scholarly journals Energy-linked reduction of nicotinamide–adenine dinucleotide in membranes derived from normal and various respiratory-deficient mutant strains of Escherichia coli K12

1974 ◽  
Vol 144 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Poole ◽  
Bruce A. Haddock

1. Assay conditions are described for the ATP-dependent, uncoupler-sensitive, energy-linked reduction of NAD+ by succinate, dl-α-glycerophosphate or d-lactate in membranes from aerobically grown Escherichia coli. 2. The reaction may be demonstrated in electron-transport particles (ET particles) from cells grown in glycerol, but not in depleted particles washed in low-ionic-strength buffer, or in ET particles from cells grown in glucose. 3. The latter two classes of particles have low specific activities of ATPase (adenosine triphosphatase), succinate dehydrogenase, dl-α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and d-lactate dehydrogenase relative to undepleted ET particles from cells grown in glycerol. 4. Reconstitution of energy-linked NAD+ reduction in particles from cells grown in glucose was done by: (a) addition of the high-speed supernatant fraction from sonicates of the same cells; (b) addition of a protein fraction, precipitated by (NH4)2SO4 from this supernatant, or (c) addition of an (NH4)2SO4-precipitated fraction from the low-ionic-strength wash of particles from cells grown in glycerol. 5. The use of (NH4)2SO4-precipitated fractions from ATPase- or succinate dehydrogenase-deficient mutants grown in glycerol in the above reconstitution indicated that failure to demonstrate the reaction in particles from cells grown in glucose was a result of inadequate activities of appropriate dehydrogenases, rather than of ATPase. 6. Energy-linked NAD+ reduction could be demonstrated in particles from a ubiquinone-deficient mutant only after restoration of NADH oxidase activity by adding ubiquinone-1. 7. The measured rate of the energy-linked reaction in particles from a haem-deficient mutant, however, was not stimulated after the ATP- and haematin-dependent acquisition of functional cytochromes. 8. Results are interpreted as evidence of the ubiquinone-dependent, but cytochrome-independent, nature of the site I region of the respiratory chain in E. coli.

1991 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 823-836
Author(s):  
S.J. Atkinson ◽  
M. Stewart

We have expressed in Escherichia coli a cDNA clone corresponding broadly to rabbit light meromyosin (LMM) together with a number of modified polypeptides and have used this material to investigate the role of different aspects of molecular structure on the solubility properties of LMM. The expressed material was characterized biochemically and structurally to ensure that it retained the coiled-coil conformation of the native molecule. Full-length recombinant LMM retained the general solubility properties of myosin and, although soluble at high ionic strength, precipitated when the ionic strength was reduced below 0.3 M. Constructs in which the ‘skip’ residues (that disrupt the coiled-coil heptad repeat) were deleted had solubility properties indistinguishable from the wild type, which indicated that the skip residues did not play a major role in determining the molecular interactions involved in assembly. Deletions from the N terminus of LMM did not alter the solubility properties of the expressed material, but deletion of 92 residues from the C terminus caused a large increase in solubility at low ionic strength, indicating that a determinant important for interaction between LMM molecules was located in this region. The failure of deletions from the molecule's N terminus to alter its solubility radically suggested that the periodic variation of charge along the myosin rod may not be as important as proposed for determining the strength of binding between molecules and thus the solubility of myosin.


1970 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Franklin ◽  
B. Higginson

1. At low concentrations of tetracycline (10μg/ml) net accumulation of the drug by Escherichia coli cells ceased after 7–10min. 2. At higher concentrations of tetracycline (>30μg/ml) the period of net accumulation of the drug was significantly extended. 3. The efflux of tetracycline from E. coli cells transferred from medium containing 10μg of tetracycline/ml to drug-free medium was a rapid temperature-dependent process and was accelerated by 2,4-dinitrophenol. 4. As the concentration of tetracycline in the preloading phase was increased, the rate of subsequent efflux of the drug progressively declined. The efflux of drug from cells preloaded in medium containing 200μg of tetracycline/ml was negligible, although efflux was readily provoked by 2,4-dinitrophenol, by N-ethylmaleimide or by omission of glucose from the medium. 5. The initial rate of uptake of tetracycline by E. coli cells was linearly proportional to the concentration of tetracycline in the medium up to the maximum concentration of drug obtainable under the experimental conditions used (400μg/ml, 0.83mm). 6. Although N-ethylmaleimide strongly inhibited the accumulation of tetracycline by E. coli, no evidence was obtained for the direct involvement of thiol groups in the transport process. It was concluded that N-ethylmaleimide inhibited accumulation by interruption of the energy supply of the cells. 7. Osmotic shock of E. coli cells did not significantly affect the influx of tetracycline, but promoted both efflux of tetracycline and cell lysis in cells treated with a high concentration of tetracycline. 8. A study of the distribution of tetracycline among the subcellular fractions of penicillin-induced spheroplasts preincubated with various concentrations of tetracycline indicated that 60–70% of the accumulated tetracycline was in the high-speed supernatant fraction. Sephadex chromatography showed that the tetracycline of this fraction was present as the free drug. Sephadex chromatography of a detergent extract of the membrane fraction, however, indicated that a significant proportion of the tetracycline radioactivity of this fraction was apparently bound to some macromolecular component. 9. Cellulose phosphate paper chromatography of cold-acid extracts of spheroplasts preloaded with tetracycline indicated that the accumulated drug was chemically unchanged. 10. Membrane preparations isolated from osmotically lysed penicillin-induced spheroplasts showed a temperature-dependent binding of tetracycline that was not energy-dependent and was not inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide. The binding process was stimulated by omitting Mg2+ from the medium, but conversely was profoundly inhibited by EDTA. 11. The relevance of these findings to the probable mechanism of active tetracycline accumulation by E. coli is discussed.


1972 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Scharff ◽  
R. W. Hendler ◽  
N. Nanninga ◽  
A. H. Burgess

Membrane-envelope fragments have been isolated from Escherichia coli by comparatively mild techniques. The use of DNAase, RNAase, detergents, sonication, lysozyme, and ethylenediaminetetraacetate were avoided in the belief that rather delicate, but metabolically important, associations may exist between the plasma membrane and various cytoplasmic components. The membrane-envelope fragments have been characterized in terms of their content of major chemical components as well as their electron microscope appearance. Fractions containing membrane-envelope fragments were found to possess appreciable DNA- and protein-synthesizing activities. The fragments were rich in membrane content as determined by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) oxidase activity and deficient in soluble components as measured by NADH dehydrogenase activity. The particulate fraction obtained between 20,000 g and 105,000 g and usually considered a ribosomal fraction was rich in membrane content and had a relatively high capacity for DNA synthesis. Envelope fragments sedimenting at 20,000 g attained very high levels of incorporation of amino acids into protein.


1983 ◽  
Vol 210 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
A E Senior ◽  
L Langman ◽  
G B Cox ◽  
F Gibson

To facilitate study of the role of the beta-subunit in the membrane-bound proton-translocating ATPase of Escherichia coli, we identified mutant strains from which an F1-ATPase containing abnormal beta-subunits can be purified. Seventeen strains of E. coli, characterized by genetic complementation tests as carrying mutations in the uncD gene (which codes for the beta-subunit), were studied. The majority of these strains (11) were judged to be not useful, as their membranes lacked ATPase activity, and were either proton-permeable as prepared or remained proton-impermeable after washing with buffer of low ionic strength. A further two strains were of a type not hitherto reported, in that their membranes had ATPase activity, were proton-impermeable as prepared, and were not rendered proton-permeable by washing in buffer of low ionic strength. Presumably in these two strains F1-ATPase is not released in soluble form by this procedure. F1-ATPase of normal molecular size were purified from strains AN1340 (uncD478), AN937 (uncD430), AN938 (uncD431) and AN1543 (uncD484). F1-ATPase from strain AN1340 (uncD478) had 15% of normal specific Mg-dependent ATPase activity and 22% of normal ATP-synthesis activity. The F1-ATPase preparations from strains AN937, AN938 and AN1543 had respectively 1.7%, 1.8% and 0.2% of normal specific Mg-dependent ATPase activity, and each of these preparations had very low ATP-synthesis activity. The yield of F1-ATPase from the four strains described was almost twice that obtained from a normal haploid strain. The kinetics of Ca-dependent ATPase activity were unusual in each of the four F1-ATPase preparations. It is likely that these four mutant uncD F1-ATPase preparations will prove valuable for further experimental study of the F1-ATPase catalytic mechanism.


1998 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 376-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Tomoyasu

ABSTRACT Immunomagnetic separation is a useful enrichment method selective for Escherichia coli O157 cells against non-O157 E. coli cells from a preenrichment culture. However, E. coli cells are adsorbed onto a solid surface nonspecifically. With the conventional immunomagnetic separation method, this nonspecific adsorption interfered with immunomagnetic separation. It was found that this interference could be reduced with a low-ionic-strength solution. When immunomagnetic separation was carried out with this solution, the proportion of E. coli O157 cells to non-O157 E. coli cells increased from 9.6 to 31.4 times compared to the proportion obtained by the conventional immunomagnetic separation method. The effectiveness of this solution was successfully evaluated by the use of E. coliO157-spiked samples.


1985 ◽  
Vol 232 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Aubert ◽  
S Chesne ◽  
G J Arlaud ◽  
M G Colomb

The heptoseless mutant of Escherichia coli, E. coli D31 m4, binds C1q and C1 at 0 degrees C and at low ionic strength (I0.07). Under these conditions, the maximum C1q binding averages 3.0 × 10(5) molecules per bacterium, with a Ka of 1.4 × 10(8) M-1. Binding involves the collagen-like region of C1q, as shown by the capacity of C1q pepsin-digest fragments to bind to E. coli D31 m4, and to compete with native C1q. Proenzyme and activated forms of C1 subcomponents C1r and C1s and their Ca2+-dependent association (C1r-C1s)2 do not bind to E. coli D31 m4. In contrast, the C1 complex binds very effectively, with an average fixation of 3.5 × 10(5) molecules per bacterium, and a Ka of 0.25 × 10(8) M-1, both comparable with the values obtained for C1q binding. C1 bound to E. coli D31 m4 undergoes rapid activation at 0 degrees C. The activation process is not affected by C1-inhibitor, and only slightly inhibited by p-nitrophenyl p'-guanidinobenzoate. No turnover of the (C1r-C1s)2 subunit is observed. Once activated, C1 is only partially dissociated by C1-inhibitor. Our observations are in favour of a strong association between C1 and the outer membrane of E. coli D31 m4, involving mainly the collagen-like moiety of C1.


2020 ◽  
Vol 202 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Yahashiri ◽  
Jill T. Babor ◽  
Ariel L. Anwar ◽  
Ryan P. Bezy ◽  
Evan W. Piette ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We report that the small Escherichia coli membrane protein DrpB (formerly YedR) is involved in cell division. We discovered DrpB in a screen for multicopy suppressors of a ΔftsEX mutation that prevents divisome assembly when cells are plated on low ionic strength medium, such as lysogeny broth without NaCl. Characterization of DrpB revealed that (i) translation initiates at an ATG annotated as codon 22 rather than the GTG annotated as codon 1, (ii) DrpB localizes to the septal ring when cells are grown in medium of low ionic strength but localization is greatly reduced in medium of high ionic strength, (iii) overproduction of DrpB in a ΔftsEX mutant background improves recruitment of the septal peptidoglycan synthase FtsI, implying multicopy suppression works by rescuing septal ring assembly, (iv) a ΔdrpB mutant divides quite normally, but a ΔdrpB ΔdedD double mutant has a strong division and viability defect, albeit only in medium of high ionic strength, and (v) DrpB homologs are found in E. coli and a few closely related enteric bacteria, but not outside this group. In sum, DrpB is a poorly conserved nonessential division protein that improves the efficiency of cytokinesis under suboptimal conditions. Proteins like DrpB are likely to be a widespread feature of the bacterial cell division apparatus, but they are easily overlooked because mutants lack obvious shape defects. IMPORTANCE A thorough understanding of bacterial cell division requires identifying and characterizing all of the proteins that participate in this process. Our discovery of DrpB brings us one step closer to this goal in E. coli.


1979 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
A E Senior ◽  
J A Downie ◽  
G B Cox ◽  
F Gibson ◽  
L Langman ◽  
...  

Four mutant strains of Escherichia coli which lack membrane-bound adenosine triphosphatase activity were shown by genetic-complementation tests to carry mutations in the uncA gene. A soluble inactive F1-ATPase aggregate was released from the membranes of three of the uncA mutant strains by low-ionic-strength washing, and purified by procedures developed for the purification of F1-ATPase from normal strains. Analysis of the subunit structure by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis indicated that the F1-ATPase in strains carrying the uncA401 or uncA453 alleles had a subunit structure indistinguishable from normal F1-ATPase. In contrast, the F1-ATPase from the strain carrying the uncA447 allele contained an alpha-subunit of normal molecular weight, but abnormal net charge. Membranes from strains carrying the uncA450 allele did not have F1-ATPase aggregates that could be solubilized by low-ionic-strength washing. However, a partial dipolid strain carrying both the uncA+ and uncA450 alleles formed an active F1-ATPase aggregate which could be solubilized by low-ionic-strength washing of the membranes and which contained two types of alpha-subunit, one of which was normal and the other had abnormal net charge. It is concluded that the uncA gene codes for the alpha-subunit of the adenosine triphosphatase.


1972 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Hendler ◽  
Amelia H. Burgess

Membranes obtained from Escherichia coli have been solubilized with deoxycholate. The solubilized dehydrogenases and cytochromes are not sedimented at 105,000 g. These components readily penetrate the "included space" of Sepharose 4B (Pharmacia Fine Chemicals Inc., Uppsala, Sweden) and polyacrylamide gels and have been fractionated on the basis of molecular size. Solubilization destroys nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced form (NADH) oxidase and D-lactate oxidase activities, but leaves an appreciable part of the original succinoxidase activity intact. Evidence for a succinate dehydrogenase-cytochrome b1 complex is given. Menadione added to the solubilized preparation does not elicit NADH oxidase activity nor stimulate the existing succinoxidase activity, but does provoke an active D-lactate oxidase activity. This D-lactate oxidase activity, however, does not use cytochromes and is not sensitive to cyanide.


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