scholarly journals Expression and characterisation of the ryegrass mottle virus non-structural proteins

Author(s):  
Ina Baļķe ◽  
Gunta Resēviča ◽  
Dace Skrastiņa ◽  
Andris Zeltiņš

Expression and characterisation of the ryegrass mottle virus non-structural proteins The Ryegrass mottle virus (RGMoV) single-stranded RNA genome is organised into four open reading frames (ORF) which encode several proteins: ORF1 encodes protein P1, ORF2a contains the membrane-associated 3C-like serine protease, genome-linked protein VPg and a P16 protein gene. ORF2b encodes replicase RdRP and the only structural protein, coat protein, is synthesised from ORF3. To obtain the non-structural proteins in preparative quantities and to characterise them, the corresponding RGMoV gene cDNAs were cloned in pET- and pColdI-derived expression vectors and overexpressed in several E. coli host cells. For protease and RdRP, the best expression system containing pColdI vector and E. coli WK6 strain was determined. VPg and P16 proteins were obtained from the pET- or pACYC- vectors and E. coli BL21 (DE3) host cells and purified using Ni-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Attempts to crystallize VPg and P16 were unsuccessful, possibly due to non-structured amino acid sequences in both protein structures. Methods based on bioinformatic analysis indicated that the entire VPg domain and the C-terminal part of the P16 contain unstructured amino acid stretches, which possibly prevented the formation of crystals.

Author(s):  
Jayanta Das ◽  
Swarup Roy

Like other viruses, SARS-COV-2 too mutating and thus creating divergent variants across the world. Protein sequence variation occurs due to non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that alter the amino acid. Amino acid substitutions on homooligomer interfaces may change the structure of the protein and hence alter the regular or known functional activities of a viral protein. Studies reveal that even a single point mutation in virus protein can significantly change their biology, leads to peculiar pathogenic properties. Therefore, an in-depth investigation of the amino acid substitution in the genomic signature of a protein is highly essential for the rapidly evolving virus-like SARS-COV-2. Investigation of world-wide and country-specific substitution features may be crucial and highly essential to decipher pathogenicity. These might be also helpful to precise structure prediction and identification of possible therapeutic targets for effective drug design. We perform extensive analysis towards highlighting and characterizing the amino acid substitution signature occurs in the four structural proteins (Spike-S, Nucleocapsid-N, Membrane-M, Envelope-E) of SARS-COV-2. We use a total of 9587 viral sequences reported from 49 different countries across the globe. In this study, we try to study the amino acid substitution patterns and its impact on change in biochemical properties, thereby possible changes in protein structures. We perform the following analysis: a) isolating and grouping variants we considered, for different protein sequences; b) identifying amino acid substitution type that are frequently and rarely occurring and reporting their location within the sequence; c) change in chemical properties due to amino acid substitution; and f) highlight country-specific divergent variation and substitution signature. In terms of mutational changes, E and M proteins are relatively stable than N and S proteins. A significant quantity of variations is observed in spike (S) proteins. Our study further reveals an interesting fact that the substitution location is random in N protein, whereas the substitution sites in M protein is less varying and almost stable. Substitutions specific to active sub-domains in S and N proteins reveals that sub-domains like Heptapeptide Repeat (HR2), Fusion peptides (FP), and Transmembrane (TM), which are involved in cellular membrane fusion and entry of the virus into the host cells, are significantly mutated. Majority of the substitutions leads to change in biochemical properties (side chain and hydropathy) of amino acid. A good number of exclusive variants are found specific to a particular country. We strongly believe that the current findings will be helpful for protein structure analysis of viral structural proteins and antiviral drug discovery.


2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-246
Author(s):  
KLAUDIA BRODZIK ◽  
KATARZYNA KRYSZTOPA-GRZYBOWSKA ◽  
MACIEJ POLAK ◽  
JAKUB LACH ◽  
DOMINIK STRAPAGIEL ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to identify the potential vaccine antigens in Corynebacterium diphtheriae strains by in silico analysis of the amino acid variation in the 67–72p surface protein that is involved in the colonization and induction of epithelial cell apoptosis in the early stages of infection. The analysis of pili structural proteins involved in bacterial adherence to host cells and related to various types of infections was also performed. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out to amplify the genes encoding the 67–72p protein and three pili structural proteins (SpaC, SpaI, SapD) and the products obtained were sequenced. The nucleotide sequences of the particular genes were translated into amino acid sequences, which were then matched among all the tested strains using bioinformatics tools. In the last step, the affinity of the tested proteins to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) classes I and II, and linear B-cell epitopes was analyzed. The variations in the nucleotide sequence of the 67–72p protein and pili structural proteins among C. diphtheriae strains isolated from various infections were noted. A transposition of the insertion sequence within the gene encoding the SpaC pili structural proteins was also detected. In addition, the bioinformatics analyses enabled the identification of epitopes for B-cells and T-cells in the conserved regions of the proteins, thus, demonstrating that these proteins could be used as antigens in the potential vaccine development. The results identified the most conserved regions in all tested proteins that are exposed on the surface of C. diphtheriae cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1018
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Yokota

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.


1989 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Grewal ◽  
P. J. Lowry ◽  
D. Savva

ABSTRACT A large portion of the human pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) peptide corresponding to amino acid residues 59–241 has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. A 1·0 kb DNA fragment encoding this peptide was cloned into the expression vectors pUC8 and pUR291. Plasmid pJMBG51 (a pUC8 recombinant) was found to direct the expression of a 24 kDa peptide. The recombinant pUR291 (pJMBG52) was shown to produce a β-galactosidase fusion protein of 140 kDa. Western blot analysis showed that both the 24 kDa and 140 kDa peptides are recognized by antibodies raised against POMC-derived peptides. The β-galactosidase fusion protein has been partially purified from crude E. coli cell lysates using affinity chromatography on p-aminobenzyl-1-thio-β-d-galactopyranoside agarose.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumar Manochitra ◽  
Subhash Chandra Parija

BackgroundAmoebiasis is the third most common parasitic cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in countries with poor hygienic settings. There exists an ambiguity in the diagnosis of amoebiasis, and hence there arises a necessity for a better diagnostic approach. Serine-richEntamoeba histolyticaprotein (SREHP), peroxiredoxin and Gal/GalNAc lectin are pivotal inE. histolyticavirulence and are extensively studied as diagnostic and vaccine targets. For elucidating the cellular function of these proteins, details regarding their respective quaternary structures are essential. However, studies in this aspect are scant. Hence, this study was carried out to predict the structure of these target proteins and characterize them structurally as well as functionally using appropriatein-silicomethods.MethodsThe amino acid sequences of the proteins were retrieved from National Centre for Biotechnology Information database and aligned using ClustalW. Bioinformatic tools were employed in the secondary structure and tertiary structure prediction. The predicted structure was validated, and final refinement was carried out.ResultsThe protein structures predicted by i-TASSER were found to be more accurate than Phyre2 based on the validation using SAVES server. The prediction suggests SREHP to be an extracellular protein, peroxiredoxin a peripheral membrane protein while Gal/GalNAc lectin was found to be a cell-wall protein. Signal peptides were found in the amino-acid sequences of SREHP and Gal/GalNAc lectin, whereas they were not present in the peroxiredoxin sequence. Gal/GalNAc lectin showed better antigenicity than the other two proteins studied. All the three proteins exhibited similarity in their structures and were mostly composed of loops.DiscussionThe structures of SREHP and peroxiredoxin were predicted successfully, while the structure of Gal/GalNAc lectin could not be predicted as it was a complex protein composed of sub-units. Also, this protein showed less similarity with the available structural homologs. The quaternary structures of SREHP and peroxiredoxin predicted from this study would provide better structural and functional insights into these proteins and may aid in development of newer diagnostic assays or enhancement of the available treatment modalities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Weber ◽  
Zhaopeng Li ◽  
Ursula Rinas

Abstract Background Recently it was shown that production of recombinant proteins in E. coli BL21(DE3) using pET based expression vectors leads to metabolic stress comparable to a carbon overfeeding response. Opposite to original expectations generation of energy as well as catabolic provision of precursor metabolites were excluded as limiting factors for growth and protein production. On the contrary, accumulation of ATP and precursor metabolites revealed their ample formation but insufficient withdrawal as a result of protein production mediated constraints in anabolic pathways. Thus, not limitation but excess of energy and precursor metabolites were identified as being connected to the protein production associated metabolic burden. Results Here we show that the protein production associated accumulation of energy and catabolic precursor metabolites is not unique to E. coli BL21(DE3) but also occurs in E. coli K12. Most notably, it was demonstrated that the IPTG-induced production of hFGF-2 using a tac-promoter based expression vector in the E. coli K12 strain TG1 was leading to persistent accumulation of key regulatory molecules such as ATP, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate and pyruvate. Conclusions Excessive energy generation, respectively, accumulation of ATP during recombinant protein production is not unique to the BL21(DE3)/T7 promoter based expression system but also observed in the E. coli K12 strain TG1 using another promoter/vector combination. These findings confirm that energy is not a limiting factor for recombinant protein production. Moreover, the data also show that an accelerated glycolytic pathway flux aggravates the protein production associated “metabolic burden”. Under conditions of compromised anabolic capacities cells are not able to reorganize their metabolic enzyme repertoire as required for reduced carbon processing.


Blood ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 681-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Goldberger ◽  
M Kolodziej ◽  
M Poncz ◽  
JS Bennett ◽  
PJ Newman

Abstract The subunits that comprise the platelet-specific integrin alpha IIb beta 3 are polymorphic in nature, with several allelic forms present in the human gene pool. Minor changes in the secondary and tertiary structures of platelet membrane glycoproteins (GP) IIb and IIIa encoded by these alleles can result in an alloimmune reaction after transfusion or during pregnancy. To better understand the molecular structure of the PlA alloantigen system, located on GPIIIa, and the Bak alloantigen on GPIIb, we used a heterologous mammalian expression system to express these integrin subunits in their known polymorphic forms. An expression vector containing the PlA1 form of a GPIIIa cDNA, which encodes a leucine at amino acid 33 (Leu33), was modified to express the PlA2- associated form encoding a proline at amino acid 33 (Pro33). Similarly, a Baka GPIIb cDNA expressing an isoleucine at amino acid 843 (IIe843) was modified to express the Bakb form containing a serine at the same position (Ser843). Transfection of these vectors into COS cells resulted in the synthesis of GPIIb and GPIIIa molecules that were identical in size to those present in platelet lysates. Immunoprecipitation of the GPIIIa-transfected COS lysates with PlA)- specific alloantisera indicated that the Leu33 form was recognized only by anti-PIA1 sera while the Pro33 form was bound only by anti-PlA2 sera, showing that single amino acid polymorphisms are necessary and sufficient to direct the formation of the PlA1 and PlA2 alloepitopes. Similar experiments with Bak allele-specific expression vectors indicated that while the amino acid polymorphism (IIe843 in equilibrium Ser843) was necessary, posttranslational processing of pro-IIb was required for efficient exposure of both the Baka and Bakb alloepitopes.


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