the possible upregulation of muropeptide biosynthesis upon partial inhibition of this pathway. The overexpression of cloned MurF appeared to partly alleviate the DQ1-mediated inhibition of muropeptide synthesis. The identification of MurF inhibitors such as DQ1 and DQ2 that disrupt cell wall biosynthesis suggests that MurF remains a viable target for an antibacterial agent.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (13) ◽  
pp. 4759-4768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie B. Stephens ◽  
Star N. Loar ◽  
Gladys Alexandre

ABSTRACT It has previously been reported that the alpha-proteobacterium Azospirillum brasilense undergoes methylation-independent chemotaxis; however, a recent study revealed cheB and cheR genes in this organism. We have constructed cheB, cheR, and cheBR mutants of A. brasilense and determined that the CheB and CheR proteins under study significantly influence chemotaxis and aerotaxis but are not essential for these behaviors to occur. First, we found that although cells lacking CheB, CheR, or both were no longer capable of responding to the addition of most chemoattractants in a temporal gradient assay, they did show a chemotactic response (albeit reduced) in a spatial gradient assay. Second, in comparison to the wild type, cheB and cheR mutants under steady-state conditions exhibited an altered swimming bias, whereas the cheBR mutant and the che operon mutant did not. Third, cheB and cheR mutants were null for aerotaxis, whereas the cheBR mutant showed reduced aerotaxis. In contrast to the swimming bias for the model organism Escherichia coli, the swimming bias in A. brasilense cells was dependent on the carbon source present and cells released methanol upon addition of some attractants and upon removal of other attractants. In comparison to the wild type, the cheB, cheR, and cheBR mutants showed various altered patterns of methanol release upon exposure to attractants. This study reveals a significant difference between the chemotaxis adaptation system of A. brasilense and that of the model organism E. coli and suggests that multiple chemotaxis systems are present and contribute to chemotaxis and aerotaxis in A. brasilense.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1812-1822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Valsesia ◽  
Malgorzata Roos ◽  
Erik C. Böttger ◽  
Michael Hombach

In this study, we introduce a new approach for determination of epidemiologic cutoffs (ECOFFs) and resistant-population cutoffs (RCOFFs) based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. As an example, the method was applied for determination of ECOFFs for seven different beta-lactam antibiotics and wild-type populations ofEscherichia coli,Klebsiella pneumoniae, andEnterobacter cloacae. In addition, RCOFFs were determined for bacterial populations with defined resistance mechanisms (“resistotypes”), i.e., extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-positiveE. coli, ESBL-positiveK. pneumoniae, and ESBL-positiveE. cloacae; AmpC cephalosporinase-positiveE. coliand AmpC-positiveK. pneumoniae; and broad-spectrum beta-lactamase (BSBL)-positiveE. coli. RCOFFs and ECOFFs are instrumental for a systematic characterization of associations between resistotypes and wild-type populations.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (14) ◽  
pp. 4318-4325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaru Ohara ◽  
Henry C. Wu ◽  
Krishnan Sankaran ◽  
Paul D. Rick

ABSTRACT We report here the identification of a new lipoprotein, NlpI, inEscherichia coli K-12. The NlpI structural gene (nlpI) is located between the genes pnp(polynucleotide phosphorylase) and deaD (RNA helicase) at 71 min on the E. coli chromosome. The nlpI gene encodes a putative polypeptide of approximately 34 kDa, and multiple lines of evidence clearly demonstrate that NlpI is indeed a lipoprotein. An nlpI::cm mutation rendered growth of the cells osmotically sensitive, and incubation of the insertion mutant at an elevated temperature resulted in the formation of filaments. The altered phenotype of the mutant was a direct consequence of the mutation in nlpI, since it was complemented by the wild-type nlpI gene alone. Overexpression of the unaltered nlpI gene in wild-type cells resulted in the loss of the rod morphology and the formation of single prolate ellipsoids and pairs of prolate ellipsoids joined by partial constrictions. NlpI may be important for an as-yet-undefined step in the overall process of cell division.


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