Extracellular proteinases and chitinases, produced by a Streptomyces kurssanovii culture

Extracellular enzymes--a chitinase and a protease with molecular weights 22 and 32 kDa, respectively--were isolated from Streptomyces kurssanovii cells. After purification on modified regenerated chitin, the enzymes were virtually homogeneous according to denaturing PAGE. Both enzymes were found to degrade chitosan.     

Nucleotide Sequences of Genes Encoding Allosamidin-sensitive and -insensitive Chitinases Produced by Allosamidin-producing Streptomyces

Allosamidin is a strong inhibitor of family 18 chitinases. We previously reported the presence of allosamidin-sensitive and -insensitive chitinases (chitinase S and IS) in the culture filtrate of the allosamidin-producing strain, Streptomyces sp. AJ9463. In this study, we cloned and sequenced the genes encoding the two chitinases, which clarified that chitinase S and IS belong to the family 18 and 19 chitinase, respectively.     

Nucleotide sequences and expression of genes from Streptomyces purpurascens that cause the production of new anthracyclines in Streptomyces galilaeus.

Six open reading frames, rdmA to rdmF, in a 6,077-bp segment of Streptomyces purpurascens DNA which caused the production of hybrid anthracyclines were identified. The minimal fragment that produced anthracyclines modified at the 10th position contained rdmB to rdmD; rdmE is the gene for aklavinone-11-hydroxylase. RdmC is similar to a putative open reading frame in the daunorubicin biosynthetic cluster of Streptomyces peucetius and is likely to participate in the removal of the side chain at the 10th position.     

Nucleotide sequences of the genes encoding fructosebisphosphatase and phosphoribulokinase from Xanthobacter flavus H4-14

The genes encoding fructosebisphosphatase and phosphoribulokinase present on a 2.5 kb SalI fragment from Xanthobacter flavus H4-14 were sequenced. Two large open reading frames (ORFs) were identified, preceded by plausible ribosome-binding sites. The ORFs were transcribed in the same direction and were separated by 39 base pairs. They encoded proteins of 364 and 291 amino acids, with molecular masses of 38739 and 33409 Da, respectively. The ORFs were identified as the genes encoding FBPase and PRK, respectively, on the basis of similarity with FBPase and PRK sequences from other sources.     

Nucleotide sequences of the genes encoding type 1 fimbrial subunits of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhimurium.

The nucleotide sequences of the genes encoding the subunits of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhimurium type 1 fimbriae were determined. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of the two subunits revealed domains in which the sequences were highly conserved. Both gene products possessed signal peptides, a fact consistent with the transport of the fimbrial subunit across the membrane, but these regions showed no amino acid homology between the two proteins. The predicted N-terminal amino acid sequences of the processed fimbrial subunits were in good agreement with those obtained by purification of the fimbrial subunits.     

Nucleotide sequences and heterologous expression of tcmG and tcmP, biosynthetic genes for tetracenomycin C in Streptomyces glaucescens.

The nucleotide sequence of the tcmIII, tcmIc, and tcmVII region of the tetracenomycin (TCM) C gene cluster of Streptomyces glaucescens ETH 22794 (GLA.0) revealed the presence of two genes, tcmP and tcmG. The deduced product of tcmG resembles flavoprotein hydroxylases found in several other bacteria, whereas the predicted amino acid sequence of tcmP is not significantly similar to those of any known proteins in the available data bases. Southern blot hybridization revealed an approximately 180-bp deletion in a tcmIII (tcmG) mutant and a 1,800-bp insertion in a tcmVII (tcmP) mutant. Heterologous expression of tcmG and tcmP in Streptomyces lividans and tcmP in Escherichia coli established that tcmP encodes an O-methyltransferase, catalyzing the methylation of the C-9 carboxy group of TCM E to yield TCM A2, and that tcmG is responsible for the hydroxylation of TCM A2 at positions C-4, C-4a, and C-12a to give TCM C. These are the final two steps of TCM C biosynthesis.     

Nucleotide sequences of genes encoding heat-stable and heat-labile glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases; amino acid sequence and protein thermostability

The structural gene (gapST) encoding glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH; EC 1.2.1.12) from Bacillus stearothermophilus has been cloned in Escherichia coli using plasmid pBR322 as a vector; the homologous gene (gapCO) from Bacillus coagulans was cloned from a phage lambda library. Expression of the cloned gap genes revealed that, as in the wild-type (wt) organisms, the GPDH from B. stearothermophilus (GPDH-ST) was intrinsically heat stable (hs) and that from B. coagulans (GPDH-CO) heat labile (hl). The cloned gap genes were sequenced and the deduced amino acid (aa) sequences were found to be highly conserved (91.6% homology), despite the large difference in thermostability between these two enzymes. Of the 28 aa which differ between the two proteins, most of which occur in the middle third of the monomeric subunit, 5 aa involve replacement of alanine in the hl GPDH-CO, by proline in the hs GPDH-ST, and are especially interesting in terms of their potential contributions to thermostability. Conservation at the DNA level is equally dramatic, with the two gap genes exhibiting 93.3% nucleotide sequence homology. These highly expressed genes exhibit an equivalent codon bias, which more closely resembles that of highly expressed E. coli genes, than that of B. stearothermophilus genes whether highly or weakly expressed.     

Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the Streptomyces albus G beta-lactamase precursor

A 1400-base DNA fragment, which contains the gene encoding the extracellular active-site serine beta-lactamase of Streptomyces albus G previously cloned into Streptomyces lividans [Dehottay et al. (1986) Gene 42, 31-36], was sequenced. The gene codes for a 314-amino-acid precursor, the N-terminal region of which has the characteristics of a signal peptide. The beta-lactamase as excreted by the host strain S. lividans PD6 has a ragged N-terminus, indicating either the presence of a leader peptidase of poor specificity or the action of an aminopeptidase. The primary structure (as deduced from the nucleotide sequence) was confirmed by amino acid sequencing of a 16-residue stretch at the amino terminus of the protein, a 12-residue stretch containing the active-site serine [De Meester et al. (1987) Biochem. J. 244, 427-432] and a 23-residue stretch obtained by trypsin digestion of the protein. The beta-lactamase belongs to class A, has three half-cystine residues (one of which occurs on the amino side of the active-site serine) and is inactivated by thiol reagents. Putative ribosome binding site and terminator region were identified.     

Cloning and analysis of DNA sequences from Streptomyces hygroscopicus encoding geldanamycin biosynthesis

A gene library constructed from large (20 kb) fragments of total DNA from the geldananmycin-producing strain Streptomyces hygroscopicus 3602 cloned in the plasmid vector pIJ61 were used to transform S. lividans TK24. Three transformants of about 800 tested were found to have acquired the ability to produce an antibiotic lethal to a geldanamycin-sensitive strain of Bacillus subtilis. The plasmids isolated from these transformants, pIA101, pIA102 and pIA103, each contained an insert of 15 kb. A 4.5 kb DNA fragment from the insert in pIA102 hybridised to DNA from S. hygroscopicus 3602 and to DNA encoding part of the erythromycin polyketide synthase but not to S. lividans TK24 DNA. The integration-defective phage vector C31 KC515 containing this 4.5 kb fragment was able to lysogenise S. hygroscopicus 3602 to produce lysogens defective in geldanamycin production. Loss of the prophage restored the ability to produce geldanamycin. Extracts of fermentation broth cultures of S. lividans containing pIA101, pIA102 and pIA102 and pIA103 analysed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) contained compounds identical or very similar to purified geldanamycin, which were not present in S. lividans. These compounds showed a mass spectrum indistinguishable from geldanamycin. The evidence suggests that the clones contain DNA sequences encoding functions required for geldanamycin biosynthesis including components of the polyketide synthase.     

Purification of two chitinases from Rhizopus oligosporus and isolation and sequencing of the encoding genes.

Two chitinases were purified from Rhizopus oligosporus, a filamentous fungus belonging to the class Zygomycetes, and designated chitinase I and chitinase II. Their N-terminal amino acid sequences were determined, and two synthetic oligonucleotide probes corresponding to these amino acid sequences were synthesized. Southern blot analyses of the total genomic DNA from R. oligosporus with these oligonucleotides as probes indicated that one of the two genes encoding these two chitinases was contained in a 2.9-kb EcoRI fragment and in a 3.6-kb HindIII fragment and that the other one was contained in a 2.9-kb EcoRI fragment and in a 11.5-kb HindIII fragment. Two DNA fragments were isolated from the phage bank of R. oligosporus genomic DNA with the synthetic oligonucleotides as probes. The restriction enzyme analyses of these fragments coincided with the Southern blot analyses described above and the amino acid sequences deduced from their nucleotide sequences contained those identical to the determined N-terminal amino acid sequences of the purified chitinases, indicating that each of these fragments contained a gene encoding chitinase (designated chi 1 and chi 2, encoding chitinase I and II, respectively). The deduced amino acid sequences of these two genes had domain structures similar to that of the published sequence of chitinase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, except that they had an additional C-terminal domain. Furthermore, there were significant differences between the molecular weights experimentally determined with the two purified enzymes and those deduced from the nucleotide sequences for both genes. Analysis of the N- and C-terminal amino acid sequences of both chitinases and comparison of them with the amino acid sequences deduced from the nucleotide sequences revealed posttranslational processing not only at the N-terminal signal sequences but also at the C-terminal domains. It is concluded that these chitinases are synthesized with pre- and prosequences in addition to the mature enzyme sequences and that the prosequences are located at the C terminal.     

Nucleotide sequence of the streptomycinphosphotransferase and amidinotransferase genes from Streptomyces griseus.

Genes for streptomycin phosphotransferase and inosamine-P-amidinotransferase from a streptomycin-producing Streptomyces griseus were cloned on a 3.8kb BamHI-SphI fragment in S. lividans using the multicopy cloning vector pIJ702. The nucleotide sequence of this 3.8kb fragment was determined and the coding sequences for the two genes were identified by comparison with the amino-terminal sequences of the two enzymes purified from S. lividans clones.