Characterization of an Escherichia coli mutant which utilizes glycerol in the absence of cyclic adenosine monophosphate

1980 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann D. E. Fraser ◽  
Hiroshi Yamazaki

The aerobic catabolism of glycerol depends on the expression of the glpK operon specifying a glycerol kinase and the glpD operon specifying an sn-glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) dehydrogenase. It has not been clearly established how the expression of these operons is dependent on adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP). We have isolated a promoterlike mutant (CA8306B) which, owing to a mutation in the glpK operon, can utilize glycerol in the absence of cAMP. Glycerol kinase and G3P dehydrogenase are inducible in CA8306B and its wild-type parent CA8000. The induced level of glycerol kinase in CA8306B is 30% that of CA8000and this level is increased fivefold by the addition of cAMP. However, the induced level of G3P dehydrogenase in CA8306B is similar to that of CA8000 and is unaffected by cAMP addition. These results suggest that the promotion of the glpK operon requires cAMP whereas the promotion of the glpD operon does not.

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1037-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Loewen ◽  
Jacek Switala ◽  
Mark Smolenski ◽  
Barbara L. Triggs-Raine

Hydroperoxidase I (HPI) of Escherichia coli is a bifunctional enzyme exhibiting both catalase and peroxidase activities. Mutants lacking appreciable HPI have been generated using nitrosoguanidine and the gene encoding HPI, katG, has been cloned from three of these mutants using either classical probing methods or polymerase chain reaction amplification. The mutant genes were sequenced and the changes from wild-type sequence identified. Two mutants contained G to A changes in the coding strand, resulting in glycine to aspartate changes at residues 119 (katG15) and 314 (katG16) in the deduced amino acid sequence of the protein. A third mutant contained a C to T change resulting in a leucine to phenylalanine change at residue 139 (katG14). The Phe139-, Asp119-, and Asp314-containing mutants exhibited 13, < 1, and 18%, respectively, of the wild-type catalase specific activity and 43, 4, and 45% of the wild-type peroxidase specific activity. All mutant enzymes bound less protoheme IX than the wild-type enzyme. The sensitivities of the mutant enzymes to the inhibitors hydroxylamine, azide, and cyanide and the activators imidazole and Tris were similar to those of the wild-type enzyme. The mutant enzymes were more sensitive to high temperature and to β-mercaptoethanol than the wild-type enzyme. The pH profiles of the mutant catalases were unchanged from the wild-type enzyme.Key words: catalase, hydroperoxidase I, mutants, sequence analysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-138
Author(s):  
Raegan S. Hoefler ◽  
Indira T. Kudva

Background: Differences between Escherichia coli O157 (O157) strains are well-established with some of these strains being associated with major outbreaks in the US. EDL933 is one such O157 strain that caused a multistate outbreak in 1982 and has since been used as a prototype in various O157-related experiments. Objective: As O157 can readily acquire genetic mutations, we sought to determine if the genetic and phenotypic profiles of EDL933 strains from different sources would be consistent. Methods: We evaluated wild-type O157 strains stocked as EDL933 from three different laboratories, in the strain typing Polymorphic Amplified Typing Sequence (PATS) and the bovine rectal-anal junction squamous epithelial (RSE) cell- and HEp-2 cell- adherence assays. In addition, we also verified if Shiga toxins (Stx), the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement (LEE) or curli fimbriae contributed to the adherence phenotypes observed using mutant and wild-type EDL933 isolates. Results: Our results showed differences in PATS profiles and RSE cell-adherence phenotype, with no influence from the Stx or LEE genes, between EDL933 from different sources. Interestingly, the EDL933 strain that demonstrated the most contrasting diffuse adherence phenotype on RSE cells, EDL933-T, had decreased curli production that may have contributed to this phenotype. Conclusion: Our observations suggest that a comprehensive characterization of bacterial isolates, even if assigned to the same strain type prior to use in experiments, is warranted to ensure consistency and reproducibility of results.


Genetics ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-180
Author(s):  
LaDonna Immken ◽  
David Apirion

ABSTRACT 3″,5″ cyclic-AMP (cAMP) will stimulate the rate of tryptophanase synthesis in Escherichia coli cultures induced with tryptophan. Adding cAMP after the initiation of messenger RNA synthesis was blocked by rifampicin, did not stimulate tryptophanase synthesis. This indicates that cAMP acts at initiation of either transcription or translation and not at the level of chain elongation of either the messenger or the polypeptide chain.


2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 1992-1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn R. Fisher ◽  
Nicola M. L. L. Davies ◽  
Elizabeth E. Wyckoff ◽  
Zhengyu Feng ◽  
Edwin V. Oaks ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The sit-encoded iron transport system is present within pathogenicity islands in all Shigella spp. and some pathogenic Escherichia coli strains. The islands contain numerous insertion elements and sequences with homology to bacteriophage genes. The Shigella flexneri sit genes can be lost as a result of deletion within the island. The formation of deletions was dependent upon RecA and occurred at relatively high frequency. This suggests that the sit region is inherently unstable, yet sit genes are maintained in all of the clinical isolates tested. Characterization of the sitABCD genes in S. flexneri indicates that they encode a ferrous iron transport system, although the genes are induced aerobically. The sit genes provide a competitive advantage to S. flexneri growing within epithelial cells, and a sitA mutant is outcompeted by the wild type in cultured epithelial cells. The Sit system is also required for virulence in a mouse lung model. The sitA mutant was able to infect the mice and induce a protective immune response but was avirulent compared to its wild-type parent strain.


2007 ◽  
Vol 179 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin E. Dymek ◽  
Elizabeth F. Smith

For virtually all cilia and eukaryotic flagella, the second messengers calcium and cyclic adenosine monophosphate are implicated in modulating dynein- driven microtubule sliding to regulate beating. Calmodulin (CaM) localizes to the axoneme and is a key calcium sensor involved in regulating motility. Using immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry, we identify members of a CaM-containing complex that are involved in regulating dynein activity. This complex includes flagellar-associated protein 91 (FAP91), which shares considerable sequence similarity to AAT-1, a protein originally identified in testis as an A-kinase anchor protein (AKAP)– binding protein. FAP91 directly interacts with radial spoke protein 3 (an AKAP), which is located at the base of the spoke. In a microtubule sliding assay, the addition of antibodies generated against FAP91 to mutant axonemes with reduced dynein activity restores dynein activity to wild-type levels. These combined results indicate that the CaM- and spoke-associated complex mediates regulatory signals between the radial spokes and dynein arms.


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