scholarly journals Probing the active site of YjeE: a vital Escherichia coli protein of unknown function

2004 ◽  
Vol 384 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdellah ALLALI-HASSANI ◽  
Tracey L. CAMPBELL ◽  
Andy HO ◽  
Jeffrey W. SCHERTZER ◽  
Eric D. BROWN

In the study described here, we have taken steps to characterize the YjeE protein, an Escherichia coli protein of unknown function that is essential for bacterial viability. YjeE represents a protein family whose members are broadly conserved in bacteria, absent from eukaryotes and contain both Walker A and B motifs, characteristic of P-loop ATPases. We have revisited the dispensability of the yjeE gene in E. coli and describe efforts to probe the function of the YjeE protein with in vitro biochemistry. We have looked critically for ATPase activity in the recombinant E. coli protein and have made vigilant use of site-directed variants in the Walker A [K41A (Lys41→Ala) and T42A] and putative Walker B (D80Q) motifs. We noted that any hydrolysis of ATP by the wild-type E. coli protein might be attributed to background ATPase, since it was not appreciably different from that of the variants. To overcome potential contaminants, we turned to crystalline pure YjeE protein from Haemophilus influenzae that was found to hydrolyse ATP at a slow rate (kcat=1 h−1). We have also shown high-affinity binding to YjeE by ADP using equilibrium dialysis (Kd=32 μM) and by fluorescence resonance energy transfer from a conserved tryptophan in YjeE to a fluorescent derivative of ADP, 2′-/3′-O-(N-methylanthraniloyl)adenosine 5′-O-diphosphate (Kd=8 μM). Walker motif variants were notably impaired for ADP binding and T42A and D80Q mutations in yjeE were incapable of complementing the yjeE deletion strain.

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 3468-3474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyeong Tae Eom ◽  
Jae Kwang Song ◽  
Jung Hoon Ahn ◽  
Yeon Soo Seo ◽  
Joon Shick Rhee

ABSTRACT The ABC transporter (TliDEF) from Pseudomonas fluorescens SIK W1, which mediated the secretion of a thermostable lipase (TliA) into the extracellular space in Escherichia coli, was engineered using directed evolution (error-prone PCR) to improve its secretion efficiency. TliD mutants with increased secretion efficiency were identified by coexpressing the mutated tliD library with the wild-type tliA lipase in E. coli and by screening the library with a tributyrin-emulsified indicator plate assay and a microtiter plate-based assay. Four selected mutants from one round of error-prone PCR mutagenesis, T6, T8, T24, and T35, showed 3.2-, 2.6-, 2.9-, and 3.0-fold increases in the level of secretion of TliA lipase, respectively, but had almost the same level of expression of TliD in the membrane as the strain with the wild-type TliDEF transporter. These results indicated that the improved secretion of TliA lipase was mediated by the transporter mutations. Each mutant had a single amino acid change in the predicted cytoplasmic regions in the membrane domain of TliD, implying that the corresponding region of TliD was important for the improved and successful secretion of the target protein. We therefore concluded that the efficiency of secretion of a heterologous protein in E. coli can be enhanced by in vitro engineering of the ABC transporter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-512
Author(s):  
JOSEPH M. BOSILEVAC ◽  
HARI P. DWIVEDI ◽  
PATRICE CHABLAIN ◽  
MICHAEL ULLERY ◽  
JOSEPH S. BAILEY ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Contaminated beef and beef products remain a frequent vehicle for the transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7. The current U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulatory testing for E. coli O157:H7 uses the method described in the USDA-FSIS Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG), chapter 5. At times, described presumptive test results are nonconfirmable, suggesting that recent PCR technological advancements and presumed enhanced sensitivity and specificity may offer beneficial changes. Here, we have evaluated the precision and sensitivity of a fluorescence resonance energy transfer–based real-time PCR assay called ECO for the detection of E. coli O157:H7. ECO detects the gene target specific to both E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli O157:non-H7 but distinguishes the two by using a melt curve analysis. A total of 3,113 O157:H7 and O157:non-H7 isolates were used to define this melting temperature–based criteria. The simulated comparative performance evaluation in the spiked beef samples indicated detection of 3 of 3 samples by ECO at <3.3 log CFU/mL, whereas MLG only detected 1 of 3 (<3.3 log CFU/mL). Using modified tryptic soy broth–enriched natural beef and veal product samples (n = 452), the comparative sensitivity, specificity, false-positive rate, and false-negative rate against culture between MLG and ECO were 75 versus 92%, 91 versus 99%, 8.9 versus 0.77%, and 25 versus 8.3%, respectively. Positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and the overall accuracy were found to be 56 versus 94%, 96 versus 98%, and 88 versus 98%, for MLG and ECO, respectively. These data demonstrate that the ECO assay is comparable to MLG detection of E. coli O157:H7 and offers improved sensitivity.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (7) ◽  
pp. 2259-2264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wei ◽  
Amy C. Vollmer ◽  
Robert A. LaRossa

ABSTRACT Mitomycin C (MMC), a DNA-damaging agent, is a potent inducer of the bacterial SOS response; surprisingly, it has not been used to select resistant mutants from wild-type Escherichia coli. MMC resistance is caused by the presence of any of four distinctE. coli genes (mdfA, gyrl, rob, andsdiA) on high-copy-number vectors. mdfAencodes a membrane efflux pump whose overexpression results in broad-spectrum chemical resistance. The gyrI (also called sbmC) gene product inhibits DNA gyrase activity in vitro, while the rob protein appears to function in transcriptional activation of efflux pumps. SdiA is a transcriptional activator of ftsQAZ genes involved in cell division.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 3315-3324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Gauger ◽  
Mary P. Leatham ◽  
Regino Mercado-Lubo ◽  
David C. Laux ◽  
Tyrrell Conway ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Previously, we reported that the mouse intestine selected mutants of Escherichia coli MG1655 that have improved colonizing ability (M. P. Leatham et al., Infect. Immun. 73:8039-8049, 2005). These mutants grew 10 to 20% faster than their parent in mouse cecal mucus in vitro and 15 to 30% faster on several sugars found in the mouse intestine. The mutants were nonmotile and had deletions of various lengths beginning immediately downstream of an IS1 element located within the regulatory region of the flhDC operon, which encodes the master regulator of flagellum biosynthesis, FlhD4C2. Here we show that during intestinal colonization by wild-type E. coli strain MG1655, 45 to 50% of the cells became nonmotile by day 3 after feeding of the strain to mice and between 80 and 90% of the cells were nonmotile by day 15 after feeding. Ten nonmotile mutants isolated from mice were sequenced, and all were found to have flhDC deletions of various lengths. Despite this strong selection, 10 to 20% of the E. coli MG1655 cells remained motile over a 15-day period, suggesting that there is an as-yet-undefined intestinal niche in which motility is an advantage. The deletions appear to be selected in the intestine for two reasons. First, genes unrelated to motility that are normally either directly or indirectly repressed by FlhD4C2 but can contribute to maximum colonizing ability are released from repression. Second, energy normally used to synthesize flagella and turn the flagellar motor is redirected to growth.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijun Guo ◽  
Marc Bramkamp

ABSTRACTThe dynamins family of GTPases is involved in key cellular processes in eukaryotes, including vesicle trafficking and organelle division. The GTP hydrolysis cycle of dynamin translates to a conformational change in the protein structure, which forces the underlying lipid layer into an energetically unstable conformation that promotes membrane rearrangements. Many bacterial genomes encode dynamin-like proteins, but the biological function of these proteins has remained largely enigmatic. In recent years, our group has reported that the dynamin-like protein DynA from Bacillus subtilis mediates nucleotide-independent membrane tethering in vitro and contributes to the innate immunity of bacteria against membrane stress and phage infection. However, so far the mechanism of membrane stress response and the role of GTP hydrolysis remain unclear. Here, we employed content mixing and lipid mixing assays in reconstituted systems to study if the dynamin-like protein DynA from B. subtilis induces membrane full fusion, and further test the possibility that GTP hydrolysis of DynA may act on the fusion-through-hemifusion pathway. Our results based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) indicated that DynA could induce aqueous content mixing even in absence of GTP. Moreover, DynA-induced membrane fusion in vitro is a thermo-promoted slow response. Surprisingly, digestion of protein mediated an instantl rise of content exchange, supporting the assumption that disassembly of DynA is the fundamental power for fusion-through-hemifusion.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (21) ◽  
pp. 7815-7822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Piazza ◽  
David S. Blehert ◽  
F. Mark Dunning ◽  
Brenda M. Berlowski-Zier ◽  
Füsûn N. Zeytin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBotulinum neurotoxin serotype E (BoNT/E) outbreaks in the Great Lakes region cause large annual avian mortality events, with an estimated 17,000 bird deaths reported in 2007 alone. During an outbreak investigation, blood collected from bird carcasses is tested for the presence of BoNT/E using the mouse lethality assay. While sensitive, this method is labor-intensive and low throughput and can take up to 7 days to complete. We developed a rapid and sensitivein vitroassay, the BoTest Matrix E assay, that combines immunoprecipitation with high-affinity endopeptidase activity detection by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to rapidly quantify BoNT/E activity in avian blood with detection limits comparable to those of the mouse lethality assay. On the basis of the analysis of archived blood samples (n= 87) collected from bird carcasses during avian mortality investigations, BoTest Matrix E detected picomolar quantities of BoNT/E following a 2-h incubation and femtomolar quantities of BoNT/E following extended incubation (24 h) with 100% diagnostic specificity and 91% diagnostic sensitivity.


2006 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 1661-1666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Deland Ho ◽  
Matthew K. Waldor

ABSTRACT Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), especially E. coli O157:H7, is an emerging cause of food-borne illness. Unfortunately, E. coli O157 cannot be genetically manipulated using the generalized transducing phage P1, presumably because its extensive O antigen obscures the P1 receptor, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core subunit. The GalE, GalT, GalK, and GalU proteins are necessary for modifying galactose before it can be assembled into the repeating subunit of the O antigen. Here, we constructed E. coli O157:H7 gal mutants which presumably have little or no O antigen. These strains were able to adsorb P1. P1 lysates grown on the gal mutant strains could be used to move chromosomal markers between EHEC strains, thereby facilitating genetic manipulation of E. coli O157:H7. The gal mutants could easily be reverted to a wild-type Gal+ strain using P1 transduction. We found that the O157:H7 galETKM::aad-7 deletion strain was 500-fold less able to colonize the infant rabbit intestine than the isogenic Gal+ parent, although it displayed no growth defect in vitro. Furthermore, in vivo a Gal+ revertant of this mutant outcompeted the galETKM deletion strain to an extent similar to that of the wild type. This suggests that the O157 O antigen is an important intestinal colonization factor. Compared to the wild type, EHEC gal mutants were 100-fold more sensitive to a peptide derived from bactericidal permeability-increasing protein, a bactericidal protein found on the surface of intestinal epithelial cells. Thus, one way in which the O157 O antigen may contribute to EHEC intestinal colonization is to promote resistance to host-derived antimicrobial polypeptides.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Ghosh ◽  
Richard C. Franson

Autoclaved Escherichia coli labelled with [1-14C]oleate in the 2-acyl position have been used extensively to measure phospholipase A2 activity in vitro. The present study demonstrates that this membranous substrate is also useful for the measurement of in vitro phospholipase D activity. Phospholipase D from Streptomyces chromofuscus catalyzed the hydrolysis of [1-14C]oleate labelled, autoclaved E. coli optimally at pH 7.0–8.0 to generate [14C]phosphatidic acid in the presence of 5 mM added Ca2+. Other divalent cations would not substitute for Ca2+. Activity was linear with time and protein up to 30% of the hydrolysis of substrate. Phospholipase D activity was stimulated in a dose-dependent manner by the addition of Triton X-100. The activity was increased 5.5-fold with 0.05% Triton, a concentration that totally inhibited hydrolysis of E. coli by human synovial fluid phospholipase A2. Accumulation of [14C]diglyceride was observed after 10 min of incubation. This accumulation was inhibited by NaF (IC50 = 18 μM) or propanolol (IC50 = 180 μM) suggesting the S. chromofuscus phospholipase D was contaminated with phosphatidate phosphohydrolase. Phosphatidic acid released by the action of cabbage phospholipase D was converted to phosphatidylethanol in an ethanol concentration dependent manner. These results demonstrate that [1-14C]oleate labelled, autoclaved E. coli can be used to measure phospholipase D activity by monitoring accumulation of either [14C]phosphatidic acid or [14C]phosphatidylethanol.Key words: Escherichia coli, substrate, phospholipase D, Streptomyces chromofuscus, sodium fluoride, propranolol.


1968 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 597-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Jones-Mortimer

1. The function of the wild-type alleles of the pleiotropic mutants cysB and cysE of Escherichia coli was investigated. 2. The wild-type allele cysB+ is dominant to the mutant allele cysB in stable and transient heterozygotes. 3. The wild-type allele cysE+ is dominant to the mutant allele cysE, as predicted. 4. Sulphur-starved cultures of cysB or cysE strains contain less than 0·2nmole of free cysteine/mg. dry wt. 5. Complementation in vitro is not observed between extracts of cysB mutants and mutants lacking sulphite reductase only. 6. A scheme, involving positive control of the enzymes of sulphate activation and reduction, is suggested to account for the control of cysteine biosynthesis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 394-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor L. Fischer ◽  
Robert J. White ◽  
Katherine F.K. Mares ◽  
Devin E. Molnau ◽  
Justin J. Donato

<b><i>Background/Aims:</i></b> We previously identified the Triclo1 fosmid in a functional metagenomic selection for clones that increased triclosan tolerance in <i>Escherichia coli</i>. The active enzyme encoded by Triclo1 is ucFabV. Although ucFabV is homologous to FabV from other organisms, ucFabV contains substitutions at key positions that would predict differences in substrate binding. Therefore, a detailed characterization of ucFabV was conducted to link its biochemical activity to its ability to confer reduced triclosan sensitivity. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> ucFabV and a catalytic mutant were purified and used to reduce crotonoyl-CoA in vitro. The mutant and wild-type enzymes were introduced into <i>E. coli</i>, and their ability to confer triclosan tolerance as well as suppress a temperature-sensitive mutant of FabI were measured. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Purified ucFabV, but not the mutant, reduced crotonoyl-CoA in vitro. The wild-type enzyme confers increased triclosan tolerance when introduced into <i>E. coli</i>, whereas the mutant remained susceptible to triclosan<i>. </i>Additionally, wild-type ucFabV, but not the mutant, functionally replaced FabI within living cells. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> ucFabV confers increased tolerance through its function as an enoyl-ACP reductase. Furthermore, ucFabV is capable of restoring viability in the presence of compromised FabI, suggesting ucFabV is likely facilitating an alternate step within fatty acid synthesis, bypassing FabI inhibition.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document