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R A Garrett

Publications and source records attributed to R A Garrett.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

The antibiotic thiostrepton inhibits a functional transition within protein L11 at the ribosomal GTPase centre.

A newly identified class of highly thiostrepton-resistant mutants of the archaeon Halobacterium halobium carry a missense mutation at codon 18 within the gene encoding ribosomal protein L11. In the mutant proteins, a proline, conserved in archaea and bacteria, is converted to either serine or threonine. The mutations do not impair either the assembly of the mutant L11 into 70 S ribosomes in vivo or the binding of thiostrepton to ribosomes in vitro. Moreover, the corresponding mutations at proline 22, in a fusion protein of L11 from Escherichia coli with glutathione-S-transferase, did not reduce the binding affinities of the mutated L11 fusion proteins for rRNA of of thiostrepton for the mutant L11-rRNA complexes at rRNA concentrations lower than those prevailing in vivo. Probing the structure of the fusion protein of wild-type L11, from E. coli, using a recently developed protein footprinting technique, demonstrated that a general tightening of the C-terminal domain occurred on rRNA binding, while thiostrepton produced a footprint centred on tyrosine 62 at the junction of the N and C-terminal domains of protein L11 complexed to rRNA. The intensity of this protein footprint was strongly reduced for the mutant L11-rRNA complexes. These results indicate that although, as shown earlier, thiostrepton binds primarily to 23 S rRNA, the drug probably inhibits peptide elongation by impeding a conformational change within protein L11 that is important for the function of the ribosomal GTPase centre. This putative inhibitory mechanism of thiostrepton is critically dependent on proline 18/22. Moreover, the absence of this proline from eukaryotic protein L11 sequences would account for the high thiostrepton resistance of eukaryotic ribosomes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Completing the sequence of the Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 genome.

The Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 genome collaborators are poised to sequence the entire 3-Mbp genome of this crenarchaeote archaeon. About 80% of the genome has been sequenced to date, with the rest of the sequence being assembled fast. In this publication we introduce the genomic sequencing and automated analysis strategy and present intial data derived from the sequence analysis. After an overview of the general sequence features, metabolic pathway studies are explained, using sugar metabolism as an example. The paper closes with an overview of repetitive elements in S. solfataricus.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Genetic profile of pNOB8 from Sulfolobus: the first conjugative plasmid from an archaeon.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the archaeal conjugative plasmid, pNOB8, from the Sulfolobus isolate NOB8-H2, was determined. The plasmid is 41,229 bp in size and contains about 50 ORFs. Several direct sequence repeats are present, the largest of which is a perfect 85-bp repeat and a site of intraplasmid recombination in foreign Sulfolobus hosts. This recombination event produces a major deletion variant, pNOB8-33, which is not stably maintained. Less than 20% of the ORFs could be assigned putative functions after extensive database searches. Tandem ORFs 315 and 470, within the deleted 8-kb region, show significant sequence similarity to the protein superfamilies of ParA (whole protein) and ParB (N-terminal half), respectively, that are important for plasmid and chromosome partitioning in bacteria. A putative cis-acting element is also present that exhibits six 24-mer repeats containing palindromic sequences which are separated by 39 or 42 bp. By analogy with bacterial systems, this element may confer plasmid incompatibility and define a group of incompatible plasmids in Archaea. Although several ORFs can form putative trans-membrane or membrane-binding segments, only two ORFs show significant sequence similarity to bacterial conjugative proteins. ORF630b aligns with the TrbE protein superfamily, which contributes to mating pair formation in Bacteria, while ORF1025 aligns with the TraG protein superfamily. We infer that the conjugative mechanism for Sulfolobus differs considerably from known bacterial mechanisms. Finally, two transposases were detected; ORF413 is flanked by an imperfect 32-bp inverted repeat with a 5-bp direct repeat at the ends, and ORF406 is very similar in sequence to an insertion element identified in the Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 genome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Sulfolobus genome: from genomics to biology.

Major progress in sequencing the genome of Sulfolobus solfataricus has been closely concerted with the characterization and sequencing of many extrachromosomal genetic elements, including viruses, cryptic plasmids and conjugative plasmids, as well as mobile archaeal introns and transposons. The latter have provided a basis for developing the first generation of vectors that are now being used to study the genetics of Sulfolobus and other Archaea.

Centromere↗
PubMed1997

RNA-protein interactions of an archaeal homotetrameric splicing endoribonuclease with an exceptional evolutionary history.

The splicing endoribonuclease from Methanococcus jannaschii, a member of a recently defined family of enzymes involved in splicing of archaeal introns and eukaryotic nuclear tRNA introns, was isolated and shown by cross-linking studies to form a homotetramer in solution. A non-cleavable substrate analogue was synthesized by incorporating 2'-deoxyuridines at the two cleavage sites and complexed to the splicing enzyme. The complex was subjected to protein footprinting and the results implicated an RNP1-like sequence and a sequence region immediately N-terminal to a putative leucine zipper in substrate binding. In addition, a histidine residue (His125), positioned within a third RNA binding region, was shown to be involved in catalysis by mutagenesis. The splicing enzyme was localized on the central helix and the two 3 nt bulges of the conserved archaeal 'bulge-helix-bulge' substrate motif by RNA footprinting. Sequence comparison with the dimeric splicing enzyme from Halobacterium volcanii demonstrates that the latter is a tandemly repeated duplication of the former, where alternating segments within each protein half degenerated after the duplication event. Another duplication event, in the eukaryotic domain, produced two different homologues of the M.jannaschii-type enzyme structure. The data provide strong evidence that the tetrameric M.jannaschii enzyme consists of two isologously associated dimers, each similar to one H.volcanii monomer and each consisting of two monomers, where one face of monomer 1 and the opposite face of monomer 2 are involved in RNA binding.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Mapping metal ions at the catalytic centres of two intron-encoded endonucleases.

Divalent metal ions play a crucial role in forming the catalytic centres of DNA endonucleases. Substitution of Mg2+ ions by Fe2+ ions in two archaeal intron-encoded homing endonucleases, I-DmoI and I-PorI, yielded functional enzymes and enabled the generation of reactive hydroxyl radicals within the metal ion binding sites. Specific hydroxyl radical-induced cleavage was observed within, and immediately after, two conserved LAGLIDADG motifs in both proteins and at sites at, and near, the scissile phosphates of the corresponding DNA substrates. Titration of Fe2+-containing protein-DNA complexes with Ca2+ ions, which are unable to support endonucleolytic activity, was performed to distinguish between the individual metal ions in the complex. Mutations of single amino acids in this region impaired catalytic activity and caused the preferential loss of a subset of hydroxyl radical cleavages in both the protein and the DNA substrate, suggesting an active role in metal ion coordination for these amino acids. The data indicate that the endonucleases cleave their DNA substrates as monomeric enzymes, and contain a minimum of four divalent metal ions located at or near the catalytic centres of each endonuclease. The metal ions involved in cleaving the coding and the non-coding strand are positioned immediately after the N- and C-terminally located LAGLIDADG motifs, respectively. The dual protein/nucleic acid footprinting approach described here is generally applicable to other protein-nucleic acid complexes when the natural metal ion can be replaced by Fe2+.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Profile of the DNA recognition site of the archaeal homing endonuclease I-DmoI.

I- Dmo I is a homing enzyme of the LAGLI-DADG type that recognizes up to 20 bp of DNA and is encoded by an archaeal intron of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Desulfurococcus mobilis . A combined mutational and DNA footprinting approach was employed to investigate the specificity of the I- Dmo I-substrate interaction. The results indicate that the enzyme binds primarily to short base paired regions that border the sites of DNA cleavage and intron insertion. The minimal substrate spans no more than 15 bp and while sequence degeneracy is tolerated in the DNA binding regions, the sequence and size of the cleavage region is highly conserved. The enzyme has a slow turnover rate and cuts the coding strand with a slight preference over the non-coding strand. Complex formation produces some distortion of the DNA double helix within the cleavage region. The data are compatible with the two DNA-binding domains of I- Dmo I bridging the minor groove, where cleavage occurs, and interacting within the major groove on either side, thereby stabilizing a distorted DNA double helix. This may provide a general mode of DNA interaction at least for the LAGLIDADG-type homing enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Movement of the 3'-end of tRNA through the peptidyl transferase centre and its inhibition by antibiotics.

Determining how antibiotics inhibit ribosomal activity requires a detailed understanding of the interactions and relative movement of tRNA, mRNA and the ribosome. Recent models for the formation of hybrid tRNA binding sites during the elongation cycle have provided a basis for re-evaluating earlier experimental data and, especially, those relevant to substrate movements through the peptidyl transferase centre. With the exception of deacylated tRNA, which binds at the E-site, ribosomal interactions of the 3'-ends of the tRNA substrates generate only a small part of the total free energy of tRNA-ribosome binding. Nevertheless, these relatively weak interactions determine the unidirectional movement of tRNAs through the ribosome and, moreover, they appear to be particularly susceptible to perturbation by antibiotics. Here we summarise current ideas relating particularly to the movement of the 3'-ends of tRNA through the ribosome and consider possible inhibitory mechanisms of the peptidyl transferase antibiotics.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1997

Shuttle vectors for hyperthermophilic archaea.

Progress in understanding the basic molecular, biochemical, and physiological characteristics of archaeal hyperthermophiles has been limited by the lack of suitable expression vectors. Here, we report the construction of versatile shuttle vectors that can be maintained, and selected for, in both archaea and bacteria. The primary construct, pAG1, was produced by ligating portions of the archaeal cryptic plasmid pGT5 and the bacterial plasmid pUC19, both of which exhibit high copy numbers. A second vector construct, pAG2, was generated, with a reduced copy number in Escherichia coli, by introducing the Rom/Rop gene from pBR322 into pAG1. After transformation, both pAG1 and pAG2 were stably maintained and propagated in the euryarchaeote Pyrococcus furiosus, the crenarchaeote Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, and in Escherichia coli. An archaeal selective marker, the alcohol dehydrogenase gene from Sulfolobus solfataricus, was isolated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and cloned into the two constructs. They were stably maintained and expressed in the two archaea and conferred resistance to butanol and benzyl alcohol. However, the vector pAG21, deriving from pAG2, proved the more stable in E. coli probably due to its lower copy number in the bacterium. Conditions are presented for the use of the vectors which, potentially, can be used for other hyperthermophilic archaea.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1997

Archaeal introns: splicing, intercellular mobility and evolution.

Until recently, it appeared that archaeal introns were spliced by a process specific to the archaeal domain in which an endoribonuclease cuts a 'bulge-helix-bulge' motif that forms at exon-intron junctions. Recent results, however, have shown that the endoribonuclease involved in archaeal intron splicing is a homologue of two subunits of the enzyme complex that excises eukaryotic nuclear tRNA introns. Moreover, some archaeal introns encode homing enzymes that are also encoded by group I introns.

Archaea↗
PubMed1996

The donor substrate site within the peptidyl transferase loop of 23 S rRNA and its putative interactions with the CCA-end of N-blocked aminoacyl-tRNA(Phe).

An RNA region associated with the donor substrate site, located at the base of the peptidyl transferase loop of 23 S rRNA, was subjected to a comprehensive single-site mutational study. Growth phenotypes of Escherichia coli cells were characterized on induction of synthesis of the mutated rRNAs and the mutated ribosomes were tested, selectively, for their capacity to generate peptide bonds under the conditions of the "fragment" assay. Most of the mutants exhibited dominant or recessive lethal growth phenotypes and, in general, defective growth correlated with low activities in peptide bond formation, although exceptions were observed with normal growth and low activities, and vice versa. All these phenotypes are consistent with defects occurring in the structure of the ribosomal donor site and/or the capacity of the donor substrate to enter or leave this site. A compensating base change approach was employed to test for Watson-Crick base-pairing interactions between the -CCA end of the P-site bound tRNA(Phe) and this region of the peptidyl-transferase loop. Single nucleotide substitutions were introduced into the -CCA end of tRNA(Phe) and the ability of the 3'-terminal pentanucleotide fragments to act as donor substrates was examined for ribosomes carrying the different mutated 23 S rRNAs. No evidence was found for the occurrence of Watson-Crick base-pairing interactions. However, the data are consistent with the formation of a Hoogsteen pair between the 3'-terminal adenosine base of the donor substrate and U2585 of the 23 S rRNA.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed1996

Genomes: Methanococcus jannaschii and the golden fleece.

The total genome sequence of the archaeon Methanococcus jannaschii completes the trilogy of genomes for the three domains of life-Archaea, Bacteria and Eucarya. It will have far-reaching consequences for evolutionary studies and for the way in which experimental biology is performed.

Genome, Bacterial↗
PubMed1996

Protein footprinting approach to mapping DNA binding sites of two archaeal homing enzymes: evidence for a two-domain protein structure.

The archaeal intron-encoded homing enzymes I-PorI and I-DmoI belong to a family of endonucleases that contain two copies of a characteristic LAGLIDADG motif. These endonucleases cleave their intron- or intein- alleles site-specifically, and thereby facilitate homing of the introns or inteins which encode them. The protein structure and the mechanism of DNA recognition of these homing enzymes is largely unknown. Therefore, we examined these properties of I-PorI and I-DmoI by protein footprinting. Both proteins were susceptible to proteolytic cleavage within regions that are equidistant from each of the two LAGLIDADG motifs. When complexed with their DNA substrates, a characteristic subset of the exposed sites, located in regions immediately after and 40-60 amino acids after each of the LAGLIDADG motifs, were protected. Our data suggest that the enzymes are structured into two, tandemly repeated, domains, each containing both the LAGLIDADG motif and two putative DNA binding regions. The latter contains a potentially novel DNA binding motif conserved in archaeal homing enzymes. The results are consistent with a model where the LAGLIDADG endonucleases bind to their non-palindromic substrates as monomeric enzymes, with each of the two domains recognizing one half of the DNA substrate.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

A sparsomycin-resistant mutant of Halobacterium salinarium lacks a modification at nucleotide U2603 in the peptidyl transferase centre of 23 S rRNA.

Sparsomycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, acts at the peptidyl transferase centre of the ribosome, stabilizing peptidyl-tRNA binding at the P-site and weakening ternary complex binding. A sparsomycin-resistant mutant was isolated for the archaeon Halobacterium salinarium and shown to lack a post-transcriptional modification of U2603 (Escherichia coli numbering U2584), which is a universally conserved uridine base located within the peptidyl transferase loop of 23 S rRNA. This mutant also exhibited altered sensitivities to the peptidyl transferase antibiotics anisomycin, chloramphenicol and puromycin. Several lines of evidence indicate that the unmodified uridine base lies within the P-substrate site of the peptidyl transferase centre.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1996

General vectors for archaeal hyperthermophiles: strategies based on a mobile intron and a plasmid.

Although there are currently no cloning and expression vectors available for archaeal hyperthermophiles, small cryptic plasmids have been characterized for these organisms as well as viruses and introns capable of spreading between cells. Below, we review the recent progress in adapting these genetic elements as vectors for Pyrococcus furiosus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. An efficient and reliable transformation procedure is described for both organisms. The potential of the mobile intron from Desulfurococcus mobilis, inserted into the bacterial vector pUC18 to generate a new type of vector, was investigated in S. acidocaldarius. A polylinker was inserted upstream from the open reading frame encoding the homing enzyme I-DmoI. Both the polylinker and a 276 bp fragment of the tetracycline gene from pBR322 could be inserted into the intron-plasmid construct and spreading still occurred in the culture of S. acidocaldarius. Experiments are in progress to test the co-mobility of the alcohol dehydrogenase and beta-galactosidase genes from Sulfolobus species with the intron. A shuttle vector pCSV1 was also produced by fusing the pGT5 plasmid from Pyrococcus abyssi and the bacterial vector pUC19 which, on transformation, is stable in both organisms without selection. Growth inhibition studies indicate that both P. furiosus and S. acidocaldarius are sensitive to the antibiotics carbomycin, celesticetin, chloramphenicol and thiostrepton as well as butanol and butylic alcohol. Spontaneous mutants resistant to these drugs have been isolated carrying single site mutations in their 23S rRNA gene; they include mutants of S. acidocaldarius resistant to chloramphenicol, carbomycin and celesticetin with the mutation C2452U and thiostrepton-resistant mutants of P. furiosus carrying the mutation A1067G (both numbers corresponding to Escherichia coli 23S rRNA). These mutated genes are being developed as selective markers. Moreover, two beta-galactosidase genes from P. furiosus have been cloned as possible phenotypic markers; one of these exhibits maximum activity at 95 degrees C with O-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside as substrate.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1995

Intercellular mobility and homing of an archaeal rDNA intron confers a selective advantage over intron- cells of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.

Some intron-containing rRNA genes of archaea encode homing-type endonucleases, which facilitate intron insertion at homologous sites in intron- alleles. These archaeal rRNA genes, in contrast to their eukaryotic counterparts, are present in single copies per cell, which precludes intron homing within one cell. However, given the highly conserved nature of the sequences flanking the intron, homing may occur in intron- rRNA genes of other archaeal cells. To test whether this occurs, the intron-containing 23S rRNA gene of the archaeal hyperthermophile Desulfurococcus mobilis, carried on nonreplicating bacterial vectors, was electroporated into an intron- culture of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. PCR experiments demonstrated that the intron underwent homing and spread through the culture. By using a double drug-resistant mutant of S. acidocaldarius, it was shown that spreading resulted partly from a selective advantage of intron+ cells and partly from intercellular mobility of the intron and homing.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Mapping important nucleotides in the peptidyl transferase centre of 23 S rRNA using a random mutagenesis approach.

Random mutations were generated in the lower half of the peptidyl transferase loop in domain V of 23 S rRNA from Escherichia coli using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach, a rapid procedure for identifying mutants and a plasmid-based expression system. The effects of 21 single-site mutations, at 18 different positions, on cell growth, mutant rRNA incorporation into ribosomes and peptidyl transferase activity of the mutant ribosomes were analysed. The general importance of the whole region for the peptidyl transferase centre was emphasized by the finding that 14 of the mutants were sick, or very sick, when ribosomes containing chromosomal-encoded 23 S rRNA were inhibited by erythromycin, and all except one of these exhibited low levels of peptidyl transferase activity in their mutated ribosomes. Two mutations, psi 2580-->C and U2584-->G that both yielded inactive ribosomes were assigned to the donor substrate binding site and a possible base-pairing interaction between the 3'-terminal sequence of the peptidyl-tRNA and the sequence psi/U-G-G2582, that is conserved in all the non-mitochondrial 23 S-like rRNA sequences, is proposed. Three sites that have been implicated in aminoacyl-tRNA binding were mutated: mutant m6A2503G yielded inactive ribosomes, while ribosomes from mutants Um2552A/C and U2555C yielded low and normal activities, respectively. Three mutants, U2528C, G2550A and A2565U, provide evidence for conformational rearrangements occurring in the peptidyl transferase centre which may be affected by the subunit-subunit interaction. Other mutants which yielded ribosomes that were seriously defective in peptidyl transferase activity were U2493A, U2493C, A2497G, A2530G, G2557A and A2589G.

Base Sequence↗