bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Replication genes of plasmid pE194-cop and repF: transcripts and encoded proteins
Authors: Byeon W H , Weisblum B
Published: November 2016

In vivo transcription of the replication region of plasmid pE194 yeidls two classes of mRNAs that encode Cop and RepF proteins, respectively. These transcripts are oriented 5' to 3' exclusively in the clockwise direction on the standard map. The cop region contains an open reading frame capable of encoding a 55-amino-acid protein that was demonstrated electrophoretically as a 6-kilodalton product synthesized in Bacillus subtilis minicells and chemically by N-terminal sequencing of a 116-kilodalton fusion protein with Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase. Four transcripts derived from the repF region were found, of which the longest, approximately 720 nucleotides, had the length, orientation, and transcription start site necessary to code for the full-length RepF protein (216 amino acid residues), deduced from the DNA sequence. The 5' ends of the shorter repF transcripts fall within the repF open reading frame. We propose that (i) cop specifies a protein rather than an RNA countertranscript, (ii) the Cop protein functions as a negative-acting element in pE194 replication by regulating synthesis of both RepF and of itself, and (iii) increased plasmid copy number can be explained in terms of cop region mutations that either reduce the intrinsic activity of Cop protein or the rate of its synthesis.
Role of lipopolysaccharide in assembly of Escherichia coli outer membrane proteins OmpA, OmpC, and OmpF
Authors: Ried G , Hindennach I , Henning U
Published: November 2016

Selection was performed for resistance to a phage, Ox2, specific for the Escherichia coli outer membrane protein OmpA, under conditions which excluded recovery of ompA mutants. All mutants analyzed produced normal quantities of OmpA, which was also normally assembled in the outer membrane. They had become essentially resistant to OmpC and OmpF-specific phages and synthesized these outer membrane porins at much reduced rates. The inhibition of synthesis acted at the level of translation. This was due to the presence of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) with defective core oligosaccharides. Cerulenin blocks fatty acid synthesis and therefore that of LPS. It also inhibits synthesis of OmpC and OmpF but not of OmpA (C. Bocquet-Pagès, C. Lazdunski, and A. Lazdunski, Eur. J. Biochem. 118:105-111, 1981). In the presence of the antibiotic, OmpA synthesis and membrane incorporation remained unaffected at a time when OmpC and OmpF synthesis had almost ceased. The similarity of these results with those obtained with the mutants suggests that normal porin synthesis is not only interfered with by production of mutant LPS but also requires de novo synthesis of LPS. Since synthesis and assembly of OmpA into the outer membrane was not affected in the mutants or in the presence of cerulenin, association of this protein with LPS appears to occur with outer membrane-located LPS.
Mutational analysis of the VirG protein, a transcriptional activator of Agrobacterium tumefaciens virulence genes
Authors: Roitsch T , Wang H , Jin S G , Nester E W
Published: November 2016

The VirG protein of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is required in conjunction with the VirA protein for transcriptional activation of the virulence (vir) genes in response to plant phenolic compounds. These proteins are members of a family of two component regulatory systems. vir genes are activated via a cascade of phosphorylation reactions involving a specific aspartic acid residue of the VirG protein. We have conducted a mutational analysis of the VirG protein. By mutating conserved and nonconserved aspartic acid residues in the N-terminal domain, we demonstrated that two of three conserved aspartic acid residues located in two different regions are important for the phosphorylation of VirG by VirA phosphate. A third conserved N-terminal region was also shown to be critical for the biological function of VirG as a transcriptional activator. The identification of phosphorylatable but biologically inactive mutated VirG proteins suggests that not only phosphorylation but also a conformational change is necessary for its activity. We further demonstrated that phosphorylation is not required for sequence-specific binding to a vir gene regulatory sequence (vir box) and that the C-terminal domain is sufficient for DNA binding. The data support the model of a two-domain structure for the VirG protein and demonstrate that the sequence homologies to other two-component regulatory systems reflect both functional and structural homologies.
Identification and expression of the Escherichia coli fdhD and fdhE genes, which are involved in the formation of respiratory formate dehydrogenase
Authors: Schlindwein C , Giordano G , Santini C L , Mandrand M A
Published: November 2016

The two closely linked fdhD and fdhE genes of Escherichia coli are required for the formation of active membrane-bound phenazine methosulfate-linked formate dehydrogenase (FDH-PMS). Both genes were isolated from a cosmid library. Restriction endonuclease analysis associated with Mu dII1734 insertion mutagenesis indicated that the two genes were separated by at least 4 kilobases and transcribed in opposite orientations. Initial experiments indicate that the region between the two genes seems not to be essential to FDH-PMS activity. fdhD and fdhE were expressed either in maxicells or from the T7 promoter-polymerase system. They were shown to encode proteins with approximate Mr 30,500 and 32,000, respectively. Both proteins appeared in the soluble fraction and were not recognized by an FDH-PMS-specific antiserum. Therefore, neither fdhD nor fdhE plays a structural role in the formation of FDH-PMS. Expression of a phi(fdhD-lacZ) operon fusion was decreased about threefold by aerobiosis but was indifferent to other effectors tested. It was unaffected by pfl, chlA, selA, and fnr mutations. Expression of a phi(fdhE-lacZ) operon fusion was slightly induced by nitrate. This induction, requiring the presence of functional chl and fnr alleles, was mediated via nitrate metabolism. Transcription of phi(fdhE-lacZ) fusion was fully dependent on wild-type sel alleles. This might suggest the participation of fdhE in the synthesis of the selenopolypeptide of FDH-PMS.
Mutational analysis of the Escherichia coli glpFK region with Tn5 mutagenesis and the polymerase chain reaction
Authors: Lupski J R , Zhang Y H , Rieger M , Minter M , Hsu B , Ooi B G , Koeuth T , McCabe E R
Published: November 2016

Transposon Tn5 mutagenesis of the Escherichia coli chromosome was used to isolate 21 independent insertion mutations conferring an altered colony color phenotype on MacConkey-glycerol plates. The polymerase chain reaction was used to map 16 of these Tn5 insertions within the glpFK region at 88 min. The most polar Tn5 insertion was shown by nucleotide sequencing to be in the proposed glpF open reading frame. The data suggest that the glpF and glpK genes are in an operon with a bent DNA segment (BENT-6) involved in transcriptional regulation of this operon.
The lpd gene product functions as the L protein in the Escherichia coli glycine cleavage enzyme system
Authors: Steiert P S , Stauffer L T , Stauffer G V
Published: November 2016

The lpd-encoded lipoamide dehydrogenase, common to the pyruvate and 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes, also functions as the lipoamide dehydrogenase (L protein) in the Escherichia coli glycine cleavage (GCV) enzyme complex. Inducible GCV enzyme activity was not detected in an lpd deletion mutant; lpd+ transductants had normal levels of inducible GCV enzyme activity. A serA lpd double mutant was unable to utilize glycine as a serine source and lacked detectable GCV enzyme activity, the phenotype of a serA gcv mutant. Transformation of the double mutant with a plasmid encoding a functional lpd gene restored the ability of the mutant to use glycine as a serine source and restored inducible GCV enzyme activity to normal levels. The presence of acetate and succinate in the growth medium of a strain wild type for lpd and gcv resulted in a 50% reduction in inducible GCV enzyme activity. Enzyme levels were restored to normal under these growth conditions when the strain was transformed with a plasmid encoding a functional lpd gene.
Recovery of DNA from the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus chromosome by gap repair
Authors: Gregg-Jolly L A , Ornston L N
Published: November 2016

A strain of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus that demonstrates unusually high competence for natural transformation by linear DNA has proven valuable for analysis of genes and gene clusters associated with aromatic catabolism. The transformation system allowed gap repair to be used to recover mutant chromosomal DNA within recombinant plasmids. The sizes of the recovered fragments, 5 and 7 kilobase pairs in length, indicate that gap repair will be a useful procedure for isolation of wild-type and modified gene clusters from the A. calcoaceticus chromosome.
Genetic characterization of the stabilizing functions of a region of broad-host-range plasmid RK2
Authors: Roberts R C , Burioni R , Helinski D R
Published: November 2016

One of the regions responsible for the stable inheritance of the broad-host-range plasmid RK2 is contained within the PstI C fragment, located from coordinates 30.8 to 37.0 kb (P.N. Saurugger, O. Hrabak, H. Schwab, and R.M. Lafferty, J. Biotechnol. 4:333-343, 1986). Genetic analysis of this 6.2-kb region demonstrated that no function was present that stabilized by selectively killing plasmid-free segregants. The sequence from 36.0 to 37.0 kb mediated a twofold increase in plasmid copy number, but this region was not required for stabilization activity. The PstI C fragment was shown to encode a multimer resolution system from 33.1 to 35.3 kb. The resolution cis-acting site was mapped to 140 bp, sequenced, and observed to contain two directly repeated sequences of 6 and 7 bases and two perfect inverted repeats of 6 and 8 bases. The trans-acting factor(s) was mapped and functionally determined to encode a resolvase capable of catalyzing recombination at high frequency between cis-acting sites in either direct or inverted orientation. Multimer resolution alone did not account for complete plasmid stabilization by the PstI C fragment, since removal of regions adjacent to the 35.3-kb border of the minimal mrs locus dramatically reduced stabilization. The minimal region required for complete stabilization, from 32.8 to 35.9 kb, was capable of fully stabilizing plasmids independently of the replicon or the recA proficiency of the host. Stabilization activity was also fully expressed in several diverse gram-negative bacteria, whereas the F plasmid par locus functioned only in Escherichia coli. On the basis of these observations, we conclude that under the growth conditions used, the minimal stabilization locus encodes both an mrs activity and a stabilization activity that has the properties of a par locus.
Bacillus subtilis mutants with alterations in ribosomal protein S4
Authors: Henkin T M , Chambliss G H , Grundy F J
Published: November 2016

Two mutants with different alterations in the electrophoretic mobility of ribosomal protein S4 were isolated as spore-plus revertants of a streptomycin-resistant, spore-minus strain of Bacillus subtilis. The mutations causing the S4 alterations, designated rpsD1 and rpsD2, were located between the argGH and aroG genes, at 263 degrees on the B. subtilis chromosome, distant from the major ribosomal protein gene cluster at 12 degrees. The mutant rpsD alleles were isolated by hybridization using a wild-type rpsD probe, and their DNA sequences were determined. The two mutants contained alterations at the same position within the S4-coding sequence, in a region containing a 12-bp tandem duplication; the rpsD1 allele corresponded to an additional copy of this repeated segment, resulting in the insertion of four amino acids, whereas the rpsD2 allele corresponded to deletion of one copy of this segment, resulting in the loss of four amino acids. The effects of these mutations, alone and in combination with streptomycin resistance mutations, on growth, sporulation, and streptomycin resistance were analyzed.
Purification and characterization of the reduced-nicotinamide-dependent 2,2'-dithiodiethanesulfonate reductase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum delta H
Authors: Smith S G , Rouvière P E
Published: November 2016

A novel reduced nicotinamide-dependent disulfide reductase, the 2,2'-dithiodiethanesulfonate [(S-CoM)2] reductase (CoMDSR) of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was purified 405-fold to electrophoretic homogeneity. Both NADPH and NADH functioned as electron donors, although rates with NADPH were three times higher. Reduced factor F420, the deazaflavin electron carrier characteristic of methanogenic bacteria, was not a substrate for the enzyme. The enzyme was most active with (S-CoM)2 but could also reduce L-cystine at 23% the (S-CoM)2 rate. Results of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the enzyme was monomeric with an Mr of about 64,000; spectral analysis showed that it was a flavoprotein with an estimated composition of one molecule of flavin per polypeptide. Maximal activity occurred at 64 degrees C, and the pH optimum was 8.5. The apparent Km for both NADPH and (S-CoM)2 was 80 microM. The enzyme was completely inactivated by oxygen in crude cell extracts but was oxygen stable in the homogeneous state. The low activity of the CoMDSR in cell extracts as well as its relatively low rate of reducing CoM-S-S-HTP (the heterodisulfide of the two thiol cofactors involved in the last step of methanogenesis) make it unlikely that it plays a role in the methylreductase system. It may be involved in the redox balance of the cell, such as the NADPH-dependent bis-gamma-glutamylcystine reductase with which it shows physical similarity in another archaebacterium, Halobacterium halobium (A. R. Sundquist and R. C. Fahey, J. Bacteriol. 170:3459-3467, 1988). The CoMDSR might also be involved in regenerating the coenzyme M trapped as its homodisulfide, a nonutilizable form of the cofactor.
Characterization of sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable Staphylococcus aureus bacteriolytic enzymes by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
Authors: Sugai M , Akiyama T , Komatsuzawa H , Miyake Y , Suginaka H
Published: November 2016

Profiles of the bacteriolytic activities of Staphylococcus aureus culture supernatants, sodium dodecyl sulfate cell extracts, LiCl cell extracts, cell wall extracts, and cell membranes were analyzed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels containing Micrococcus luteus or S. aureus. A total of 20 distinct bands of bacteriolytic activity could be detected in gels containing M. luteus, 8 of these bands were found in culture supernatants. The sodium dodecyl sulfate cell extracts, the LiCl cell extracts, and the cell membranes each contained 20 bands (P1 to P20), but no activity was found in cell wall extracts. Less bacteriolytic activity could be detected in gels containing S. aureus, although three bands were found in culture supernatants and LiCl extracts and cell membranes contained one major band, P13. Crude cell extracts showed five bacteriolytic bands of which the major bacteriolytic bands were distributed in an identical manner in all 10 strains of S. aureus studied. The effects of chemical and physical factors were determined, and it was shown that iodoacetic acid, Hg2+, and Cibacron Blue 3G-A reduced activity, and an optimum pH for enzyme detection was between 7 and 8. Preincubation at 100 degrees C for 30 min reduced the activity of P1 and P2 bands.
Nucleotide sequence of the Pseudomonas fluorescens signal peptidase II gene (lsp) and flanking genes
Authors: Isaki L , Beers R , Wu H C
Published: November 2016

The lsp gene encoding prolipoprotein signal peptidase (signal peptidase II) is organized into an operon consisting of ileS and three open reading frames, designated genes x, orf149, and orf316 in both Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes. A plasmid, pBROC128, containing a 5.8-kb fragment of Pseudomonas fluorescens DNA was found to confer pseudomonic acid resistance on E. coli host cells and to contain the structural gene of ileS from P. fluorescens. In addition, E. coli strains carrying pBROC128 exhibited increased globomycin resistance. This indicated that the P. fluorescens lsp gene was present on the plasmid. The nucleotide sequences of the P. fluorescens lsp gene and of its flanking regions were determined. Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the lsp genes in E. coli and P. fluorescens revealed two highly conserved domains in this enzyme. Furthermore, the five genes which constitute an operon in E. coli and Enterobacter aerogenes were found in P. fluorescens in the same order as in the first two species.
Role of the far-upstream sites of the algD promoter and the algR and rpoN genes in environmental modulation of mucoidy in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Mohr C D , Martin D W , Konyecsni W M , Govan J R , Lory S , Deretic V
Published: November 2016

The role of several regulatory elements in environmental modulation of mucoidy in Pseudomonas aeruginosa was studied. Transcriptional activation of algD, necessary for the mucoid phenotype, was found to depend on FUS, the newly identified far-upstream sites of the algD promoter. The FUS were delimited to a region spanning nucleotides -432 to -332 relative to the algD mRNA start site. Insertional inactivation of algR in PAO568 abolished the algD promoter response to nitrogen availability and greatly diminished but did not completely eliminate reactivity to changes in salt concentration. Insertional inactivation of rpoN (ntrA) in PAO568 did not affect algR and algD transcription.
Effects of multiple yeast rad3 mutant alleles on UV sensitivity, mutability, and mitotic recombination
Authors: Song J M , Montelone B A , Siede W , Friedberg E C
Published: November 2016

A yeast strain was constructed that had a disruption of the chromosomal RAD3 gene and carried a series of centromeric plasmids with defined mutations in this gene. Using this isogenic collection, we examined sensitivity to UV radiation, spontaneous and UV radiation-induced mutagenesis, and mitotic recombination. Several alleles resulted in a marked increase in UV sensitivity. Most of these alleles were found to carry mutations located in consensus motifs for DNA helicases. Other alleles caused a modest or no increase in UV sensitivity and carried mutations in regions of the Rad3 polypeptide that are apparently not conserved. This correlation suggests that the DNA helicase activity of Rad3 protein is required for nucleotide excision repair of DNA. Some rad3 alleles conferred a marked increase in the frequency of spontaneous mutagenesis, including nonsuppressor reversion of the lys2-1 ochre mutation. These alleles also showed a good correlation with conserved DNA helicase domains, suggesting that the Rad3 DNA helicase also plays a role in the fidelity of DNA synthesis or postreplicative mismatch correction. Several rad3 mutator alleles also resulted in increased levels of mitotic recombination. Increased spontaneous mutagenesis and mitotic recombination are characteristic features of the Rem- phenotype. However, in contrast to the prototypic Rem- phenotype, the rad3 mutator alleles identified in this study did not confer inviability in the presence of mutations in the RAD50 or RAD52 gene required for strand break repair of DNA.
Purification and properties of thermostable xylanase and beta-xylosidase produced by a newly isolated Bacillus stearothermophilus strain
Authors: Nanmori T , Watanabe T , Shinke R , Kohno A , Kawamura Y
Published: November 2016

We isolated a thermophilic bacterium that produces both xylanase and beta-xylosidase. Based on taxonomical research, this bacterium was identified as Bacillus stearothermophilus. Each extracellular enzyme was separated by hydrophobic chromatography by using a Toyopearl HW-65 column, followed by gel filtration with a Sephacryl S-200 column. Each enzyme in the culture was further purified to homogeneity (62-fold for xylanase and 72-fold for beta-xylosidase) by using a fast protein liquid chromatography system with a Mono Q HR 5/5 column. The optimum temperatures were 60 degrees C for xylanase and 70 degrees C for beta-xylosidase. The isoelectric points and molecular masses were 5.1 and 39.5 kDa for xylanase and 4.2 and 150 kDa for beta-xylosidase, respectively. Heat treatment at 60 degrees C for 1 h did not cause inhibition of the activities of these enzymes. The action of the two enzymes on xylan gave only xylose.
Purification, cloning, and primary structure of an enantiomer-selective amidase from Brevibacterium sp. strain R312: structural evidence for genetic coupling with nitrile hydratase
Authors: Mayaux J F , Cerebelaud E , Soubrier F , Faucher D , Pétré D
Published: November 2016

An enantiomer-selective amidase active on several 2-aryl and 2-aryloxy propionamides was identified and purified from Brevibacterium sp. strain R312. Oligonucleotide probes were designed from limited peptide sequence information and were used to clone the corresponding gene, named amdA. Highly significant homologies were found at the amino acid level between the deduced sequence of the enantiomer-selective amidase and the sequences of known amidases such as indoleacetamide hydrolases from Pseudomonas syringae and Agrobacterium tumefaciens and acetamidase from Aspergillus nidulans. Moreover, amdA is found in the same orientation and only 73 bp upstream from the gene coding for nitrile hydratase, strongly suggesting that both genes are part of the same operon. Our results also showed that Rhodococcus sp. strain N-774 and Brevibacterium sp. strain R312 are probably identical, or at least very similar, microorganisms. The characterized amidase is an apparent homodimer of Mr 2 x 54,671 which exhibited under our conditions a specific activity of about 13 to 17 mumol of 2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)propionic R acid formed per min per mg of enzyme from the racemic amide. Large amounts of an active recombinant enzyme could be produced in Escherichia coli at 30 degrees C under the control of an E. coli promoter and ribosome-binding site.
Characterization of the H(+)-pumping F1F0 ATPase of Vibrio alginolyticus
Authors: Krumholz L R , Esser U , Simoni R D
Published: November 2016

The F1F0 ATPase of Vibrio alginolyticus was cloned from a chromosomal lambda library. The unc operon, which contains the structural genes for the ATPase, was sequenced and shown to have a gene organization of uncIBEFHAGDC. The sequence of each subunit was compared with those of other eubacterial ATPases. The V. alginolyticus unc genes exhibited greater similarity to the Escherichia coli unc genes than to any of the other bacterial unc genes for which the sequence is available. The ATPase was expressed in an E. coli unc deletion strain, and the ATP hydrolytic activity was characterized. It has a pH optimum of 7.6 and is stimulated by the addition of Triton X-100 or any of a variety of salts. The recombinant F1F0 was purified 30.4-fold and reconstituted into proteoliposomes. This enzyme catalyzed the pumping of protons coupled to ATP hydrolysis as measured in fluorescence quenching experiments but would not pump Na+ ions under similar conditions.
Binding of DNA in vitro by a small, acid-soluble spore protein from Bacillus subtilis and the effect of this binding on DNA topology
Authors: Nicholson W L , Setlow B , Setlow P
Published: November 2016

The DNA within spores of Bacillus subtilis is complexed with a large amount of alpha/beta-type small, acid-soluble spore protein (SASP). Measurement of the interaction of a purified alpha/beta-type SASP with DNA in vitro by a filter binding assay showed that the binding saturated at one molecule of SASP per approximately 5 bp. SASP-DNA binding did not require a divalent cation, was optimal at pH 6.7, and was unaffected by salt up to 400 mM. Binding of SASP to relaxed plasmid DNA in the presence of topoisomerase I resulted in the introduction of 18 (for plasmid pUC19) or 36 (for plasmid pUB110) negative supertwists, a superhelical density similar to that found in several plasmids isolated from spores. The SASP-dependent introduction of negative supertwists did not require a divalent cation, was unaffected by salt, and also gave a value of one molecule of SASP per approximately 5 bp at saturation. There was at least one slow step in the binding of SASP to DNA as seen in both the filter binding and supercoiling assays.
In vitro interactions of CysB protein with the cysK and cysJIH promoter regions of Salmonella typhimurium
Authors: Monroe R S , Ostrowski J , Hryniewicz M M , Kredich N M
Published: November 2016

The cysteine regulons of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli are positively regulated by CysB protein and either O-acetyl-L-serine or N-acetyl-L-serine, both of which act as inducers. Gel mobility shift assays and DNase I footprinting experiments showed that CysB protein binds to the S. typhimurium cysK promoter at two sites, one, designated CBS-K1, at positions -78 to -39 relative to the major transcription start site, and the other, designated CBS-K2, at positions -115 to -79. The S. typhimurium cysJIH promoter was found to contain a single binding site, designated CBS-JH, at positions -76 to -35. Acetyl-L-serine stimulated binding to CBS-K1 and CBS-J and inhibited binding to CBS-K2. In the absence of acetyl-L-serine, CysB protein bound to both CBS-K1 and CBS-K2 and gave a complex that migrated more slowly during gel electrophoresis than did that formed in the presence of acetyl-L-serine, in which case CysB protein bound only to CBS-K1. Complexes formed with DNA containing the two binding sites either at the middle or at one end of the fragment migrated differently, suggesting that DNA was bent in the slow complex formed in the absence of acetyl-L-serine and that DNA in the fast complex was less bent or not bent at all. An analysis of upstream deletions of the cysK promoter showed that only CBS-K1 is required for in vivo promoter activity. CBS-J is analogous in position to CBS-K1 and is probably also required for activity of the cysJIH promoter. CBS-K2 has no known function but may help sequester CysB protein at the cysK promoter.
Developmental rearrangement of cyanobacterial nif genes: nucleotide sequence, open reading frames, and cytochrome P-450 homology of the Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 nifD element
Authors: Lammers P J , McLaughlin S , Papin S , Trujillo-Provencio C , Ryncarz A J
Published: November 2016

An 11-kbp DNA element of unknown function interrupts the nifD gene in vegetative cells of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. In developing heterocysts the nifD element excises from the chromosome via site-specific recombination between short repeat sequences that flank the element. The nucleotide sequence of the nifH-proximal half of the element was determined to elucidate the genetic potential of the element. Four open reading frames with the same relative orientation as the nifD element-encoded xisA gene were identified in the sequenced region. Each of the open reading frames was preceded by a reasonable ribosome-binding site and had biased codon utilization preferences consistent with low levels of expression. Open reading frame 3 was highly homologous with three cytochrome P-450 omega-hydroxylase proteins and showed regional homology to functionally significant domains common to the cytochrome P-450 superfamily. The sequence encoding open reading frame 2 was the most highly conserved portion of the sequenced region based on heterologous hybridization experiments with three genera of heterocystous cyanobacteria.
Cloning and sequencing of a bile acid-inducible operon from Eubacterium sp. strain VPI 12708
Authors: Mallonee D H , White W B , Hylemon P B
Published: November 2016

Two bile acid-inducible polypeptides from Eubacterium sp. strain VPI 12708 with molecular weights of 27,000 and approximately 45,000 have previously been shown to be encoded by genes residing on a 2.9-kb EcoRI fragment. We now report the cloning and sequencing of three additional overlapping DNA fragments upstream from this EcoRI fragment. Together, these four fragments contain a large segment of a bile acid-inducible operon which encodes the 27,000- and 45,000-Mr (now shown to be 47,500-Mr) polypeptides and open reading frames potentially coding for four additional polypeptides with molecular weights of 59,500, 58,000, 19,500, and 9,000 to 11,500. A bile acid-inducible polypeptide with an apparent Mr of 23,500, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was purified to homogeneity, and the N-terminal amino acid sequence that was obtained matched the sequence deduced from the open reading frame coding for the 19,500-Mr polypeptide. A short DNA segment containing the 3' downstream end of the gene coding for the 47,500-Mr polypeptide was not successfully cloned but was directly sequenced from DNA fragments synthesized by polymerase chain reaction. The mRNA initiation site for the bile acid-inducible operon was shown by primer extension to be immediately upstream from the gene encoding the 58,000-Mr polypeptide. A potential promoter region upstream from the mRNA initiation site displayed significant homology with the promoter regions of previously identified bile acid-inducible genes from Eubacterium sp. strain VPI 12708. We hypothesize that this bile acid-inducible operon codes for most of the enzymes involved in the bile acid 7 alpha-dehydroxylation pathway in this bacterium.
Cloning and cell cycle-dependent expression of DNA replication gene dnaC from Caulobacter crescentus
Authors: Ohta N , Masurekar M , Newton A
Published: November 2016

Chromosome replication in the asymmetrically dividing bacteria Caulobacter crescentus is discontinuous with the new, motile swarmer cell undergoing an obligatory presynthetic gap period (G1 period) of 60 min before the initiation of DNA synthesis and stalk formation. To examine the regulation of the cell division cycle at the molecular level, we have cloned the DNA chain elongation gene dnaC from a genomic DNA library constructed in cosmid vector pLAFR1-7. To ensure that the cloned sequence corresponded to dnaC, we isolated the gene by genetic complementation of the temperature-sensitive allele dnaC303 on DNA fragment that contained a Tn5 insertion element tightly linked by transduction to dnaC. The size of the dnaC gene was estimated to be 1,500 bp or less based on the pattern of complementation by subcloned restriction and BAL 31 deletion fragments. Nuclease S1 assays were used to map the transcription start site and to determine the pattern of dnaC expression in the cell cycle. Large amounts of the dnaC transcript began to accumulate only in the late G1 period of the swarmer cell and then peaked early during chromosome replication. We confirmed that the gene is periodically transcribed by monitoring the rate of beta-galactosidase synthesis directed by a dnaC promoter-lacZ fusion in a synchronous cell culture. dnaC is the first C. crescentus cell cycle gene whose regulation has been reported, and the discontinuous pattern of its expression suggests that the DNA synthetic period in these dimorphic bacteria is regulated in part by the stage-specific expression of DNA replication genes.
Nitrate- and molybdenum-independent signal transduction mutations in narX that alter regulation of anaerobic respiratory genes in Escherichia coli
Authors: Kalman L V , Gunsalus R P
Published: November 2016

Escherichia coli can respire anaerobically by reducing nitrate, trimethylamine-N-oxide, dimethyl sulfoxide, or fumarate. When nitrate is present, expression of the genes for fumarate (frdABCD), trimethylamine-N-oxide, and dimethyl sulfoxide (dmsABC) is repressed while expression of the nitrate reductase (narGHJI) gene is induced. This regulation requires molybdate and is mediated by the narX and narL gene products, which together form a two-component regulatory system. We provide evidence that NarX is a nitrate and molybdenum sensor which activates NarL when nitrate is available to cells. Mutants generated by hydroxylamine mutagenesis were repressed for frdA-lacZ expression even when cells were grown in the absence of nitrate. The mutations responsible for three of these nitrate independence (NarX*) phenotypes were localized to narX and further characterized in vivo for their ability to repress frdA-lacZ expression. Two of the mutants (the narX64 and narX71 mutants) had a greatly reduced requirement for molybdenum to function but still responded to nitrate. In contrast, a third mutant (the narX32 mutant) required molybdenum but did not exhibit full repression of frdA-lacZ expression even when nitrate was present. These narX* alleles also caused the induction of nitrate reductase gene expression and the repression of a dmsA-lacZ fusion in the absence of nitrate. Each narX* mutation was determined to lie in an 11-amino-acid region of the NarX polypeptide that follows a proposed transmembrane domain. We suggest that the conformation of the narX* gene products is altered such that even in the absence of nitrate each of these gene products more closely resembles the wild-type NarX protein when nitrate is present.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
An expression vector for the archaebacterium Haloferax volcanii
Authors: Nieuwlandt D T , Daniels C J
Published: November 2016

The recent development of an efficient transformation method and shuttle vectors for Haloferax volcanii has set the stage for rapid progress in archaebacterial molecular biology. We describe a shuttle-expression vector that can be selected for and maintained in either H. volcanii or Escherichia coli and permits the expression of cloned genes in H. volcanii. The vector, pWL204, was constructed by incorporating an H. volcanii tRNA(Lys) gene promoter into a derivative of the H. volcanii-E. coli shuttle vector pWL102. The vector has been used to express a modified, intron-containing, H. mediterranei tRNA(Trp) gene (tRNA(Trp)-O167). Transcription from the tRNA(Lys) gene promoter in vivo was detected by Northern (RNA) analysis with an oligonucleotide probe complementary to the unique intron sequence of tRNA(Trp)-O167. Dependence of transcription on the tRNA(Lys) promoter was demonstrated by the absence of transcription when the promoter sequence was deleted from the vector and by mapping the transcription initiation site by primer extension.
A negatively charged N terminus in the alpha polypeptide inhibits formation of light-harvesting complex I in Rhodobacter capsulatus
Authors: Stiehle H , Cortez N , Klug G , Drews G
Published: November 2016

Light-harvesting complex I (LHI) of Rhodobacter capsulatus contains bacteriochlorophyll and carotenoids which are noncovalently bound to two different apoproteins (alpha and beta polypeptides) carrying oppositely charged N-terminal ends. The contribution of these charged segments to the assembly of LHI was studied with mutants having oppositely charged amino acids in the alpha or beta polypeptide. The influence of these mutations on the insertion and assembly process of the LHI complex was investigated by means of spectroscopic analysis of isolated intracytoplasmic membranes and pulse-chase experiments. Exchange of four positively charged amino acids to negatively charged amino acids on the N-terminal domain of the alpha subunit inhibited completely the assembly of the LHI complex. Although this mutant has no antenna, the reaction center is active and the cells were able to grow anaerobically in the light. Conversely, mutation of the four negatively charged amino acids of the N-terminal segment of the beta polypeptide did not prevent the assembly of the LHI complex, although the stability of the complex and the size of the photosynthetic unit were affected. The presence of the mutated beta polypeptide was confirmed by protein sequencing.
Synthesis of acetyl coenzyme A by carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complex from acetate-grown Methanosarcina thermophila
Authors: Abbanat D R , Ferry J G
Published: November 2016

The carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) complex from Methanosarcina thermophila catalyzed the synthesis of acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) from CH3I, CO, and coenzyme A (CoA) at a rate of 65 nmol/min/mg at 55 degrees C. The reaction ended after 5 min with the synthesis of 52 nmol of acetyl-CoA per nmol of CODH complex. The optimum temperature for acetyl-CoA synthesis in the assay was between 55 and 60 degrees C; the rate of synthesis at 55 degrees C was not significantly different between pHs 5.5 and 8.0. The rate of acetyl-CoA synthesis was independent of CoA concentrations between 20 microM and 1 mM; however, activity was inhibited 50% with 5 mM CoA. Methylcobalamin did not substitute for CH3I in acetyl-CoA synthesis; no acetyl-CoA or propionyl coenzyme A was detected when sodium acetate or CH3CH2I replaced CH3I in the assay mixture. CO could be replaced with CO2 and titanium(III) citrate. When CO2 and 14CO were present in the assay, the specific activity of the acetyl-CoA synthesized was 87% of the specific activity of 14CO, indicating that CO was preferentially incorporated into acetyl-CoA without prior oxidation to free CO2. Greater than 100 microM potassium cyanide was required to significantly inhibit acetyl-CoA synthesis, and 500 microM was required for 50% inhibition; in contrast, oxidation of CO by the CODH complex was inhibited 50% by approximately 10 microM potassium cyanide.
Evidence for salt-associated restriction pattern modifications in the archaeobacterium Haloferax mediterranei
Authors: Juez G , Rodriguez-Valera F , Herrero N , Mojica F J
Published: November 2016

DNA restriction pattern modifications were detected when Haloferax mediterranei was grown in low (10%) salt concentrations. After cells were grown again in optimal (25%) salt concentrations, the original pattern was recovered. These salt-associated DNA modifications were revealed with 5% of the 160 DNA fragments cloned and used as probes in hybridization experiments. Patterns obtained when genomic DNA was digested with different restriction enzymes showed that these modifications are related not to insertions or deletions in genome but to modifications of some specific sequences.
Microbial growth patterns described by fractal geometry
Authors: Obert M , Pfeifer P , Sernetz M
Published: November 2016

Fractal geometry has made important contributions to understanding the growth of inorganic systems in such processes as aggregation, cluster formation, and dendritic growth. In biology, fractal geometry was previously applied to describe, for instance, the branching system in the lung airways and the backbone structure of proteins as well as their surface irregularity. This investigation applies the fractal concept to the growth patterns of two microbial species, Streptomyces griseus and Ashbya gossypii. It is a first example showing fractal aggregates in biological systems, with a cell as the smallest aggregating unit and the colony as an aggregate. We find that the global structure of sufficiently branched mycelia can be described by a fractal dimension, D, which increases during growth up to 1.5. D is therefore a new growth parameter. Two different box-counting methods (one applied to the whole mass of the mycelium and the other applied to the surface of the system) enable us to evaluate fractal dimensions for the aggregates in this analysis in the region of D = 1.3 to 2. Comparison of both box-counting methods shows that the mycelial structure changes during growth from a mass fractal to a surface fractal.
Specific A/G-to-C.G mismatch repair in Salmonella typhimurium LT2 requires the mutB gene product
Authors: Lu A L , Cuipa M J , Ip M S , Shanabruch W G
Published: November 2016

An assay has been developed that permits analysis of repair of A/G mismatches to C.G base pairs in cell extracts of Salmonella typhimurium LT2. This A/G mismatch repair is independent of ATP, dam methylation, and mutS gene function. The gene product of mutB has been shown to be involved in the dam-independent pathway through the in vitro assay. Moreover, specific DNA-protein complexes and an endonuclease can be detected in S. typhimurium extracts by using DNA fragments containing an A/G mismatch. These activities are not observed with substrates which have a T/G mismatch or no mismatch. The S. typhimurium endonuclease, like the A/G endonuclease found in Escherichia coli (A-L. Lu and D.-Y. Chang, Cell 54:805-812, 1988), makes incisions at the first phosphodiester bond 3' to and the the second phosphodiester bond 5' to the dA of the A/G mismatch. No incision site was detected on the other DNA strand. Extracts prepared from mutB mutants cannot form A/G mismatch-specific DNA-protein complexes and do not contain the A/G endonuclease activity. Thus the A/G mismatch specific binding and nicking activities are probably involved in the A/G mismatch repair pathway. Preliminary analysis of the mutational spectrum of the mutB strain has indicated that this mutator allele causes an increase in C.G-to-A.T transversions without affecting the frequencies of other transversion or transition events. In addition, the mutB gene has been mapped to the 64-min region of the S. typhimurium chromosome. Together, this biochemical and genetic evidence suggests that the mutB gene product of S. typhimurium is the homolog of the E. coli micA (and/or mutY) gene product.
Cloning, nucleotide sequence, and expression in Escherichia coli of the phospholipase D gene from Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis
Authors: Hodgson A L , Bird P , Nisbet I T
Published: November 2016

The phospholipase D (PLD) gene from Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis has been cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli. Analysis of DNA sequence data reveals a major open reading frame encoding a 31.4-kilodalton protein, a size consistent with that estimated for the PLD protein by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Comparison of these data with the amino-terminal protein sequence indicates that the mature PLD protein is preceded by a 24-residue signal sequence. Expression of the PLD gene in E. coli is initiated from the corynebacterial promoter, and the resulting protein has sphingomyelinase activity. Primer extension mapping localized the 5' end of the PLD gene mRNA to a site 5 to 7 base pairs downstream of a region similar to the consensus sequence for E. coli promoters. Northern and Southern blot analyses suggest that the gene is transcribed from mRNA approximately 1.1 kilobases in length and that it is present in a single copy within the C. pseudotuberculosis genome.
Circularity of the Caulobacter crescentus chromosome determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis
Authors: Ely B , Ely T W , Gerardot C J , Dingwall A
Published: November 2016

Previous genetic analyses of the Caulobacter crescentus chromosome have resulted in the construction of a linear genetic map. To establish the circularity of the C. crescentus chromosome, restriction fragments generated by digestion with AseI and SpeI were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and Southern hybridization. The size of each fragment was calculated and used to demonstrate that C. crescentus has a genome size of approximately 4,000 kilobases. In addition, both enzymes gave rise to large DNA fragments which contained genes from both ends of the genetic map. Thus, there is physical linkage between the genes at the ends of the genetic map and the chromosome is circular. Since this region of the chromosome appears to contain the replication terminus, we propose that recombination occurs at a high frequency in the vicinity of the terminus. This high frequency of recombination would prevent genetic linkage from being observed between genes on opposite sides of the terminus. Additional experiments using insertions which introduced new AseI and DraI restriction sites into the genome allowed us to calculate the physical distance between genes located in the vicinity of the replication terminus.
Escherichia coli 4.5S RNA gene function can be complemented by heterologous bacterial RNA genes
Authors: Struck J C , Lempicki R A , Toschka H Y , Erdmann V A , Fournier M J
Published: November 2016

The essential 4.5S RNA gene of Escherichia coli can be complemented by 4.5S RNA-like genes from three other eubacteria, including both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. Two of the genes encode RNAs similar in size to the E. coli species; the third, from Bacillus subtilis, specifies an RNA more than twice as large. The heterologous genes are expressed efficiently in E. coli, and the product RNAs resemble those produced by cognate cells. We conclude that the heterologous RNAs can replace E. coli 4.5S RNA and that the essential function of 4.5S RNA is evolutionarily conserved. A consensus structure is presented for the functionally related 4.5S RNA homologs.
Structure and light-regulated expression of phycoerythrin genes in wild-type and phycobilisome assembly mutants of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6701
Authors: Anderson L K , Grossman A R
Published: November 2016

Phycoerythrin is a major pigmented component of the phycobilisome, a cyanobacterial light-harvesting complex. It contains bilin-type chromophores that absorb and transfer light energy to chlorophyll protein complexes of the photosynthetic membranes. In many cyanobacteria, phycoerythrin expression is regulated by light wavelength in a response known as chromatic adaptation. Green light-grown cells contain higher levels of this biliprotein than do cells grown in red light. The phycoerythrin gene set from the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6701 was cloned and sequenced, and the 5' end of the phycoerythrin mRNA was localized. The amino acid sequences of the phycoerythrin subunits from Synechocystis strain 6701 and Fremyella diplosiphon were 90% identical. As observed in F. diplosiphon, the Synechocystis strain 6701 phycoerythrin transcript accumulated to high levels in green light-grown cells and low levels in red light-grown cells. Similar nucleotide sequences, which might control gene expression, occurred upstream of the transcription initiation sites of the phycoerythrin genes in both organisms. While the phycoerythrin structure and light-regulated transcript accumulation were similar in Synechocystis strain 6701 and F. diplosiphon, the steady-state levels of phycoerythrin subunits during growth in red light were quite different for the two organisms. This observation suggests that control of phycoerythrin levels in Synechocystis strain 6701 is complex and may involve posttranscriptional processes. We also characterized the phycoerythrin genes and mRNA levels in two phycobilisome assembly mutants, UV16-40 and UV16.