Topology of the membrane-bound alkane hydroxylase of Pseudomonas oleovorans.

The Pseudomonas oleovorans alkane hydroxylase is an integral cytoplasmic membrane protein that is expressed and active in both Escherichia coli and P. oleovorans. Its primary sequence contains eight hydrophobic stretches that could span the membrane as alpha-helices. The topology of alkane hydroxylase was studied in E. coli using protein fusions linking different amino-terminal fragments of the alkane hydroxylase (AlkB) to alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) and to beta-galactosidase (LacZ). Four AlkB-PhoA fusions were constructed using transposon TnphoA. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to create PstI sites at 12 positions in AlkB. These sites were used to create AlkB-PhoA and AlkB-LacZ fusions. With respect to alkaline phosphatase and beta-galactosidase activity each set of AlkB-PhoA and AlkB-LacZ fusions revealed the expected complementary activities. At three positions, PhoA fusions were highly active, whereas the corresponding LacZ fusions were the least active. At all other positions the PhoA fusions were almost completely inactive, but the corresponding LacZ fusions were highly active. These data predict a model for alkane hydroxylase containing six transmembrane segments. In this model the amino terminus, two hydrophilic loops, and a large carboxyl-terminal domain are located in the cytoplasm. Only three very short loops near amino acid positions 52, 112, and 251 are exposed to the periplasm.     

Export of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase attached to an integral membrane protein, SecY

The SecY protein is a membrane-bound factor required for bacterial protein export and embedded in the cytoplasmic membrane by its 10 transmembrane segments. We previously proposed a topology model for this protein by adapting the Manoil-Beckwith TnphoA approach, a genetic method to assign local disposition of a membrane protein from the enzymatic activity of the alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) mature sequence attached to the various regions. SecY-PhoA hybrid proteins with the PhoA domain exported to the periplasmic side of the membrane have been obtained at the five putative periplasmic domains of the SecY sequence. We now extended this method to apply it to follow export of the newly synthesized PhoA domain. Trypsin treatment of detergent-solubilized cell extracts digested the internalized (unfolded) PhoA domain but not those exported and correctly folded. One of the hybrid proteins was cleaved in vivo after export to the periplasm, providing a convenient indication for the export. Results of these analyses indicate that export of the PhoA domain attached to different periplasmic regions of SecY occurs rapidly and requires the normal functioning of the secY gene supplied in trans. Thus, this membrane protein with multiple transmembrane segments contains multiple export signals which can promote rapid and secY-dependent export of the PhoA mature sequence attached to the carboxyl-terminal sides.     

Nucleotide sequence of the Vibrio alginolyticus calcium-dependent, detergent-resistant alkaline serine exoprotease A

The nucleotide sequence of the Vibrio alginolyticus alkaline serine exoprotease A (ProA) gene cloned in Escherichia coli was determined. The exoprotease A gene (proA) consisted of 1602 bp which encoded a protein of 534 amino acids (aa) with an Mr of 55,900. The region upstream from the gene was characterized by a putative promoter consensus region (-10 -35), a ribosome-binding site and ATG start codon. The proA gene encodes a typical 21-aa N-terminal signal sequence which, when fused to alkaline phosphatase by means of transposon TnphoA, was able to mediate transport of the alkaline phosphatase to the periplasm in E. coli. Deletions of up to 106 aa from the C terminus of ProA did not result in the loss of extracellular protease activity. Additional V. alginolyticus genes were not involved in the secretion into the medium of the cloned ProA in E. coli. The amino acid sequence of ProA showed low overall homology to a Serratia marcescens serine exoprotease but significant homology was detected with other subtilisin family exoproteases. The fungal proteinase K, another sodium dodecyl sulfate-resistant protease, had 44% aa homology with ProA.     

Topology analysis of the SecY protein, an integral membrane protein involved in protein export in Escherichia coli.

The secY (prlA) gene product is an essential component of the Escherichia coli cytoplasmic membrane, and its function is required for the translocation of exocytoplasmic proteins across the membrane. We have analyzed the orientation of the SecY protein in the membrane by examining the hydropathic character of its amino acid sequence, by testing its susceptibility to proteases added to each side of the membrane, and by characterizing SecY-PhoA (alkaline phosphatase) hybrid proteins constructed by TnphoA transpositions. The orientation of the PhoA portion of the hybrid protein with respect to the membrane was inferred from its enzymatic activity as well as sensitivity to external proteases. The results suggest that SecY contains 10 transmembrane segments, five periplasmically exposed parts, and six cytoplasmic regions including the amino- and carboxyterminal regions.     

A signal sequence is not required for protein export in prlA mutants of Escherichia coli.

The prlA/secY gene, which codes for an integral membrane protein component of the Escherichia coli protein export machinery, is the locus of the strongest suppressors of signal sequence mutations. We demonstrate that two exported proteins of E.coli, maltose-binding protein and alkaline phosphatase, each lacking its entire signal sequence, are exported to the periplasm in several prlA mutants. The export efficiency can be substantial; in a strain carrying the prlA4 allele, 30% of signal-sequenceless alkaline phosphatase is exported to the periplasm. Other components of the E.coli export machinery, including SecA, are required for this export. SecB is required for the export of signal-sequenceless alkaline phosphatase even though the normal export of alkaline phosphatase does not require this chaperonin. Our findings indicate that signal sequences confer speed and efficiency upon the export process, but that they are not always essential for export. Entry into the export pathway may involve components that so overlap in function that the absence of a signal sequence can be compensated for, or there may exist one or more means of entry that do not require signal sequences at all.     

Identification and characterization of an Escherichia coli gene required for the formation of correctly folded alkaline phosphatase, a periplasmic enzyme.

Tn5 insertion mutations of Escherichia coli were isolated that impaired the formation of correctly folded alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) in the periplasm. The PhoA polypeptide synthesized in the mutants was translocated across the cytoplasmic membrane but not released into the periplasmic space. It was susceptible to degradation by proteases in vivo and in vitro. The wild-type counterpart of this gene (named ppfA) has been sequenced and shown to encode a periplasmic protein with a pair of potentially redox-active cysteine residues. PhoA synthesized in the mutants indeed lacked disulfide bridges. These results indicate that the folding of PhoA in vivo is not spontaneous but catalyzed at least at the disulfide bond formation step.     

A positively charged region is a determinant of the orientation of cytoplasmic membrane proteins in Escherichia coli

Basic amino acid residues were introduced into an extracellular (periplasmic) domain, preceding a membrane-spanning hydrophobic domain, of SecY, an integral cytoplasmic membrane protein. The localization of the domain was monitored as to the alkaline phosphatase activity of TnPhoA fused adjacent to the domain. The alkaline phosphatase activity of such Escherichia coli cells drastically decreased when positive charges were introduced, indicating that on the introduction the SecY domain showed a change in localization from the periplasm to the cytoplasm. In another experiment, positive charges were introduced to the same periplasmic domain of another SecY-PhoA fusion protein, in which PhoA is fused to the cytoplasmic domain of SecY following the particular hydrophobic domain. The alkaline phosphatase activity increased drastically when positive charges were introduced, indicating that the SecY domain fused to PhoA showed a change in localization from the cytoplasm to the periplasm. In both experiments, the removal of a large amino-terminal portion of the SecY domain did not alter the effect of the positive charge introduction. Changes in localization of SecY domains thus demonstrated were also supported by a protease accessibility test on spheroplasts. It is proposed that a positively charged region adjacent to a membrane-embedded hydrophobic region tends to be stabilized on the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane, which in turn endows the hydrophobic region with the ability to act as a stop-transfer sequence or a signal sequence and consequently determines the orientation of the hydrophobic region in the membrane.     

Secretion of periplasmic PhoA protein during its supersynthesis into the medium using outer membrane vesicles. Features of chemical composition of the vesicles and membranes of Escherichia coli secreting cells

E. coli K12802 cells transformed by multicopy plasmid with phoA gene acquire the ability to oversynthesize alkaline phosphatase, secrete it into the cultural medium, and accumulate the precursor of this enzyme. The dynamics of enzyme production and secretion as well as cytomorphological changes revealed the existence of a mechanism of selective enzyme secretion into the medium. It is characterized by a decrease of enzyme specific activity in periplasm and its increase in cultural medium, appearance of numerous local zones of adhesion of cytoplasmic and outer membranes, formation of large extracellular outer membrane vesicles containing PhoA protein on the cell poles, and their release into the medium. We isolated the vesicles and found that they contain PhoA (in dominating quantity), several other periplasmic proteins, and matrix proteins of outer membranes. By their phospholipid and protein composition, they correspond to the fraction of outer membranes which have the largest density and sedimentation rate and, apparently, contain no lipoprotein.     

DNA sequence analysis of pglA and mechanism of export of its polygalacturonase product from Pseudomonas solanacearum.

The pglA gene encodes a 52-kilodalton extracellular polygalacturonase (PGA) which is associated with the phytopathogenic virulence of Pseudomonas solanacearum. The nucleotide sequence of pglA and the putative amino acid sequence of the PGA protein were determined. A computer search identified a 150-residue region of PGA which was similar (41%) to the amino acid sequence of a region of the PG-2A polygalacturonase from tomato. Comparison of the amino terminus of the pglA open reading frame with the actual amino-terminal sequence of purified extracellular PGA suggested that pglA is initially translated as a higher-molecular-mass precursor with a 21-residue amino-terminal signal sequence. Localization of various pglA-phoA fusion proteins in Escherichia coli and P. solanacearum indicated that the 21-residue leader sequence directs the export of PhoA only as far as the periplasm of both bacteria. Deletion of the last 13 residues of PGA eliminated its catalytic activity, as well as its ability to be exported outside of the P. solanacearum cell. Our results suggest that PGA excretion occurs in two steps. The first step involves a signal sequence cleavage mechanism similar to that used for periplasmic proteins and results in export of PGA across the inner membrane; the second step (transit of the outer membrane) occurs by an unknown mechanism requiring sequences from the mature PGA protein and biochemical factors absent from E. coli.     

Defective Escherichia coli signal peptides function in yeast

To investigate structural characteristics important for eukaryotic signal peptide function in vivo, a hybrid gene with interchangeable signal peptides was cloned into yeast. The hybrid gene encoded nine residues from the amino terminus of the major Escherichia coli lipoprotein, attached to the amino terminus of the entire mature E. coli beta-lactamase sequence. To this sequence were attached sequences encoding the nonmutant E. coli lipoprotein signal peptide, or lipoprotein signal peptide mutants lacking an amino-terminal cationic charge, with shortened hydrophobic core, with altered potential helicity, or with an altered signal-peptide cleavage site. These signal-peptide mutants exhibited altered processing and secretion in E. coli. Using the GAL10 promoter, production of all hybrid proteins was induced to constitute 4-5% of the total yeast protein. Hybrid proteins with mutant signal peptides that show altered processing and secretion in E. coli, were processed and translocated to a similar degree as the non-mutant hybrid protein in yeast (approximately 36% of the total hybrid protein). Both non-mutant and mutant signal peptides appeared to be removed at the same unique site between cysteine 21 and serine 22, one residue from the E. coli signal peptidase II processing site. The mature lipo-beta-lactamase was translocated across the cytoplasmic membrane into the yeast periplasm. Thus the protein secretion apparatus in yeast recognizes the lipoprotein signal sequence in vivo but displays a specificity towards altered signal sequences which differs from that of E. coli.     

Amino-Terminal Charge Affects the Periplasmic Accumulation of Recombinant Heregulin/EGF Hybrids Exported Using theEscherichia coliAlkaline Phosphatase Signal Sequence

AnEscherichia coliexpression system that exploits the bacterial alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) signal sequence to translocate recombinant human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) to the periplasm was used to evaluate how changes in the composition and sequence of amino acids near the PhoA–hEGF junction influence the periplasmic accumulation of recombinant protein. A series of chimeric structural genes was generated byin vitroreplacement of hEGF sequence with analogous segments from the EGF-like domain of human heregulin (HRG), significantly altering the electrostatic character of the amino-terminal region of the mature protein. Quantitation of HRG/EGF protein inE. coliperiplasmic extracts, by RP-HPLC, showed a fourfold decrease after one of two acidic residues located in the amino-terminal region of the mature hEGF, near the PhoA junction, was replaced. An additional threefold decrease was observed when the second acidic residue was replaced with a positively charged lysine. Further extension of the amino-terminal HRG sequence, beyond the first six residues, resulted in net neutralization of a more distant EGF acidic residue with no additional effect on protein yield. The importance of having a negatively charged group in the amino-terminal region of the mature protein was confirmed when insertion of an aspartic acid near the amino-terminus of two poorly expressed hybrid protein sequences resulted in a five- to eightfold increase in their recovery from the periplasm. This study demonstrates the importance of having negatively charged residues near the fusion junction of recombinant proteins expressed inE. coliusing the PhoA signal sequence for protein export.     

Transmembrane segment (TMS) VIII of the Na(+)/Citrate transporter CitS requires downstream TMS IX for insertion in the Escherichia coli membrane.

The amino acid sequence of the sodium ion-dependent citrate transporter CitS of K. pneumoniae contains 12 hydrophobic stretches that could form membrane-spanning segments. A previous analysis of the membrane topology in Escherichia coli using the PhoA gene fusion technique indicated that only nine of these hydrophobic segments span the membrane, while three segments, Vb, VIII and IX, were predicted to have a periplasmic location (Van Geest, M., and Lolkema, J. S. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 25582-25589). A topology study of C-terminally truncated CitS molecules in dog pancreas microsomes revealed that the protein traverses the endoplasmic reticulum membrane 11 times. In agreement with the PhoA fusion data, segment Vb was predicted to have a periplasmic location, but, in contrast, segments VIII and IX were found to be membrane-spanning (Van Geest, M., Nilsson, I., von Heijne, G., and Lolkema, J. S. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 2816-2823). In the present study, using site-directed Cys labeling, the topology of segments VIII and IX in the full-length CitS protein was determined in the E. coli membrane. Engineered cysteine residues in the loop between the two segments were accessible to a membrane-impermeable thiol reagent exclusively from the cytoplasmic side of the membrane, demonstrating that transmembrane segments (TMSs) VIII and IX are both membrane-spanning. It follows that the folding of CitS in the E. coli and endoplasmic reticulum membrane is the same. Cysteine accessibility studies of CitS-PhoA fusion molecules demonstrated that in the E. coli membrane segment VIII is exported to the periplasm in the absence of the C-terminal CitS sequences, thus explaining why the PhoA fusions do not correctly predict the topology. An engineered cysteine residue downstream of TMS VIII moved from a periplasmic to a cytoplasmic location when the fusion protein containing TMSs I-VIII was extended with segment IX. Thus, downstream segment IX is both essential and sufficient for the insertion of segment VIII of CitS in the E. coli membrane.     

Dual topology of the Escherichia coli TatA protein

The Escherichia coli Tat system has unusual capacity of translocating folded proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. The TatA protein is the most abundant known Tat component and consists of a transmembrane segment followed by an amphipathic helix and a hydrophilic C terminus. To study the operation mechanism of the Tat apparatus, we analyzed the topology of TatA. Intriguingly, alkaline phosphatase (PhoA)-positive fusions were obtained at positions Gly-38, Lys-40, Asp-51, and Thr-53, which are all located at the cytoplasmic C terminus of the TatA protein. Interestingly, replacing phoA with uidA at Thr-53 led to positive beta-glucuronidase fusion, implying cytoplasmic location of the TatA C terminus. To further determine cellular localization of the TatA C terminus, we deleted the phoA gene and left 46 exogenous residues, including the tobacco etch virus (Tev) protease cleavage site (Tcs) after Thr-53, yielding TatA(T53)::Tcs. Unlike the PhoA and UidA fusions, which abolished the TatA function, the TatA(T53)::Tcs construct was able to restore the growth of tatA mutants on the minimal trimethlyamine N-oxide media. In vitro and in vivo proteolysis assay showed that the Tcs site of TatA(T53)::Tcs was accessible from both the periplasm and cytoplasm, indicating a dual topology of the TatA C terminus. Importantly, growth conditions seemed to influence the protein level of TatA and the cytoplasmic accessibility of the Tcs site of TatA(T53)::Tcs. A function-linked change of the TatA topology is suggested, and its implication in protein transport is discussed.     

Yersinia spp. HMWP2, a cytosolic protein with a cryptic internal signal sequence which can promote alkaline phosphatase export.

The iron starvation-induced, 2,042-amino-acid protein HMWP2 of Yersinia enterocolitica has two internal hydrophobic segments which might promote its export and association with the cytoplasmic membrane. To determine whether part of HMWP2 could be exported beyond the periplasmic face of the cytoplasmic membrane, we used TnphoA mutagenesis to construct 10 hybrid proteins in which periplasmic alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) was fused to the end of C-terminally truncated HMWP1 (at amino acid positions 1751 and 1753 two independent isolates]) had high alkaline phosphate activity (close to that of the native enzyme), both in Escherichia coli and in Y. pseudotuberculosis, indicating that the PhoA segment of the hybrid reached the periplasm. Deletion studies showed that the export signal resides in the second hydrophobic segment of HMWP2. This result would be compatible with the topology of the protein in the cytoplasmic membrane predicted from the distribution of charged amino acids at either end of the two hydrophobic segments. However, two hybrids in which the junction was even further toward the C terminus of HMMWP2 (at positions 1793 and 1999) had only weak alkaline phosphatase activity, suggesting that the predicted topology is incorrect. The location of HMWP2 was therefore determined by subcellular fractionation. The results indicate that HMPW2 is mainly cytoplasmic, consistent with its presumed role in the ATP-dependent, nonribosomal synthesis of an unknown peptide. We propose that the high alkaline phosphatase activity associated with some of the HMWP-2-PhoA hybrids results from the unmasking of the cryptic export signal activity in the second hydrophobic segment of HMPW2.     

E．coli分泌表达载体的构建和人表皮生长因子在E．coli中的分泌性表达

采用ＰＣＲ技术从Ｅ．ｃｏｌｉ基因组片段中克隆出碱性磷酸酯酶（ＰｈｏＡ）的启动子和信号肽序列．在ＰｈｏＡ启动予５＇端设计了ＥｃｏＲⅠ酶切位点,在信号肽编码序列３＇端设计了ＨｉｎｄⅢ酶切位点．将ＰＣＲ产物酶切后ＥｃｏＲⅠ－ＨｉｎｄⅢ片段克隆至ｐＢＲ３２２的ＥｃｏＲⅠ－ＨｉｎｄⅢ位点,组构出含有ＰｈｏＡ启动子和信号肽序列的分泌表达载体ｐＢＭ－Ｐｈｏ－１．之后将人表皮生长因子的成熟肽基因克隆至该载体,使之在Ｅ．ｃｏｌｉ中获得分泌表达,另采用ｐＩＮⅢ载体系统以分泌方式表达了人表皮生长因子。     

Anchoring proteins to Escherichia coli cell membranes using hydrophobic anchors derived from a Bacillus subtilis integral membrane protein

Anchored periplasmic expression (APEx) technology aims to express and localize proteins or peptides in the Escherichia coli periplasm. Some reports have suggested that transmembrane segments of integral membrane proteins can be used as membrane anchors in the APEx system. In this study, a series of hydrophobic anchors derived from the first putative transmembrane helix of a Bacillus subtilis integral membrane protein, MrpF, and its truncated forms were investigated for anchored periplasmic expression of alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) in E. coli. Anchoring efficiency of hydrophobic anchors was evaluated by monitoring the expression and activity of anchored PhoA. The length of hydrophobic anchors was found to be critical for anchoring proteins to cell membranes. This study may open new avenues for applying transmembrane segments derived from native membrane proteins as membrane anchors in the APEx system.     

Export of FepA::PhoA fusion proteins to the outer membrane of Escherichia coli K-12.

A library of fepA::phoA gene fusions was generated in order to study the structure and secretion of the Escherichia coli K-12 ferric enterobactin receptor, FepA. All of the fusion proteins contained various lengths of the amino-terminal portion of FepA fused in frame to the catalytic portion of bacterial alkaline phosphatase. Localization of FepA::PhoA fusion proteins in the cell envelope was dependent on the number of residues of mature FepA present at the amino terminus. Hybrids containing up to one-third of the amino-terminal portion of FepA fractionated with their periplasm, while those containing longer sequences of mature FepA were exported to the outer membrane. Outer membrane-localized fusion proteins expressed FepA sequences on the external face of the outer membrane and alkaline phosphatase moieties in the periplasmic space. From sequence determinations of the fepA::phoA fusion joints, residues within FepA which may be exposed on the periplasmic side of the outer membrane were identified.     

Physiological and biochemical analysis of the effects of alkaline phosphatase overproduction in Escherichia coli.

Overexpression of the Escherichia coli phoA gene, coding for alkaline phosphatase (PhoA), on multicopy plasmids caused a severe defect in the precursor processing (secretion) of PhoA, beta-lactamase, and the outer membrane protein OmpA. This secretion defect continued even after the repression of phoA expression, indicating that protein secretion was irreversibly impaired in cells. Among the secretory proteins, only OmpA gradually secreted posttranslationally. The inverted inner membrane vesicles prepared from cells with the secretion defect showed appreciably reduced translocation activity in vitro. But the membrane vesicles retained the ability to generate a proton motive force which, together with ATP, is essential as an energy source for the efficient secretion of proteins in E. coli. An appreciable amount of incompletely translocated PhoA molecules was detected in the inner membranes of cells with the secretion defect.     

Efficient export of prefolded,disulfide‐bonded recombinant proteins to the periplasm by the Tat pathway in Escherichia coli CyDisCo strains

Numerous high‐value therapeutic proteins are produced in Escherichia coli and exported to the periplasm, as this approach simplifies downstream processing and enables disulfide bond formation. Most recombinant proteins are exported by the Sec pathway, which transports substrates across the plasma membrane in an unfolded state. The Tat system also exports proteins to the periplasm, but transports them in a folded state. This system has attracted interest because of its tendency to transport correctly folded proteins, but this trait renders it unable to export proteins containing disulfide bonds since these are normally acquired only in the periplasm; reduced substrates tend to be recognized as incorrectly folded and rejected. In this study we have used a series of novel strains (termed CyDisCo) which oxidise disulfide bonds in the cytoplasm, and we show that these cells efficiently export a range of disulfide‐containing proteins when a Tat signal peptide is attached. These test proteins include alkaline phosphatase (PhoA), a phytase containing four disulfide bonds (AppA), an antiinterleukin 1β scFv and human growth hormone. No export of PhoA or AppA is observed in wild‐type cells lacking the CyDisCo factors. The PhoA, AppA and scFv proteins were exported in an active form by Tat in the CyDisCo strain, and mass spectrometry showed that the vast majority of the scFv protein was disulfide‐bonded and correctly processed. The evidence indicates that this combination of Tat + CyDisCo offers a novel means of exporting active, correctly folded disulfide bonded proteins to the periplasm. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 30:281–290, 2014     

Changes in the composition of anionic membrane phospholipids influence the protein secretion and biogenesis of cell envelope in Escherichia coli

The secretion of alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) and peculiarities of biogenesis of the cell envelope were studied in Escherichia coli strains HD30/pHD 102 and HDL11 with controlled synthesis of anionic phospholipids, phosphatidylglycerol, and cardiolipin. Inactivation of the pgsA gene encoding the synthesis of anionic phospholipids or changes in the regulation of its expression by an environmental factor caused changes in the metabolism and composition of membrane phospholipids, which resulted in a decrease in the secretion of alkaline phosphatase through the cytoplasmic membrane and an increase in PhoA secretion from the periplasm into the culture medium. A conforming increase was observed in exopolysaccharide secretion, as well as a decrease in the contents of lipopolysaccharide and lipopolyprotein of the outer membrane that determine the membrane barrier properties. The results obtained testify that anionic phospholipids play a significant role in protein secretion and are probably involved in the interrelation between the protein secretion and biogenesis of cell envelope components.