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Genetic evidence for the role of isocytochrome c2 in photosynthetic growth of Rhodobacter sphaeroides Spd mutants.

In Rhodobacter sphaeroides, cytochrome c2 (cyt c2)-deficient mutants are photosynthetically incompetent (PS-). However, mutations which suppress the photosynthetic deficiency (spd mutations) of cyt c2 mutants increase the levels of a cyt c2 isoform, isocyt c2. To determine whether isocyt c2 was required for photosynthetic growth of Spd mutants, we used Tn5 mutagenesis to generate a PS- mutant (TP39) that lacks both cyt c2 and isocyt c2. DNA sequence analysis of wild-type DNA that restores isocyt c2 production and photosynthetic growth to TP39 indicates that it encodes the isocyt c2 structural gene, cycI. The Tn5 insertion in TP39 is approximately 1.5 kb upstream of cycI, and our results show that it is polar onto cycI. The cycI gene has been physically mapped to a region of chromosome I that is approximately 700 kb from the R. sphaeroides photosynthetic gene cluster. Construction of a defined cycI null mutant and complementation of several mutants with the cycI gene under the control of the cyt c2 promoter region indicate that an increase in the levels of isocyt c2 alone is necessary and sufficient for photosynthetic growth in the absence of cyt c2. The data are discussed in terms of the obligate role of isocyt c2 in cyt c2-independent photosynthesis of R. sphaeroides.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bradyrhizobium japonicum delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase is essential for symbiosis with soybean and contains a novel metal-binding domain.

The Bradyrhizobium japonicum hemA gene product delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) synthase is not required for symbiosis of that bacterium with soybean. Hence, the essentiality of the subsequent heme synthesis enzyme, ALA dehydratase, was examined. The B. japonicum ALA dehydratase gene, termed hemB, was isolated and identified on the basis of its ability to confer hemin prototrophy and enzyme activity on an Escherichia coli hemB mutant, and it encoded a protein that was highly homologous to ALA dehydratases from diverse organisms. A novel metal-binding domain in the B. japonicum ALA dehydratase was identified that is a structural composite of the Mg(2+)-binding domain found in plant ALA dehydratases and the Zn(2+)-binding region of nonplant ALA dehydratases. Enzyme activity in dialyzed extracts of cells that overexpressed the hemB gene was reconstituted by the addition of Mg2+ but not by addition of Zn2+, indicating that the B. japonicum ALA dehydratase is similar to the plant enzymes with respect to its metal requirement. Unlike the B. japonicum hemA mutant, the hemB mutant strain KP32 elicited undeveloped nodules on soybean, indicated by the lack of nitrogen fixation activity and plant hemoglobin. We conclude that the hemB gene is required for nodule development and propose that B. japonicum ALA dehydratase is the first essential bacterial enzyme for B. japonicum heme synthesis in soybean root nodules. In addition, we postulate that ALA is the only heme intermediate that can be translocated from the plant to the endosymbiont to support bacterial heme synthesis in nodules.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cloning and characterization of btr, a Bordetella pertussis gene encoding an FNR-like transcriptional regulator.

To determine whether hemolytic factors other than the bifunctional hemolysin-adenylate cyclase toxin (cyclolysin) are expressed by Bordetella pertussis, a gene library was constructed from a virulent strain of B. pertussis, BP504, transformed into nonhemolytic Escherichia coli, and screened on blood agar plates. A strongly hemolytic colony which contained the plasmid pHLY1A was isolated. Nucleotide sequencing of pHLY1A revealed an open reading frame that could encode a 27-kDa protein. No similarity was detected between the deduced amino acid sequence of this open reading frame and those of any known bacterial cytolysins. However, significant homology was detected with FNR of E. coli and several other transcriptional regulators including HylX from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, which can also confer a hemolytic phenotype on E. coli. An fnr mutant of E. coli, JRG1728, could be complemented by pHLY1A. Thus, the B. pertussis transcriptional regulator-like gene and the protein which it encoded were named btr and BTR, respectively. A BTR-deficient B. pertussis strain, BJB1, was constructed. The btr::kan mutation had no effect on the expression of hemolytic activity or on phase variation. Northern (RNA) blotting revealed that btr expression was not regulated by the BvgAS two-component sensor-regulator. On the basis of sequence similarity to FNR-like transcriptional regulators and the ability to complement an anaerobically deficient E. coli strain (JRG1728) in growing anaerobically, BTR may regulate B. pertussis gene expression in response to changes in oxygen levels or to changes in the redox potential of the bacterial environment. Its role in virulence remains to be determined.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae↗

Cloning and sequencing of the genes from Salmonella typhimurium encoding a new bacterial ribonucleotide reductase.

A plasmid library of Salmonella typhimurium was used to complement a temperature-sensitive nrdA mutant of Escherichia coli. Complementation was obtained with two different classes of plasmids, one carrying the E. coli nrdAB-like genes and the second containing an operon encoding a new bacterial ribonucleotide reductase. Plasmids harboring these new reductase genes also enable obligately anaerobic nrdB::Mud1 E. coli mutants to grow in the presence of oxygen. This operon consists of two open reading frames, which have been designated nrdE (2,145 bp) and nrdF (969 bp). The deduced amino acid sequences of the nrdE and nrdF products include the catalytically important residues conserved in ribonucleotide reductase enzymes of class I and show 25 and 28% overall identity with the R1 and R2 protein, respectively, of the aerobic ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase of E. coli. The 3' end of the sequenced 4.9-kb fragment corresponds to the upstream region of the previously published proU operon of both S. typhimurium and E. coli, indicating that the nrdEF genes are at 57 min on the chromosomal maps of these two bacterial species. Analysis of the nrdEF and proU sequences demonstrates that transcription of the nrdEF genes is in the clockwise direction on the S. typhimurium and E. coli maps.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isolation and sequence analysis of polyketide synthase genes from the daunomycin-producing Streptomyces sp. strain C5.

A contiguous region of about 30 kbp of DNA putatively encoding reactions in daunomycin biosynthesis was isolated from Streptomyces sp. strain C5 DNA. The DNA sequence of an 8.1-kbp EcoRI fragment, which hybridized with actI polyketide synthase (PKS) and actIII polyketide reductase (PKR) gene probes, was determined, revealing seven complete open reading frames (ORFs), two in one cluster and five in a divergently transcribed cluster. The former two genes are likely to encode PKR and a bifunctional cyclase/dehydrase. The five latter genes encode: (i) a homolog of TcmH, an oxygenase of the tetracenomycin biosynthesis pathway; (ii) a PKS Orf1 homolog; (iii) a PKS Orf2 homolog (chain length factor); (iv) a product having moderate sequence identity with Escherichia coli beta-ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase III but lacking the conserved active site; and (v) a protein highly similar to several acyltransferases. The DNA within the 8.1-kbp EcoRI fragment restored daunomycin production to two dauA non-daunomycin-producing mutants of Streptomyces sp. strain C5 and restored wild-type antibiotic production to Streptomyces coelicolor B40 (act VII; nonfunctional cyclase/dehydrase), and to S. coelicolor B41 (actIII) and Streptomyces galilaeus ATCC 31671, strains defective in PKR activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cloning and characterization of a DNA region encoding a stress-sensitive restriction system from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 and analysis of its role in intergeneric conjugation with Escherichia coli.

RP4-mediated transfer of mobilizable plasmids in intergeneric conjugation of Escherichia coli donors with Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 is severely affected by a restriction system in the recipient that can be inactivated by a variety of exogenous stress factors. In this study a rapid test procedure based on intergeneric conjugal plasmid transfer that permitted the distinction between restriction-negative and restriction-positive C. glutamicum clones was developed. By using this procedure, clones of the restriction-deficient mutant strain C. glutamicum RM3 harboring a plasmid library of the wild-type chromosome were checked for their restriction properties. A complemented clone with a restriction-positive phenotype was isolated and found to contain a plasmid with a 7-kb insertion originating from the wild-type chromosome. This plasmid, termed pRES806, is able to complement the restriction-deficient phenotype of different C. glutamicum mutants. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of two open reading frames (orf1 and orf2) on the complementing DNA fragment. The region comprising orf1 and orf2 displayed a strikingly low G+C content and was present exclusively in C. glutamicum strains. Gene disruption experiments with the wild type proved that orf1 is essential for complementation, but inactivation of orf2 also resulted in a small but significant increase in fertility. These results were confirmed by infection assays with the bacteriophage CL31 from Corynebacterium lilium ATCC 15990.

Adaptation, Biological↗

Cloning, characterization, and nucleotide sequence analysis of the argH gene from Campylobacter jejuni TGH9011 encoding argininosuccinate lyase.

The complete structural gene for argininosuccinate lyase (argH) from Campylobacter jejuni TGH9011 has been cloned into Escherichia coli by complementation of an E. coli argH auxotrophic mutant. The gene has been subcloned for sequencing on a 4.1-kb DNA segment and localized by the complementing activity of deletion mutants. The complete DNA sequence of the C. jejuni argH gene was determined. The transcription start point for argH mRNA was determined by primer extension analysis and found to be within the coding sequence of the upstream gene, identified as the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene (ppc). The argininosuccinate lyase and the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase reading frames overlap by one base, the second example of this phenomenon in C. jejuni chromosomal genes. The enzyme has a deduced subunit molecular weight of 51,831. Recombinant plasmids containing the argH gene generate a 56-kDa protein and a 43-kDa protein in E. coli maxicells. An alternate translation initiation producing a polypeptide with a deduced molecular mass of 42 kDa may account for the smaller protein observed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The C. jejuni argH gene shows nucleotide homology to both yeast and human argininosuccinate lyase genes, and conserved amino acid domains are evident between the corresponding proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Genetic evidence of a major role for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in nitrogen fixation and dark growth of the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain ATCC 29133.

Heterocysts, sites of nitrogen fixation in certain filamentous cyanobacteria, are limited to a heterotrophic metabolism, rather than the photoautotrophic metabolism characteristic of cyanobacterial vegetative cells. The metabolic route of carbon catabolism in the supply of reductant to nitrogenase and for respiratory electron transport in heterocysts is unresolved. The gene (zwf) encoding glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the initial enzyme of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, was inactivated in the heterocyst-forming, facultatively heterotrophic cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. strain ATCC 29133. The zwf mutant strain had less than 5% of the wild-type apparent G6PD activity, while retaining wild-type rates of photoautotrophic growth with NH4+ and of dark O2 uptake, but it failed to grow either under N2-fixing conditions or in the dark with organic carbon sources. A wild-type copy of zwf in trans in the zwf mutant strain restored only 25% of the G6PD specific activity, but the defective N2 fixation and dark growth phenotypes were nearly completely complemented. Transcript analysis established that zwf is in an operon also containing genes encoding two other enzymes of the oxidative pentose phosphate cycle, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and transaldolase, as well as a previously undescribed gene (designated opcA) that is cotranscribed with zwf. Inactivation of opcA yielded a growth phenotype identical to that of the zwf mutant, including a 98% decrease, relative to the wild type, in apparent G6PD specific activity. The growth phenotype and lesion of G6PD activity in the opcA mutant were complemented in trans with a wild-type copy of opcA. In addition, placement in trans of a multicopy plasmid containing the wild-type copies of both zwf and opcA in the zwf mutant resulted in an approximately 20-fold stimulation of G6PD activity, relative to the wild type, complete restoration of nitrogenase activity, and a slight stimulation of N2-dependent photoautotrophic growth and fructose-supported dark growth. These results unequivocally establish that G6PD, and most likely the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, represents the essential catabolic route for providing reductant for nitrogen fixation and respiration in differentiated heterocysts and for dark growth of vegetative cells. Moreover, the opcA gene product is involved by an as yet unknown mechanism in G6PD synthesis or catalytic activity.

Cell Division↗

Identification and isolation of a gene required for nitrate assimilation and anaerobic growth of Bacillus subtilis.

The Bacillus subtilis narA locus was shown to include narQ and narA. The putative product of narQ is similar to FdhD, which is required for formate dehydrogenase activity in Escherichia coli. NarA showed homology to MoaA, a protein involved in biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor for nitrate reductase and formate dehydrogenase. Analysis of mutants showed that narA but not narQ is required for both nitrate assimilation and respiration.

Anaerobiosis↗

Molecular, genetic, and biochemical characterization of the serC gene of Methanosarcina barkeri Fusaro.

The Methanosarcina barkeri serC gene, encoding phosphoserine aminotransferase, was cloned by complementation of an Escherichia coli serC mutant, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The M. barkeri SerC protein shares significant homology with other known SerC proteins. E. coli serC hosts carrying the cloned gene express phosphoserine aminotransferase activity, verifying the function of this gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isolation and characterization of Rhodobacter capsulatus mutants affected in cytochrome cbb3 oxidase activity.

The facultative phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus contains only one form of cytochrome (cyt) c oxidase, which has recently been identified as a cbb3-type cyt c oxidase. This is unlike other related species, such as Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Paracoccus denitrificans, which contain an additional mitochondrial-like aa3-type cyt c oxidase. An extensive search for mutants affected in cyt c oxidase activity in R. capsulatus led to the isolation of at least five classes of mutants. Plasmids complementing them to a wild-type phenotype were obtained for all but one of these classes from a chromosomal DNA library. The first class of mutants contained mutations within the structural genes (ccoNOQP) of the cyt cbb3 oxidase. Sequence analysis of these mutants and of the plasmids complementing them revealed that ccoNOQP in R. capsulatus is not flanked by the oxygen response regulator fnr, which is located upstream of these genes in other species. Genetic and biochemical characterizations of mutants belonging to this group indicated that the subunits CcoN, CcoO, and CcoP are required for the presence of an active cyt cbb3 oxidase, and unlike in Bradyrhizobium japonicum, no active CcoN-CcoO subcomplex was found in R. capsulatus. In addition, mutagenesis experiments indicated that the highly conserved open reading frame 277 located adjacent to ccoNOQP is required neither for cyt cbb3 oxidase activity or assembly nor for respiratory or photosynthetic energy transduction in R. capsulatus. The remaining cyt c oxidase-minus mutants mapped outside of ccoNOQP and formed four additional groups. In one of these groups, a fully assembled but inactive cyt cbb3 oxidase was found, while another group had only extremely small amounts of it. The next group was characterized by a pleiotropic effect on all membrane-bound c-type cytochromes, and the remaining mutants not complemented by the plasmids complementing the first four groups formed at least one additional group affecting the biogenesis of the cyt cbb3 oxidase of R. capsulatus.

Bacterial Proteins↗

A polypeptide with similarity to phycocyanin alpha-subunit phycocyanobilin lyase involved in degradation of phycobilisomes.

To optimize the utilization of photosynthate and avoid damage that can result from the absorption of excess excitation energy, photosynthetic organisms must rapidly modify the synthesis and activities of components of the photosynthetic apparatus in response to environmental cues. During nutrient-limited growth, cyanobacteria degrade their light-harvesting complex, the phycobilisome, and dramatically reduce the rate of photosynthetic electron transport. In this report, we describe the isolation and characterization of a cyanobacterial mutant that does not degrade its phycobilisomes during either sulfur or nitrogen limitation and exhibits an increased ratio of phycocyanin to chlorophyll during nutrient-replete growth. The mutant phenotype was complemented by a gene encoding a polypeptide with similarities to polypeptides that catalyze covalent bond formation between linear tetrapyrrole chromophores and subunits of apophycobiliproteins. The complementing gene, designated nblB, is expressed at approximately the same level in cells grown in nutrient-replete medium and medium devoid of either sulfur or nitrogen. These results suggest that the NblB polypeptide may be a constitutive part of the machinery that coordinates phycobilisome degradation with environmental conditions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ferric enterochelin transport in Yersinia enterocolitica: molecular and evolutionary aspects.

Yersinia enterocolitica is well equipped for siderophore piracy, encompassing the utilization of siderophores such as ferrioxamine, ferrichrome, and ferrienterochelin. In this study, we report on the molecular and functional characterization of the Yersinia fep-fes gene cluster orthologous to the Escherichia coli ferrienterochelin transport genes (fepA, fepDGC, and fepB) and the esterase gene fes. In vitro transcription-translation analysis identified polypeptides of 30 and 35 kDa encoded by fepC and fes, respectively. A frameshift mutation within the fepA gene led to expression of a truncated polypeptide of 40 kDa. The fepD, fepG, and fes genes of Y. enterocolitica were shown to complement corresponding E. coli mutants. Insertional mutagenesis of fepD or fes genes abrogates enterochelin-supported growth of Y. enterocolitica on iron-chelated media. In contrast to E. coli, the fep-fes gene cluster in Y. enterocolitica consists solely of genes required for uptake and utilization of enterochelin (fep) and not of enterochelin synthesis genes such as entF. By Southern hybridization, fepDGC and fes sequences could be detected in Y. enterocolitica biotypes IB, IA, and II but not in biotype IV strains, Yersinia pestis, and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains. According to sequence alignment data and the coherent structure of the Yersinia fep-fes gene cluster, we suggest early genetic divergence of ferrienterochelin uptake determinants among species of the family Enterobacteriaceae.

Base Sequence↗

A turquoise mutant genetically separates expression of genes encoding phycoerythrin and its associated linker peptides.

During complementary chromatic adaptation (CCA), cyanobacterial light harvesting structures called phycobilisomes are restructured in response to ambient light quality shifts. Transcription of genes encoding components of the phycobilisome is differentially regulated during this process: red light activates cpcB2A2, whereas green light coordinately activates the cpeCDE and cpeBA operons. Three signal transduction components that regulate CCA have been isolated to date: a sensor-photoreceptor (RcaE) and two response regulators (RcaF and RcaC). Mutations in the genes encoding these components affect the accumulation of both cpcB2A2 and cpeBA gene products. We have isolated and characterized a new pigmentation mutant called Turquoise 1. We demonstrate that this mutant phenotype is due to a dramatic decrease in cpeBA transcript abundance and results from a lesion in the cpeR gene. However, in this mutant cpeCDE RNA levels remain near those found in wild-type cells. Our results show that the coordinate regulation of cpeBA and cpeCDE by green light can be uncoupled by the loss of CpeR, and we furnish the first genetic evidence that different regulatory mechanisms control these two operons. Sequence analysis of CpeR reveals that it shares limited sequence similarity to members of the PP2C class of protein serine/threonine phosphatases. We also demonstrate that cpeBA and cpeCDE retain light quality responsiveness in a mutant lacking the RcaE photoreceptor. This provides compelling evidence for the partial control of CCA through an as-yet-uncharacterized second light quality sensing system.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A positive regulatory loop controls expression of the locus of enterocyte effacement-encoded regulators Ler and GrlA.

The formation of attaching and effacing (A/E) lesions on intestinal epithelial cells is an essential step in the pathogenesis of human enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and of the mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium. The genes required for the development of the A/E phenotype are located within a pathogenicity island known as the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). The LEE-encoded transcriptional regulators Ler, an H-NS-like protein, and GrlA, a member of a novel family of transcriptional activators, positively control the expression of the genes located in the LEE and their corresponding virulence. In this study, we used C. rodentium as a model to study the mechanisms controlling the expression of Ler and GrlA. By deletion analysis of the ler and grlRA regulatory regions and complementation experiments, negative and positive cis-acting regulatory motifs were identified that are essential for the regulation of both genes. This analysis confirmed that GrlA is required for the activation of ler, but it also showed that Ler is required for the expression of grlRA, revealing a novel regulatory loop controlling the optimal expression of virulence genes in A/E pathogens. Furthermore, our results indicate that Ler and GrlA induce the expression of each other by, at least in part, counteracting the repression mediated by H-NS. However, whereas GrlA is still required for the optimal expression of ler even in the absence of H-NS, Ler is not needed for the expression of grlRA in the absence of H-NS. This type of transcriptional positive regulatory loop represents a novel mechanism in pathogenic bacteria that is likely required to maintain an appropriate spatiotemporal transcriptional response during infection.

Base Sequence↗

Isolation and identification of a variant of bluetongue virus serotype 11 from a ram in a bluetongue outbreak in western Texas.

A field strain of bluetongue virus was isolated from a blood sample of a ram during an outbreak of bluetongue in November 1985 in western Texas. In this bluetongue outbreak at least 25 of the 2,000 sheep were infected. Isolation was made by intravenous inoculation of 11-day-old embryonated chicken eggs. The serotype was identified as serotype 11 by serum neutralization tests. The genomic pattern on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of the new isolate is similar to that of bluetongue virus prototype 11. Comparisons were also made with proteins labeled in vivo with [3H]leucine and separated by SDS-PAGE. We conclude that this virus belongs to serotype 11, with slight differences in both genome and protein electrophoretic patterns.

Animals↗

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rapid detection of Newcastle disease virus.

We have evaluated a diagnostic system based on the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the rapid, simple, and sensitive detection of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) directly from culture isolates as well as clinical samples. By using one set of specific primers targeting the fusion protein gene, the LAMP assay rapidly amplified the target gene within 2 h, requiring only a regular laboratory water bath or heat block for reaction. The results obtained from testing the genomes of 38 NDV strains, other different viruses, and clinical samples of experimentally infected chickens showed that LAMP was as sensitive and specific as nested PCR. All LAMP-positive samples were positive by nested PCR. The LAMP assay is faster than nested PCR, cost-effective, and easy to perform. Our results clearly demonstrate that the LAMP-based assay is a useful tool for the rapid and sensitive diagnosis of NDV infection.

Animals↗

Human papillomavirus type 16 open reading frame E7 encodes a transforming gene for rat 3Y1 cells.

Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV 16) DNA is capable of morphologically transforming rat 3Y1 cells. The expression plasmids, constructed from the simian virus 40-based expression vector pSV2-0 and specific DNA fragments from the putative early region of the HPV 16 genome, were tested for their transforming capacity. Among the various pSV2 plasmids, only those containing the intact E7 coding region were found to produce foci of the transformed rat cells which could grow in a soft-agar medium. The data indicate that expression of the HPV 16 E7 open reading frame is sufficient to induce focal transformation of rat cells.

Animals↗