Knockout of the gene (<Emphasis Type="Italic">ste15</Emphasis>) encoding a glycosyltransferase and its function in biosynthesis of exopolysaccharide in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces</Emphasis> sp. 139

Streptomyces sp. 139 produces a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) designated Ebosin which has antagonistic activity for IL-1R in vitro and remarkable anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. We previously identified a ste (Streptomyces eps) gene cluster consisting of 27 ORFs responsible for Ebosin biosynthesis. The gene product of ste15 shows high homology to known glycosyltransferases (GTFs). To elucidate its function in Ebosin biosynthesis, the ste15 gene was knocked out with a double crossover via homologous recombination. Our analysis of monosaccharide composition for EPS-m produced by the mutant strain Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste15 ⁻) showed that glucose was significantly diminished compared to its natural counterpart Ebosin. This derivative of Ebosin lost the antagonistic activity for IL-1R in vitro and its molecular mass was smaller than Ebosin. These results have demonstrated that the ste15 gene codes for a GTF for glucose, which is functionally involved in Ebosin biosynthesis.     

Cloning and characterization of a glucosyltransferase and a rhamnosyltransferase from Streptomyces sp. 139

Aims: Ste15 and ste22 present in the Ebosin biosynthesis gene cluster (ste) were previously shown to function in Ebosin biosynthesis and both of the protein products are predicted to be glycosyltransferases. In this study, their biochemical activities were confirmed. Methods and Results: ste15 and ste22 were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. With a continuous coupled spectrophotometric assay and using the purified proteins, we now demonstrated that the protein Ste15 has the ability of catalysing the transfer of glucose specifically from UDP‐glucose to an Ebosin precursor that lacks glucose, the lipid carrier located in the cytoplasmic membrane of the gene ste15 disrupt mutant Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste15^?). The protein Ste22 can catalyse the transfer of rhamnose specifically from TDP‐rhamnose to an Ebosin precursor that lacks rhamnose, a lipophilic carrier in the cytoplasmic membrane of the gene ste22 disrupt mutant Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste22^?). Conclusions: The gene product of ste15 was identified to be a glucosyltransferase, and the protein encoded by ste22 was found to be a rhamnosyltransferase. Significance and Impact of the Study: Both of two enzymes play essential roles in the formation of repeating units of sugars during Ebosin biosynthesis. These are the first glucosyltransferase and rhamnosyltransferase in the biosynthesis of a Streptomyces exopolysaccharide to be characterized.     

Identification of a methyltransferase encoded by gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">stel16</Emphasis> and its function in Ebosin biosynthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces</Emphasis> sp. 139

Streptomyces sp. 139 generates a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) designated as Ebosin, which exerts an antagonistic effect on IL-1R in vitro and anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. A ste gene cluster for Ebosin biosynthesis consisting of 27 ORFs was previously identified in our laboratory. In this paper, ste16 was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and the recombinant protein was purified, which has the ability to catalyze the transfer of the methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) to dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucos, which was thus identified as a methyltransferase. In order to determine the function of ste16 in Ebosin biosynthesis, the gene was disrupted with a double crossover via homologous recombination. The monosaccharide composition of EPS-m generated by the mutant strain Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste16) was found to differ from that of Ebosin. The IL-1R antagonist activity of EPS-m was markedly lower than that of Ebosin. These experimental results have shown that the ste16 gene codes for a methyltransferase which is involved in Ebosin biosynthesis. These authors contributed equally to this work.     

Identification of α-<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-glucose-1-phosphate cytidylyltransferase involved in Ebosin biosynthesis of <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Streptomyces</Emphasis> sp. 139

Ebosin, a novel exopolysaccharide produced by Streptomyces sp. 139 has antagonist activity for IL-1R in vitro and remarkable anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. Its biosynthesis gene cluster (ste) has been identified. In this study, gene ste17 was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and the recombinant protein was purified. With CTP and α-d-glucose-1-phosphate as substrates, the recombinant Ste17 protein was found capable of catalyzing the production of CDP-d-glucose and pyrophosphate, demonstrating its identity as an α-d-glucose-1-phosphate–cytidylyltransferase (CDP-d-glucose synthase). To investigate the function of ste17 in Ebosin biosynthesis, the gene was disrupted with a double crossover via homologous recombination. The monosaccharide composition of exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by the mutant Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste17 ⁻) was found significantly altered from that of Ebosin, with glucose becoming undetectable. This gene knockout also negatively affected the antagonist activity for IL-1R of EPS. These results indicate that the CDP-d-glucose synthase encoded by ste17 gene is involved in the formation of nucleotide sugar (CDP-d-glucose) as glucose precursor in Ebosin biosynthesis. Xiao-Qiang Qi and Qing-Li Sun contributed equally to this work.     

Disruption of the ste22 Gene Encoding a Glycosyltransferase and Its Function in Biosynthesis of Ebosin in Streptomyces sp. 139

Streptomyces sp.139 produces an exopolysaccharide (EPS) designated Ebosin with remarkable anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. The ste (Streptomyces eps) gene cluster required for Ebosin biosynthesis has been identified. According to similarities with other proteins in the database, ste22 shows high homology with glycosyltransferases originated from different microorganisms. In this study, the ste22 gene was disrupted by double crossover via homologous recombination. The EPS produced by the mutant strain Streptomyces sp.139 (ste22⁻) has a different monosaccharide composition profile in comparison with that of Ebosin. This derivative of Ebosin retained the original antagonistic activity of IL-1R in vitro but lost the bioactivities of anti-inflammation and pain relief in vivo.     

Identification and characterization of a novel spermidine/spermine acetyltransferase encoded by gene ste26 from Streptomyces sp. 139

Streptomyces sp. 139 produces a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) designated Ebosin which can bind IL-1R specifically and exhibits anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. With the Ebosin biosynthesis gene cluster (ste) consisting of 27 ORFs identified previously the focus of this study was to characterize the protein encoded by ste26 gene. After cloning and expressing ste26 in Escherichia coli BL21, we purified the recombinant Ste26 protein and revealed its ability of transferring the acetyl group from AcCoA to spermidine and spermine, with spermine being the preferred substrate. Therefore Ste26 has been determined to be a spermidine/spermine acetyltransferase which can use spermine (Km of 72.1 ± 7.4 μM), spermidine (Km of 147.2 ± 11 μM), AcCoA (Km of 45.7 ± 2.5 μM) and poly-l-lysine (Km of 99.7 ± 11 μM) as substrates. The optimum pH, temperature and time for the activity have been shown to be 7.5, 37°C and 10 min, respectively. This is the first spermidine/spermine acetyltransferase characterized in Streptomyces and its function in Ebosin biosynthesis is discussed.     

Characterization of and functional evidence for Ste27 of Streptomyces sp. 139 as a novel spermine/spermidine acetyltransferase

Ebosin, a novel exopolysaccharide produced by Streptomyces sp. 139, has remarkable anti-rheumatoid arthritis activity in vivo and its biosynthesis gene cluster (ste) consists of 27 ORFs (open reading frames). The present paper reports our study of the protein product encoded by ste27. Database searching reveals the homology of Ste27 with some spermidine/spermine acetyltransferases. To confirm the prediction, the ste27 gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells and recombinant Ste27 was purified. The following enzymatic analysis revealed its ability of transferring the acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to spermidine and spermine, with spermidine being the preferred substrate. Ste27 can acetylate the N1, N4 and N8 positions on spermidine. The Km values of Ste27 were determined for spermidine and spermine, as well as for acetyl-CoA, poly-L-lysine and glucosamine 6-phosphate. Upon gene knockout, the exopolysaccharide-27m produced by the mutant strain Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste27-), compared with Ebosin, exhibited a significantly reduced binding activity to the interleukin-1 receptor. After gene complementation, the binding activity was partially restored. This demonstrated that the ste27 gene is involved in the biosynthesis of Ebosin. Molecular modelling was also carried out to predict the binding mode of Ste27 with acetyl-CoA, spermidine or spermine.     

Biochemical characteristics and function of a threonine dehydrogenase encoded by ste11 in Ebosin biosynthesis of Streptomyces sp. 139

Aims:  Ebosin, a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Streptomyces sp. 139 has antagonistic activity for interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) in vitro and remarkable anti-rheumatic arthritis activity in vivo. Ebosin biosynthesis gene ( ste ) cluster has been identified in our laboratory. This paper reports our effort to characterize the function of ste11 gene.
Methods and Results:  After the ste11 gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21, the recombinant Ste11 was purified and found capable of catalyzing NAD⁺ and l -threonine to NADH and 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate, hence identified as a threonine dehydrogenase (TDH). To investigate its function in the biosynthesis of Ebosin, the ste11 gene was knocked out with a double crossover via homologous recombination. The monosaccharide composition of EPS produced by the mutant strain (EPS-m) was altered from that of Ebosin. The analysis of IL-1R antagonist activity for EPSs showed that the bioactivity of EPS-m was lower than Ebosin.
Conclusions:  ste11 gene encoding a TDH may function as a modifier gene of Ebosin during its biosynthesis.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  TDH encoded by ste11 is functional in Ebosin biosynthesis. It is the first characterized TDH in Streptomyces .     

糖基转移酶基因双敲除对依博素生物合成的影响

以往研究已确定链霉菌胞外多糖依博素的生物合成基因簇(ste), ste15 和ste22 分别编码葡萄糖糖基转移酶和鼠李糖糖基转移酶。现通过基因同源重组双交换,在ste15基因缺失突变株Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste15-) 基础上,再进行ste22 基因阻断,经Southern 杂交验证,得到了ste15 和ste22 双基因缺失突变株Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste15-ste22-),并对该菌株进行了基因互补研究。双基因缺失株产生的胞外多糖与依博素相比,葡萄糖与鼠李糖含量明显降低,分子量下降,生物活性明显变弱。基因互补株产生的胞外多糖中葡萄糖与鼠李糖含量基本恢复至依博素水平,生物活性也显著提高。因此,进一步阐明了ste15和ste22基因参与了依博素生物合成中葡萄糖和鼠李糖重复单元序列的形成过程,在依博素的生物合成中起重要作用,变株产生的依博素新衍生物体内外生物学活性正在深入研究中。     

Disruption of ste23 gene affects composition profile and bioactivity of exopolysaccharide produced by Streptomyces sp. 139

AIMS: To study the function of the gene ste23 involved in the biosynthesis of Ebosin. METHODS AND RESULTS: In search of databases, the deduced product of the gene ste23 showed high homology to dTDP-4-dehydrorhamnose 3,5-epimerases. ste23 was replaced by a kanamycin resistance gene through double crossover. Compared with Ebosin, an exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by wild-type Streptomyces sp. 139, the EPS produced by the ste23 mutant (designated EPS1) had a remarkably different monosaccharide composition and significantly diminished rhamnose content, though the molecular mass of EPS1 was similar to that of Ebosin. In addition, EPS1 lost the interleukin 1 (IL-1) antagonist activity in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: ste23 may be involved in the Ebosin biosynthesis in S. sp. 139. and its bioactivity. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first genetic work investigating functions of genes involved in EPS production in streptomyces by gene replacement of the pathway genes.     

链霉菌UDP-葡萄糖脱氢酸编码基因Ste6的克隆表达和性质研究

链霉菌139能够产生一种全新的胞外多糖——依博素（139A）,该多糖体内具有显著抗类风湿性关节炎活性。其生物合成基因簇（GenBank Accession Number：AYl31229）已被鉴定约31．3kb,包含22个开放阅读框（ste1—ste22）。以pET-30a为载体,克隆并在大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）中进行了ste6基因的表达,对该基因的克隆、表达与性质进行了研究。亲和层析法证实,纯化后重组蛋白具有催化UDP-葡萄糖脱氢变成UDP-葡萄糖醛酸的活性。这表明ste6编码产物是葡萄糖脱氢酶。为了证实ste6基因与依博素生物合成的关系,采用单交换基因破坏策略构建了ste6基因阻断突变株。结果初步显示ste6和依博素生物合成相关。     

ste7与ste15双基因敲除对依博素生物合成的影响

摘要：【目的】研究ste7和ste15基因双敲除对依博素生物合成的影响。【方法】通过基因同源重组双交换,对ste15基因缺失突变株Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste15 -)再进行ste7基因的敲除,经Southern杂交验证,获得了ste7和ste15双基因缺失变株Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste7 - ste15 -)。对该突变株进行了基因互补。气相色谱分析ste7和ste15双基因缺失突变株及互补株产生的胞外多糖单糖组分,排阻色谱测定衍生物的重均分子量,ELISA法     

Purification, characterization and functional analysis of asparagines synthetase encoding by ste10 gene in Ebosin biosynthesis of Streptomyces sp. 139

Ebosin produced by Streptomyces sp. 139 is a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) with medicinal activity. This paper describes the functional study of ste10, a putative Ebosin biosynthesis gene. ste10 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and the purified recombinant protein characterized. Ste10 was shown to be able of catalyzing the transfer of amide nitrogen of glutamine to the side chain of aspartate to produce asparagine. Its Km, optimum temperature and pH were determined to be 0.9 mM, 37 °C and 7.38, respectively. After ste10 gene knock-out, the monosaccharide composition of EPS-m produced by the mutant Streptomyces sp. 139 (ste10⁻) was found changed in comparison with that of Ebosin while its antagonist activity for IL-1R decreased significantly. Based on these results, it is concluded that ste10 codes for an asparagine synthetase which may function as a modificator gene of Ebosin during its biosynthesis.     

Identification and characterization of a new exopolysaccharide biosynthesis gene cluster from Streptomyces

We report the identification and characterization of the ste (Streptomyces eps) gene cluster of Streptomyces sp. 139 required for exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis. This report is the first genetic work on polysaccharide production in Streptomyces. To investigate the gene cluster involved in exopolysaccharide 139A biosynthesis, degenerate primers were designed to polymerase chain reaction amplify an internal fragment of the priming glycosyltransferase gene that catalyzes the first step in exopolysaccharide biosynthesis. Screening of a genomic library of Streptomyces sp. 139 with this polymerase chain reaction product as probe allowed the isolation of a ste gene cluster containing 22 open reading frames similar to polysaccharide biosynthesis genes of other bacterial species. Involvement of the ste gene cluster in exopolysaccharide biosynthesis was confirmed by disrupting the priming glycosyltransferase gene in Streptomyces sp. 139 to generate non-exopolysaccharide-producing mutants.     

Heterologous exopolysaccharide production in Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 and consequences for nodule development.

Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 produces large amounts of acidic exopolysaccharide. Mutants that fail to synthesize this exopolysaccharide are also unable to nodulate the host plant Leucaena leucocephala. A hybrid strain of Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 containing exo genes from Rhizobium meliloti was constructed. The background genetics and nod genes of Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 are retained, but the cluster of genes involved in exopolysaccharide biosynthesis was deleted. These exo genes were replaced with genes required for the synthesis of succinoglycan exopolysaccharide from R. meliloti. As a result of the genetic manipulation, the ability of these hybrids to synthesize exopolysaccharide was restored, but the structure was that of succinoglycan and not that of Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234. The replacement genes were contained on a cosmid which encoded the entire known R. meliloti exo gene cluster, with the exception of exoB. Cosmids containing smaller portions of this exo gene cluster did not restore exopolysaccharide production. The presence of succinoglycan was indicated by staining with the fluorescent dye Calcofluor, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and monosaccharide analysis. Although an NGR234 exoY mutant containing the R. meliloti exo genes produced multimers of the succinoglycan repeat unit, as does the wild-type R. meliloti, the deletion mutant of Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 containing the R. meliloti exo genes produced only the monomer. The deletion mutant therefore appeared to lack a function that affects the multiplicity of succinoglycan produced in the Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 background. Although these hybrid strains produced succinoglycan, they were still able to induce the development of an organized nodule structure on L. leucocephala. The resulting nodules did not fix nitrogen, but they did contain infection threads and bacteroids within plant cells. This clearly demonstrated that a heterologous acidic exopolysaccharide structure was sufficient to enable nodule development to proceed beyond the developmental barrier imposed on mutants of Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234 that are unable to synthesize any acidic exopolysaccharide.     

Phosphorylation of the pheromone-responsive Gβ protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae does not affect its mating-specific signaling function

The pheromone-responsive G_β subunit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (encoded by STE4) is rapidly phosphorylated at multiple sites when yeast cells are exposed to mating pheromone. It has been shown that a mutant form of Ste4 lacking residues 310–346, ste4Δ310–346, cannot be phosphorylated, and that its expression leads to defects in recovery from pheromone stimulation. Based on these observations, it was proposed that phosphorylation of Ste4 is associated with an adaptive response to mating pheromone. In this study we used site-directed mutagenesis to create two phosphorylation null (Pho^?) alleles of STE4: ste4-T320?A/S335A and ste4-T322 A/S335A and ste4-T322A/S335A. When expressed in yeast, these mutant forms of Ste4 remained unphosphorylated upon pheromone stimulation. The elimination of Ste4 phosphorylation has no discernible effect on either signaling or adaptation. In addition, disruption of the FUS3 gene, which encodes a pheromone-specific MAP kinase, leads to partial loss of pheromone-induced Ste4 phosphorylation. Two-hybrid analysis suggests that the ste4Δ310–346 deletion mutant is impaired in its interaction with Gpa1, the pheromone-responsive G_α of yeast, whereas the Ste4-T320A/S335A mutant has normal affinity for Gpa1. Taken together, these results indicate that pheromone-induced phosphorylation of Ste4 is not an adaptive mechanism, and that the adaptive defect exhibited by the 310–346 deletion mutant is likely to be due to disruption of the interaction between Ste4 and Gpa1.     

Insights into an Unusual Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase Biosynthesis: IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GE81112 BIOSYNTHETIC GENE CLUSTER*

The GE81112 tetrapeptides (1–3) represent a structurally unique class of antibiotics, acting as specific inhibitors of prokaryotic protein synthesis. Here we report the cloning and sequencing of the GE81112 biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces sp. L-49973 and the development of a genetic manipulation system for Streptomyces sp. L-49973. The biosynthetic gene cluster for the tetrapeptide antibiotic GE81112 (getA-N) was identified within a 61.7-kb region comprising 29 open reading frames (open reading frames), 14 of which were assigned to the biosynthetic gene cluster. Sequence analysis revealed the GE81112 cluster to consist of six nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes encoding incomplete di-domain NRPS modules and a single free standing NRPS domain as well as genes encoding other biosynthetic and modifying proteins. The involvement of the cloned gene cluster in GE81112 biosynthesis was confirmed by inactivating the NRPS gene getE resulting in a GE81112 production abolished mutant. In addition, we characterized the NRPS A-domains from the pathway by expression in Escherichia coli and in vitro enzymatic assays. The previously unknown stereochemistry of most chiral centers in GE81112 was established from a combined chemical and biosynthetic approach. Taken together, these findings have allowed us to propose a rational model for GE81112 biosynthesis. The results further open the door to developing new derivatives of these promising antibiotic compounds by genetic engineering.     

Phosphorylation of the MAPKKK regulator Ste50p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a casein kinase I phosphorylation site is required for proper mating function

The Ste50 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a regulator of the Ste11p protein kinase. Ste11p is a member of the MAP3K (or MEKK) family, which is conserved from yeast to mammals. Ste50p is involved in all the signaling pathways that require Ste11p function, yet little is known about the regulation of Ste50p itself. Here, we show that Ste50p is phosphorylated on multiple serine/threonine residues in vivo. Threonine 42 (T42) is phosphorylated both in vivo and in vitro, and the protein kinase responsible has been identified as casein kinase I. Replacement of T42 with alanine (T42A) compromises Ste50p function. This mutation abolishes the ability of overexpressed Ste50p to suppress either the mating defect of a ste20 ste50 deletion mutant or the mating defect of a strain with a Ste11p deleted from its sterile-alpha motif domain. Replacement of T42 with a phosphorylation-mimetic aspartic acid residue (T42D) permits wild-type function in all assays of Ste50p function. These results suggest that phosphorylation of T42 of Ste50p is required for proper signaling in the mating response. However, this phosphorylation does not seem to have a detectable role in modulating the high-osmolarity glycerol synthesis pathway.