S-layer protein gene of Acetogenium kivui: cloning and expression in Escherichia coli and determination of the nucleotide sequence.

Acetogenium kivui is anaerobically growing thermophilic bacterium with a gram-positive type of cell wall structure. The outer surface is covered with a hexagonally packed surface (S) layer. The gene coding for the S-layer polypeptide was cloned in Escherichia coli on two overlapping fragments by using the plasmid pUC18 as the vector. It was expressed under control of a cloned Acetogenium promoter or the lacZ gene. We determined the complete sequence of the structural gene. The mature polypeptide comprises 736 amino acids and is preceded by a typical procaryotic signal sequence of 26 amino acids. It i weakly acidic, weakly hydrophilic, and contains a relatively high proportion of hydroxyamino acids, including two clusters of serine and threonine residues. An N-terminal region of about 200 residues is homologous to the N-terminal part of the middle wall protein, one of the two S-layer proteins of Bacillus brevis, and there is also an internal homology within the N-terminal region of the A. kivui polypeptide.     

A novel hyperthermophilic archaeal glyoxylate reductase from Thermococcus litoralis. Characterization, gene cloning, nucleotide sequence and expression in Escherichia coli.

A novel NADH-dependent glyoxylate reductase has been found in a hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus litoralis DSM 5473. This is the first evidence for glyoxylate metabolism and its corresponding enzyme in hyperthermophilic archaea. NADH-dependent glyoxylate reductase was purified approximately 560-fold from a crude extract of the hyperthermophile by five successive column chromatographies and preparative PAGE. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 76 kDa, and the enzyme consisted of a homodimer with a subunit molecular mass of approximately 37 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature for enzyme activity were approximately 6.5 and 90 degrees C, respectively. The enzyme was extremely thermostable; the activity was stable up to 90 degrees C. The glyoxylate reductase catalyzed the reduction of glyoxylate and hydroxypyruvate, and the relative activity for hydroxypyruvate was approximately one-quarter that of glyoxylate in the presence of NADH as an electron donor. NADPH exhibited rather low activity as an electron donor compared with NADH. The Km values for glyoxylate, hydroxypyruvate, and NADH were determined to be 0.73, 1.3 and 0.067 mM, respectively. The gene encoding the enzyme was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The nucleotide sequence of the glyoxylate reductase gene was determined and found to encode a peptide of 331 amino acids with a calculated relative molecular mass of 36,807. The amino-acid sequence of the T. litoralis enzyme showed high similarity with those of probable dehydrogenases in Pyrococcus horikoshii and P. abyssi. The purification of the enzyme from recombinant E. coli was much simpler compared with that from T. litoralis; only two steps of heat treatment and dye-affinity chromatography were needed.     

The Bordetella pertussis virulence factor P.69 pertactin retains its immunological properties after overproduction in Escherichia coli

Bordetella pertussis is re-emerging in several countries with a high vaccine uptake. Analysis of clinical isolates revealed antigenic divergence between vaccine strains and circulating strains with respect to P.69 pertactin. Polymorphisms in P.69 pertactin are mainly limited to regions comprised of amino acid repeats, designated region 1 and region 2. Region 1 flanks the RGD motif involved in adherence. Although antibodies against P.69 pertactin are implicated in protective immunity, little is known about the structure and location of its epitopes. Previously we described the localization of mainly linear epitopes of both human sera and mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). To study the location of conformational epitopes and to investigate the effect of variation in P.69 pertactin on vaccine efficacy, we cloned, expressed, and purified 3 naturally occurring P.69 pertactin variants, 3 mutants in which the variable regions are missing, 3 N-terminal mutants and 1 C-terminal deletion mutant. Here, we describe the procedure to clone, express, and purify up to 0.1mg P.69 pertactin and its derivatives per 1 ml Escherichia coli culture.     

Cloning, expression, and nucleotide sequence of glgC gene from an allosteric mutant of Escherichia coli B.

The Escherichia coli B mutant strain CL1136 accumulates glycogen at a 3.4- to 4-fold greater rate than the parent E. coli B strain and contains an ADPglucose synthetase with altered kinetic and allosteric properties. The enzyme from CL1136 is less dependent on the allosteric activator, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, for activity and less sensitive to inhibition by AMP than the parent strain enzyme. The structural gene, glgC, for the allosteric mutant enzyme was selected by colony hybridization and cloned into the bacterial plasmid pBR322 by insertion of the chromosomal DNA at the PstI site. One recombinant plasmid, designated pKG3, was isolated from the genomic library of CL1136 containing glgC. The cloned ADPglucose synthetase from the mutant CL1136 was expressed and characterized with respect to kinetic and allosteric properties and found to be identical to the enzyme purified from the CL1136 strain. The mutant glgC was then subcloned into pUC118/119 for dideoxy sequencing of both strands. The mutant glgC sequence was found to differ from the wild-type at the deduced amino acid residue 67 where a single point mutation resulted in a change from arginine to cysteine.     

Purification, gene cloning, and sequence analysis of an L-isoaspartyl protein carboxyl methyltransferase from Escherichia coli

Mammalian tissues contain protein carboxyl methyltransferases that catalyze the transfer of methyl groups from S-adenosylmethionine to the free carboxyl groups of D-aspartyl or L-isoaspartyl residues (EC 2.1.1.77). These enzymes have been postulated to play a role in the repair and/or degradation of spontaneously damaged proteins. We have now characterized a similar activity from Escherichia coli that recognizes L-isoaspartyl-containing peptides as well as protein substrates such as ovalbumin. The enzyme was purified by DEAE-cellulose, hydroxylapatite, Sephadex G-100, polyaspartate, and reversed-phase chromatography and was shown to consist of a single 24-kDa polypeptide chain. The sequence determined for the N-terminal 39 residues was used to design an oligonucleotide probe that allowed the precise localization of its structural gene (pcm) on the physical map of the E. coli chromosome at 59 min. Transformation of E. coli cells with a plasmid containing DNA from this region results in a 3-4-fold overproduction of enzyme activity. The nucleotide sequence determined for the pcm gene and its flanking regions was used to deduce a mature amino acid sequence of 207 residues with a calculated molecular weight of 23,128. This sequence shows 30.8% sequence identity with the human L-isoaspartyl/D-aspartyl methyltransferase and suggests that this enzyme catalyzes a fundamental reaction in both procaryotic and eucaryotic cells.     

Histamine N-methyltransferase from rat kidney. Cloning, nucleotide sequence, and expression in Escherichia coli cells.

Complementary DNA clones encoding rat kidney histamine N-methyltransferase have been isolated using synthetic oligonucleotide probes based on partial amino acid sequences of tryptic peptides of the purified enzyme. The 1.3-kilobase cDNA consisted of a 5'-noncoding region of 8 nucleotides, a coding region of 885 nucleotides, and a 3'-noncoding region of 369 nucleotides. The encoded protein of 295 amino acid residues had a calculated molecular weight of 33,940.2. After introduction of a prokaryotic expression vector containing the isolated cDNA, Escherichia coli cells expressed histamine N-methyltransferase activity. The enzyme expressed in these cells was isolated and purified as a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, whose mobility was identical to the natural enzyme purified from rat kidney. The recombinant enzyme had Vmax and Km values for both histamine and S-adenosylmethionine identical to those of the natural enzyme. All of the inhibitors of the natural enzyme tested showed similar Ki values on both recombinant and natural enzyme.     

Phenol hydroxylase from Trichosporon cutaneum: gene cloning, sequence analysis, and functional expression in Escherichia coli.

A cDNA clone encoding phenol hydroxylase from the soil yeast Trichosporon cutaneum was isolated and characterized. The clone was identified by hybridization screening of a bacteriophage lambda ZAP-based cDNA library with an oligonucleotide probe which corresponded to the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme. The cDNA encodes a protein consisting of 664 amino acids. Amino acid sequences of a number of peptides obtained by Edman degradation of various cleavage products of the purified enzyme were identified in the cDNA-derived sequence. The phenol hydroxylase cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli to yield high levels of active enzyme. The E. coli-derived phenol hydroxylase is very similar to the T. cutaneum enzyme with respect to the range of substrates acted upon, inhibition by excess phenol, and the order of magnitude of kinetic parameters in the overall reaction. Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of phenol hydroxylase gene-related sequences in a number of T. cutaneum and Trichosporon beigelii strains and in Cryptococcus elinovii but not in Trichosporon pullulans, Trichosporon penicillatum, or Candida tropicalis.     

Characterization of IS1001, an insertion sequence element of Bordetella parapertussis.

By analysis of repetitive DNA in Bordetella parapertussis, an insertion sequence element, designated IS1001, was identified. Sequence analysis revealed that IS1001 comprised 1,306 bp and contained inverted repeats at its termini. Furthermore, several open reading frames that may code for transposition functions were identified. The largest open reading frame coded for a protein comprising 406 amino acid residues and showed homology to TnpA, which is encoded by an insertion sequence element (IS1096) found in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Examination of flanking sequences revealed that insertion of IS1001 occurs preferentially in stretches of T's or A's and results in a duplication of target sequences of 6 to 8 bases. IS1001 was found in about 20 copies in 10 B. parapertussis strains analyzed. No restriction fragment length polymorphism was observed in B. parapertussis when IS1001 was used as a probe. An insertion sequence element similar or identical to IS1001 was found in B. bronchiseptica strains isolated from pigs and a rabbit. In these strains, about five copies of the IS1001-like element were present at different positions in the bacterial chromosome. Neither B. pertussis nor B. bronchiseptica strains isolated from humans and dogs contained an IS1001-like element. Therefore, IS1001 may be used as a specific probe for the detection of B. parapertussis in human clinical samples.     

Cloning, expression, and nucleotide sequence of a mutant glgC gene from Escherichia coli B.

A mutant glgC gene contained in a 10.9-kb PstI fragment was cloned from the Escherichia coli B strain SG5 via colony hybridization by using a wild-type glgC probe. The altered allosteric properties of the expressed ADPglucose synthetase were found to result from the conversion of proline to serine at amino acid residue 295.     

Potato tuber type H phosphorylase isozyme. Molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence, and expression of a full-length cDNA in Escherichia coli

Higher plant tissues contain two alpha-glucan phosphorylase isozymes (EC 2.4.1.1), types L and H, localized in the plastid and the cytoplasm, respectively. We already isolated and sequenced a cDNA clone encoding the type L isozyme. Presently, a cDNA clone encoding the type H counterpart was isolated from a cDNA library of immature potato tuber by plaque hybridization, using two oligonucleotide probes synthesized based on the partial amino acid sequences of the type H isozyme. The message encodes a polypeptide of 838 amino acid residues. Sequence comparison of the two potato tuber phosphorylase isozymes revealed two major distinctions; the type L isozyme contains a 78-residue insertion in the middle of the polypeptide chain as well as a 50-residue amino-terminal extension. Except for these extra portions, the two isozyme sequences show an identity of 63%. The entire structural gene for the type H isozyme was inserted 3'-downstream of the strong T7 RNA polymerase promoter in the expression plasmid pET-3b. Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells carrying this plasmid produced active phosphorylase upon induction with isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside at 22 degrees C. The expression is entirely dependent on the temperature; the bacteria did not produce a detectable amount of the active enzyme at 37 degrees C. Addition of pyridoxine to the culture medium was effective for the enzyme production.     

Immunogenic protein MPB57 from Mycobacterium bovis BCG: molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence and expression

Using a single-probe method, we have cloned the gene for an immunogenic MPB57 protein of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. The nucleotide sequence includes an ORF of 300 base pairs encoding a protein of 99 amino acids with an Mr of 10,818. This cloned gene was expressed in an Escherichia coli expression vector to give a mature protein which reacted with a polyclonal antibody raised against MPB57.     

Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene for Escherichia coli leucyl-tRNA synthetase.

The gene for Escherichia coli leucyl-tRNA synthetase leuS has been cloned by complementation of a leuS temperature sensitive mutant KL231 with an E.coli gene bank DNA. The resulting clones overexpress leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) by a factor greater than 50. The DNA sequence of the complete coding regions was determined. The derived N-terminal protein sequence of LeuRS was confirmed by independent protein sequencing of the first 8 aminoacids. Sequence comparison of the LeuRS sequence with all aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase sequences available reveal a significant homology with the valyl-, isoleucyl- and methionyl-enzyme indicating that the genes of these enzymes could have derived from a common ancestor. Sequence comparison with the gene product of the yeast nuclear NAM2-1 suppressor allele curing mitochondrial RNA maturation deficiency reveals about 30% homology.     

Cloning, nucleotide sequence, and expression in Escherichia coli of the phospholipase D gene from Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis.

The phospholipase D (PLD) gene from Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis has been cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli. Analysis of DNA sequence data reveals a major open reading frame encoding a 31.4-kilodalton protein, a size consistent with that estimated for the PLD protein by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Comparison of these data with the amino-terminal protein sequence indicates that the mature PLD protein is preceded by a 24-residue signal sequence. Expression of the PLD gene in E. coli is initiated from the corynebacterial promoter, and the resulting protein has sphingomyelinase activity. Primer extension mapping localized the 5' end of the PLD gene mRNA to a site 5 to 7 base pairs downstream of a region similar to the consensus sequence for E. coli promoters. Northern and Southern blot analyses suggest that the gene is transcribed from mRNA approximately 1.1 kilobases in length and that it is present in a single copy within the C. pseudotuberculosis genome.