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L I Rothfield

Publications and source records attributed to L I Rothfield.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Compartmentalization of the periplasmic space at division sites in gram-negative bacteria.

Phase-contrast and serial-section electron microscopy were used to study the patterns of localized plasmolysis that occur when cells of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli are exposed to hypertonic solutions of sucrose. In dividing cells the nascent septum was flanked by localized regions of periseptal plasmolysis. In randomly growing populations, plasmolysis bays that were not associated with septal ingrowth were clustered at the midpoint of the cell and at 1/4 and 3/4 cell lengths. The localized regions of plasmolysis were limited by continuous zones of adhesion that resembled the periseptal annular adhesion zones described previously in lkyD mutants of S. typhimurium (T. J. MacAlister, B. MacDonald, and L. I. Rothfield, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80:1372-1376, 1983). When cell division was blocked by growing divC(Ts) cells at elevated temperatures, the localized regions of plasmolysis were clustered along the aseptate filaments at positions that corresponded to sites where septum formation occurred when cell division was permitted to resume by a shift back to the permissive temperature. Taken together the results are consistent with a model in which extended zones of adhesion define localized compartments within the periplasmic space, predominantly located at future sites of cell division.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1984

Regulation of membrane glycosyltransferases by the sfrB and rfaH genes of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium.

The role of sfrB and rfaH genes in the regulation of expression of membrane glycosyltransferases was studied in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The transferase enzymes form part of a multienzyme system involved in biosynthesis of the polysaccharide core of Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharides. Several sfrB mutants of E. coli showed reductions of 90-98% in the activities of two of the glycosyltransferases (UDP-galactose:(glucosyl)lipopolysaccharide 1,6-galactosyltransferase and UDP-glucose: (glucosyl)lipopolysaccharide 1,3-glucosyltransferase). Introduction of a recombinant ColE1 plasmid restored the transferase levels to normal and simultaneously corrected the F-factor defects that also characterize sfrB mutants; recombinant plasmids containing other regions of the E. coli chromosome were ineffective. An amber mutation of the S. typhimurium rfaH gene (thought to be the homologue of the E. coli sfrB gene) resulted in 97% loss of activity of the Salmonella UDP-galactose:(glucosyl)lipopolysaccharide galactosyltransferase. Antibody precipitation studies showed that the loss of enzyme activity in the amber mutant was associated with a corresponding decrease in amount, but not in size, of the transferase protein, indicating that the gene is not the structural gene for the S. typhimurium galactosyltransferase. Taken together, the results indicate that the sfrB(rfaH) gene acts as a positive regulatory element in expression of multiple glycosyltransferases in E. coli and S. typhimurium.

Cell Membrane↗
PubMed1984

Genetic basis of minicell formation in Escherichia coli K-12.

Hfr- and P1-mediated genetic transfer experiments failed to confirm the presence of a " minA " gene in Escherichia coli K-12, leading to the conclusion that mutation at a single locus, the minB locus, is sufficient to cause minicell production in this species.

Crosses, Genetic↗
PubMed1983

Salmonella typhimurium mutants defective in UDP-D-galactose:lipopolysaccharide alpha 1,6-D-galactosyltransferase. Structural, immunochemical, and enzymologic studies of rfaB mutants.

The biochemical defect in a class of Salmonella typhimurium mutants (rfaB) defective in biosynthesis of the lipopolysaccharide core is described. Structural, immunochemical and enzymologic studies showed that: (i) the core polysaccharide completely lacked the branch alpha 1,6-D-galactosyl residue of the normal lipopolysaccharide as shown by methylation analysis and 1H nmr spectroscopy; (ii) the mutant lipopolysaccharides acted as acceptors for transfer of D-galactose from UDP-D-galactose into alpha 1,6 linkage to the proximal D-glucosyl residue of the core in a reaction catalyzed by an enzyme activity present in extracts from rfaB+ cells; (iii) the UDP-D-galactose:(glucosyl)lipopolysaccharide alpha 1,6-D-galactosyltransferase activity was absent from extracts of rfaB cells.

Carbohydrate Sequence↗
PubMed1983

The periseptal annulus: An organelle associated with cell division in Gram-negative bacteria.

Evidence is presented that the site of cell division in Salmonella typhimurium is flanked by two circumferential zones of cell envelope differentiation, the periseptal annuli, which separate the division site from the remainder of the cell envelope. Each annulus is composed of a continuous structure in which the membranous elements of the cell envelope are closely associated with the murein cytoskeleton. The paired annuli appear early in the division process and the region between them defines a new cellular domain, the periseptal compartment, within which the division septum is formed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1980

Morphogenesis of the bacterial division septum: identification of potential sites of division in lkyD mutants of Salmonella typhimurium.

It previously has been shown that lkyD mutants of Salmonella typhimurium form large blebs of outer membrane over the septal and polar regions of dividing cells. To determine whether the outer membrane blebs are formed over potential sites of division even in the absence of septal ingrowth, lkyD strains were studied under conditions in which ingrowth of inner membrane and murein was prevented by inactivation of the envA gene product. In aseptate filaments of the LkyD EnvA strain, outer membrane blebs occurred with the usual frequency and were preferentially located over regions where new septa were formed when cell division was subsequently permitted to resume. The results indicate that the outer membrane blebs of the LkyD strain are markers for potential sites of cell division, implying that an alteration in association of outer membrane and murein exists in these sites before the initiation of septal ingrowth. This localized change in cell envelope organization is independent of the septation-inducing effects of the envA gene product.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1979

Cloning of genes for bacterial glycosyltransferases. I. Selection of hybrid plasmids carrying genes for two glucosyltransferases.

A method of identifying plasmids containing genes responsible for synthesis of nucleotide sugar:lipopolysaccharide glycosyltransferases is described. Hybrid ColE1 plasmids containing random fragments of the chromosome of Escherichia coli K12 were introduced into an indicator strain of Salmonella typhimurium which lacks UDP-glucose:lipopolysaccharide glucosyltransferase I due to an rfaG mutation. Plasmids capable of correcting the transferase defect were identified by their ability to convert the bacteriophage sensitivity pattern of the recipient strain from Ffm-sensitive to Ffm-resistant. Analysis of the lipopolysaccharide of the S. typhimurium/ColE1 hybrid strains and assay of cell extracts defined the new enzyme activities. Two plasmids were identified which carried the rfaG+ gene; one of these plasmids also contained genetic information for a second glucosyltransferase, the E. coli glucosyltransferase II, which normally is not present in S. typhimurium.

DNA, Recombinant↗
PubMed1979

Cloning of genes for bacterial glycosyltransferases. II. Selection of a hybrid plasmid carrying the rfah gene.

A hybrid ColE1 plasmid containing DNA from Escherichia coli K12 were identified which was capable of correcting the defect in UDP-galactose:lipopolysaccharide alpha1,3-galactosyltransferase in an rfaH mutant of Salmonella typhimurium. Expression of the gene for this enzyme was also demonstrated in several strains of E. coli by direct assay. The E. coli and S. typhimurium enzymes are similar in catalytic properties and immunologic specificity. The finding of the galactosyltransferase activity in E. coli extracts is surprising since the alpha1,3-galactosylglucose disaccharide which is the product of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction does not appear to be present in the E. coli lipopolysaccharide.

DNA, Recombinant↗
PubMed1978

Interactions between lipopolysaccharide and phosphatidylethanolamine in molecular monolayers.

Lipopolysaccharide and phosphatidylethanolamine are the two major lipid constituents of the membrane of Salmonella typhimurium. Interactions between the purified lipopolysaccharide and phosphatidylethanolamine were studied in molecular monolayers at air-water interfaces. The equilibrium surface pressures of mixed films of lipopolysaccharide and phosphatidylethanolamine were determined as a function of the film composition. The plot of the equilibrium surface pressrue vs. the area occupied by phosphatidylethanolamine molecules exhibited two distinct regions. Below a phosphatidylethanolamine surface concentration at which 55% of the surface was occupied by phosphatidylethanolamine molecules, the equilibrium pressure was invariant and had the value of a pure lipopolysaccharide monolayer at maximum compression. At phosphatidylethanolamine surface concentrations in excess of 55% surface area occupation (phosphatidylethanolamine/lipopolysaccharide (mol/mol) greater than 16), the equilibrium surface pressure was a function of the surface concentration of phosphatidylethanolamine. The results suggest a simple model in which lipopolysaccharide and phosphatidylethanolamine form a complex in which each lipopolysaccharide molecule is surrounded ("lipidated") by a shell of approx. 16 phosphatidylethanolamine molecules.

Lipopolysaccharides↗
PubMed1978

Modulation of the conformation of a membrane glycosyltransferase by specific lipids.

Fluorescence techniques were used to study conformational changes in UDPgalactose:lipopolysaccharide alpha,3-galactosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.44). Intramolecular energy transfer was measured from the single tryptophan residue in the peptide to a pyridoxal phosphate group linked to the same peptide via a reduced Schiff's base. Significant differences in energy transfer were seen when the enzyme was studied in aqueous solution and after entry into a phospholipid-lipopolysaccharide matrix, paralleling the restoration of its catalytic activity. Further differences were seen when the structures of the phospholipids and lipopolysaccharides were changed. Application of the Förster theory indicated that the changes in energy transfer resulted from changes in distances between the chromophores and/or changes in their relative orientations. The results suggest that entry of this membrane protein into a lipid matrix induces a change in conformation of the protein and that other alternative conformations can be induced by further changes in its lipid environment.

Energy Transfer↗
PubMed1978

Role of murein lipoprotein in morphogenesis of the bacterial division septum: phenotypic similarity of lkyD and lpo mutants.

Phenotypes were compared in two different classes of mutants with defects in murein-lipoprotein (lkyD mutants of Salmonella typhimurium and an lpo mutant of Escherichia coli). Both mutations are associated with the same triad of phenotypic abnormalities, consisting of defective formation of the division septum, leakage of periplasmic proteins during growth, and increased sensitivity to several unrelated external toxic agents. The abnormality in septum formation consists of a defect in invagination of the outer membrane during formation of the nascent septum. The results suggest that formation of the murein-lipoprotein link plays an important role in differentiation of the division septum and perhaps also in maintaining the normal barrier function of the outer membrane.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1978

Constitutive expression of the iron-enterochelin and ferrichrome uptake systems in a mutant strain of Salmonella typhimurium.

Two high-affinity iron uptake systems are known in Salmonella typhimurium, one utilizing iron-enterochelin and the other utilizing ferrichrome. It has been shown previously that expression of several elements of the iron-enterochelin uptake system are regulated by the iron content of the medium, with growth in high-iron medium resulting in repression of enzymes of enterochelin synthesis and degradation and of the ability of whole cells to take up iron-enterochelin. In this study we describe a mutant strain in which growth in high-iron medium was associated with constitutive expression of: (i) iron-enterochelin uptake by whole cells; (ii) ferrichrome uptake by whole cells; (iii) synthesis of enterochelin; (iv) intracellular degradation of iron-enterochelin; and (v) synthesis of three major outer membrane proteins (OM1, OM2, and OM3). In contrast, in the wild-type strain these properties were expressed only after growth in iron-deficient medium. It is proposed that the mutation affects a gene responsible for regulating expression of the structural genes for the components of the high-affinity iron uptake systems. The term fur, for iron (Fe) uptake regulation, is suggested for this new class of mutant.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1978

Isolation of the envelope of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Vesicular stomatitis virus was disrupted by a combination of freezing and thawing, osmotic shock, and sonic treatment. Subviral components were separated by isopycnic centrifugation. The low-density, lipid-rich fractions were pooled and shown to contain primarily viral glycoprotein. Further purification of this material resulted in the isolation of a preparation of vesicles which contained only the G protein and the same phospholipids as in the intact virions and exhibited spikelike structures similar to those on intact vesicular stomatitis virions. We conclude that we have isolated fragments of native vesicular stomatitis virus envelopes.

Centrifugation, Isopycnic↗
PubMed1976

Morphogenesis of the bacterial division septum: a new class of septation-defective mutants.

A new class of mutants of Salmonella typhimurium (lkyD mutants) are described. The mutants are defective in morphogenesis of the division septum, and are characterized by a failure of the outer membrane to invaginate despite normal ingrowth of the cytoplasmic membrane and murein layers of the growing septum. The cell envelopes of the mutants show a significant decrease in the bound form of murein-lipoprotein and a corresponding increase in the free form of the lipoprotein. This suggests that the morphogenic defect may result from a defect in formation of covalent bonds between the free lipoprotein of the outer membrane and the murein of the nascent septum.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1976

Genetic and physiological classification of periplasmic-leaky mutants of Salmonella typhimurium.

Mutants of Salmonella typhimurium that leaked periplasmic proteins were isolated. Four classes of mutants were identified by their increased sensitivity to dyes, detergents, or antibiotics. Conjugation studies indicated that representatives of two classes mapped in the proA-galE region of the Salmonella chromosome and two in the cysI-argE region. According to their bacteriophage sensitivity pattern, all four of the mutant classes appear to retain the smooth lipopolysaccharide characteristic. One class of mutants has an abnormal cell envelope in which the outer membrane balloons away from the murein layer.

Acridines↗
PubMed1976

Genetic and physiological regulation of intrinsic proteins of the outer membrane of Salmonella typhimurium.

Four major outer membrane polypeptides, accounting for approximately 20% of the total protein of the outer membrane of Salmonella typhimurium, were induced by growth in minimal medium. The polypeptides were tightly bound membrane components. Physiological and genetic evidence indicates that the four polypeptides fall in two separate regulation groups. Synthesis of one of these groups was coordinately regulated by the concentration of iron in the medium, and a mutant strain has been identified in which there is constitutive synthesis of this group of major outer membrane proteins.

Bacterial Proteins↗