scholarly journals Analysis of YfgL and YaeT Interactions through Bioinformatics, Mutagenesis, and Biochemistry

2007 ◽  
Vol 190 (5) ◽  
pp. 1507-1517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phu Vuong ◽  
Drew Bennion ◽  
Jeremy Mantei ◽  
Danielle Frost ◽  
Rajeev Misra

ABSTRACT In Escherichia coli, YaeT, together with four lipoproteins, YfgL, YfiO, NlpB, and SmpA, forms a complex that is essential for β-barrel outer membrane protein biogenesis. Data suggest that YfgL and YfiO make direct but independent physical contacts with YaeT. Whereas the YaeT-YfiO interaction needs NlpB and SmpA for complex stabilization, the YaeT-YfgL interaction does not. Using bioinformatics, genetics, and biochemical approaches, we have identified three residues, L173, L175, and R176, in the mature YfgL protein that are critical for both function and interactions with YaeT. A single substitution at any of these sites produces no phenotypic defect, but two or three simultaneous alterations produce mild or yfgL-null phenotypes, respectively. Interestingly, biochemical data show that all YfgL variants, including those with single substitutions, have weakened in vivo YaeT-YfgL interaction. These defects are not due to mislocalization or low steady-state levels of YfgL. Cysteine-directed cross-linking data show that the region encompassing L173, L175, and R176 makes direct contact with YaeT. Using the same genetic and biochemical strategies, it was found that altering residues D227 and D229 in another region of YfgL from E221 to D229 resulted in defective YaeT bindings. In contrast, mutational analysis of conserved residues V319 to H328 of YfgL shows that they are important for YfgL biogenesis but not YfgL-YaeT interactions. The five YfgL mutants defective in YaeT associations and the yfgL background were used to show that SurA binds to YaeT (or another complex member) without going through YfgL.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayuri Sadoine ◽  
Mira Reger ◽  
Ka Man Wong ◽  
Wolf B. Frommer

ABSTRACTGenetically encoded fluorescent sugar sensors are valuable tools for the discovery of transporters and for quantitative monitoring of sugar steady-state levels in intact tissues. Genetically encoded Förster Resonance Energy Transfer sensors for glucose have been designed and optimized extensively, and a full series of affinity mutants is available for in vivo studies. However, to date, only a single improved sensor FLIPsuc-90µΔ1 with a Km for sucrose of ∼90 µM is available for sucrose monitoring. This sucrose sensor was engineered on the basis of an Agrobacterium tumefaciens sugar binding protein. Here, we took a two-step approach to first systematically improve the dynamic range of the FLIPsuc nanosensor and then expand the detection range from micromolar to millimolar sucrose concentrations by mutating a key residue in the binding site. The resulting series of sucrose sensors may allow systematic investigation of sucrose transporter candidates and comprehensive in vivo analyses of sucrose concentration in plants. Since FLIPsuc-90µ also detects trehalose in animal cells, the new series of sensors can be used to investigate trehalose transporter candidates and monitor trehalose steady-state levels in vivo as well.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3642-3651 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Devlin ◽  
K Tice-Baldwin ◽  
D Shore ◽  
K T Arndt

The major in vitro binding activity to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae HIS4 promoter is due to the RAP1 protein. In the absence of GCN4, BAS1, and BAS2, the RAP1 protein binds to the HIS4 promoter in vivo but cannot efficiently stimulate HIS4 transcription. RAP1, which binds adjacently to BAS2 on the HIS4 promoter, is required for BAS1/BAS2-dependent activation of HIS4 basal-level transcription. In addition, the RAP1-binding site overlaps with the single high-affinity HIS4 GCN4-binding site. Even though RAP1 and GCN4 bind competitively in vitro, RAP1 is required in vivo for (i) the normal steady-state levels of GCN4-dependent HIS4 transcription under nonstarvation conditions and (ii) the rapid increase in GCN4-dependent steady-state HIS4 mRNA levels following amino acid starvation. The presence of the RAP1-binding site in the HIS4 promoter causes a dramatic increase in the micrococcal nuclease sensitivity of two adjacent regions within HIS4 chromatin: one region contains the high-affinity GCN4-binding site, and the other region contains the BAS1- and BAS2-binding sites. These results suggest that RAP1 functions at HIS4 by increasing the accessibility of GCN4, BAS1, and BAS2 to their respective binding sites when these sites are present within chromatin.


2019 ◽  
Vol 201 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Germán E. Piñas ◽  
John S. Parkinson

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli chemotaxis relies on control of the autophosphorylation activity of the histidine kinase CheA by transmembrane chemoreceptors. Core signaling units contain two receptor trimers of dimers, one CheA homodimer, and two monomeric CheW proteins that couple CheA activity to receptor control. Core signaling units appear to operate as two-state devices, with distinct kinase-on and kinase-off CheA output states whose structural nature is poorly understood. A recent all-atom molecular dynamic simulation of a receptor core unit revealed two alternative conformations, “dipped” and “undipped,” for the ATP-binding CheA.P4 domain that could be related to kinase activity states. To explore possible signaling roles for the dipped CheA.P4 conformation, we created CheA mutants with amino acid replacements at residues (R265, E368, and D372) implicated in promoting the dipped conformation and examined their signaling consequences with in vivo Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based kinase assays. We used cysteine-directed in vivo cross-linking reporters for the dipped and undipped conformations to assess mutant proteins for these distinct CheA.P4 domain configurations. Phenotypic suppression analyses revealed functional interactions among the conformation-controlling residues. We found that structural interactions between R265, located at the N terminus of the CheA.P3 dimerization domain, and E368/D372 in the CheA.P4 domain played a critical role in stabilizing the dipped conformation and in producing kinase-on output. Charge reversal replacements at any of these residues abrogated the dipped cross-linking signal, CheA kinase activity, and chemotactic ability. We conclude that the dipped conformation of the CheA.P4 domain is critical to the kinase-active state in core signaling units. IMPORTANCE Regulation of CheA kinase in chemoreceptor arrays is critical for Escherichia coli chemotaxis. However, to date, little is known about the CheA conformations that lead to the kinase-on or kinase-off states. Here, we explore the signaling roles of a distinct conformation of the ATP-binding CheA.P4 domain identified by all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. Amino acid replacements at residues predicted to stabilize the so-called “dipped” CheA.P4 conformation abolished the kinase activity of CheA and its ability to support chemotaxis. Our findings indicate that the dipped conformation of the CheA.P4 domain is critical for reaching the kinase-active state in chemoreceptor signaling arrays.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (24) ◽  
pp. 7614-7619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Shi ◽  
Magda Villarroya ◽  
Rafael Ruiz-Partida ◽  
Yunge Li ◽  
Ariane Proteau ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The MnmE-MnmG complex is involved in tRNA modification. We have determined the crystal structure of Escherichia coli MnmG at 2.4-Å resolution, mutated highly conserved residues with putative roles in flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) or tRNA binding and MnmE interaction, and analyzed the effects of these mutations in vivo and in vitro. Limited trypsinolysis of MnmG suggests significant conformational changes upon FAD binding.


1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (3) ◽  
pp. R722-R727
Author(s):  
M. Takita ◽  
M. Mikuni ◽  
K. Takahashi

The extracellular level of lactate is mainly dependent on functional glucose metabolism in most brain cells regulated in part by neuronal activity. We investigated the effect of environmental stimuli on lactate release in rat medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) by in vivo brain microdialysis. Lactate release was clearly demonstrated to increase immediately and transiently from its steady-state levels after various stimuli (tail pinch for 1 min, 100-dB white noise for 5 min, and immobilization for 5 min). These stimuli-induced increments were depressed after a second trial 1 h later in a manner consistent with dishabituation to a novel stimulus and “below-zero” habituation by several repetition. Likewise the local perfusion of dopamine or norepinephrine transiently increased and then diminished the second perfusion-induced increase in MPFC lactate release consistent with desensitization. These results suggest the possibility that stressful stimuli produce one-trial habituation of lactate release in MPFC via a mechanism involving the regulation of the catecholaminergic system.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (24) ◽  
pp. 7531-7544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolan Ma ◽  
William Margolin

ABSTRACT In Escherichia coli, FtsZ is required for the recruitment of the essential cell division proteins FtsA and ZipA to the septal ring. Several C-terminal deletions of E. coliFtsZ, including one of only 12 amino acids that removes the highly conserved C-terminal core domain, failed to complement chromosomalftsZ mutants when expressed on a plasmid. To identify key individual residues within the core domain, six highly conserved residues were replaced with alanines. All but one of these mutants (D373A) failed to complement an ftsZ chromosomal mutant. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that whereas I374A and F377A proteins were unstable in the cell, L372A, D373A, P375A, and L378A proteins were synthesized at normal levels, suggesting that they were specifically defective in some aspect of FtsZ function. In addition, all four of the stable mutant proteins were able to localize and form rings at potential division sites in chromosomal ftsZ mutants, implying a defect in a function other than localization and multimerization. Because another proposed function of FtsZ is the recruitment of FtsA and ZipA, we tested whether the C-terminal core domain was important for interactions with these proteins. Using two different in vivo assays, we found that the 12-amino-acid truncation of FtsZ was defective in binding to FtsA. Furthermore, two point mutants in this region (L372A and P375A) showed weakened binding to FtsA. In contrast, ZipA was capable of binding to all four stable point mutants in the FtsZ C-terminal core but not to the 12-amino-acid deletion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 202 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiia N. Klimova ◽  
Steven J. Sandler

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli PriA and PriC recognize abandoned replication forks and direct reloading of the DnaB replicative helicase onto the lagging-strand template coated with single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB). Both PriA and PriC have been shown by biochemical and structural studies to physically interact with the C terminus of SSB. In vitro, these interactions trigger remodeling of the SSB on ssDNA. priA341(R697A) and priC351(R155A) negated the SSB remodeling reaction in vitro. Plasmid-carried priC351(R155A) did not complement priC303::kan, and priA341(R697A) has not yet been tested for complementation. Here, we further studied the SSB-binding pockets of PriA and PriC by placing priA341(R697A), priA344(R697E), priA345(Q701E), and priC351(R155A) on the chromosome and characterizing the mutant strains. All three priA mutants behaved like the wild type. In a ΔpriB strain, the mutations caused modest increases in SOS expression, cell size, and defects in nucleoid partitioning (Par−). Overproduction of SSB partially suppressed these phenotypes for priA341(R697A) and priA344(R697E). The priC351(R155A) mutant behaved as expected: there was no phenotype in a single mutant, and there were severe growth defects when this mutation was combined with ΔpriB. Analysis of the priBC mutant revealed two populations of cells: those with wild-type phenotypes and those that were extremely filamentous and Par− and had high SOS expression. We conclude that in vivo, priC351(R155A) identified an essential residue and function for PriC, that PriA R697 and Q701 are important only in the absence of PriB, and that this region of the protein may have a complicated relationship with SSB. IMPORTANCE Escherichia coli PriA and PriC recruit the replication machinery to a collapsed replication fork after it is repaired and needs to be restarted. In vitro studies suggest that the C terminus of SSB interacts with certain residues in PriA and PriC to recruit those proteins to the repaired fork, where they help remodel it for restart. Here, we placed those mutations on the chromosome and tested the effect of mutating these residues in vivo. The priC mutation completely abolished function. The priA mutations had no effect by themselves. They did, however, display modest phenotypes in a priB-null strain. These phenotypes were partially suppressed by SSB overproduction. These studies give us further insight into the reactions needed for replication restart.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 6157-6169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Vilardo ◽  
Fabian Amman ◽  
Ursula Toth ◽  
Annika Kotter ◽  
Mark Helm ◽  
...  

Abstract The TRM10 family of methyltransferases is responsible for the N1-methylation of purines at position 9 of tRNAs in Archaea and Eukarya. The human genome encodes three TRM10-type enzymes, of which only the mitochondrial TRMT10C was previously characterized in detail, whereas the functional significance of the two presumably nuclear enzymes TRMT10A and TRMT10B remained unexplained. Here we show that TRMT10A is m1G9-specific and methylates a subset of nuclear-encoded tRNAs, whilst TRMT10B is the first m1A9-specific tRNA methyltransferase found in eukaryotes and is responsible for the modification of a single nuclear-encoded tRNA. Furthermore, we show that the lack of G9 methylation causes a decrease in the steady-state levels of the initiator tRNAiMet-CAT and an alteration in its further post-transcriptional modification. Our work finally clarifies the function of TRMT10A and TRMT10B in vivo and provides evidence that the loss of TRMT10A affects the pool of cytosolic tRNAs required for protein synthesis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 364 (3) ◽  
pp. 857-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna POTRYKUS ◽  
Sylwia BARAŃSKA ◽  
Alicja WĘGRZYN ◽  
Grzegorz WĘGRZYN

Previous studies indicated during replication of plasmids derived from bacteriophage λ (the so-called λ plasmids), that, once assembled, replication complex can be inherited by one of the two daughter plasmid copies after each replication round, and may function in subsequent replication rounds. It seems that similar processes occur during replication of other DNA molecules, including chromosomes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, apart from some suggestions based on genetic experiments, composition of the λ heritable replication complex remains unknown. In amino acid-starved Escherichia coli relA mutants, replication of λ plasmid DNA is carried out exclusively by the heritable replication complex as assembly of new complexes is impaired due to inhibition of protein synthesis. Here, using a procedure based on in vivo cross-linking, cell lysis, immunoprecipitation with specific sera, de-cross-linking and PCR analysis, we demonstrate that the λ heritable replication complex consists of O, P, DnaB and, perhaps surprisingly, DnaK proteins.


2012 ◽  
Vol 198 (5) ◽  
pp. 881-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunyong Park ◽  
Tom A. Rapoport

The transport of proteins across the plasma membrane in bacteria requires a channel formed from the SecY complex, which cooperates with either a translating ribosome in cotranslational translocation or the SecA ATPase in post-translational translocation. Whether translocation requires oligomers of the SecY complex is an important but controversial issue: it determines channel size, how the permeation of small molecules is prevented, and how the channel interacts with the ribosome and SecA. Here, we probe in vivo the oligomeric state of SecY by cross-linking, using defined co- and post-translational translocation intermediates in intact Escherichia coli cells. We show that nontranslocating SecY associated transiently through different interaction surfaces with other SecY molecules inside the membrane. These interactions were significantly reduced when a translocating polypeptide inserted into the SecY channel co- or post-translationally. Mutations that abolish the interaction between SecY molecules still supported viability of E. coli. These results show that a single SecY molecule is sufficient for protein translocation.


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