枯草芽孢杆菌蛋白质分泌机制研究进展

综述了枯草芽孢杆菌不同蛋白质分泌机制,重点讨论了大多数细菌蛋白分泌的Sec途径,包括Sec途径的信号肽,信号肽酶,SecYEG通道,与分泌有关的各种细胞因子以及Sec途径的限制因素,此外还简要讨论了Tat途径,该途径能够转运折叠迅速或归密的蛋白质。     

Production and secretion of pertussis toxin subunits in Bacillus subtilis

Pertussis toxin (PT) is a major component of today's acellular whooping cough vaccines. The use of acellular vaccines is predicted to increase sharply in the near future. There is therefore a need to produce PT in a way that makes its purification as easy as possible. Our approach was to express all five PT subunits individually in Bacillus subtilis. We have used vectors containing the promoter and signal sequences of the alpha-amylase gene of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens followed by an insert encoding the appropriate PT-subunit. All PT-subunits were secreted and found in the culture supernatant. The level of expression varied considerably: S1 and S5 were produced in large quantities whereas much smaller amounts of S2, S3 and S4 were found. The subunits were also present in the membrane fraction of the respective strains.     

A system for the inducible secretion of proteins from Bacillus subtilis during logarithmic growth

Abstract A Bacillus subtilis-Escherichia coli shuttle vector was constructed containing the B. subtilis levansucrase gene promoter and region encoding its signal sequence.
A site for the restriction enzyme Nae I was included to facilitate precise translational fusions to the DNA encoding the levansucrase signal sequence. Fusions of TEM β-lactamase to this construct displayed sucrose-inducible expression and secretion of B. subtilis .     

Effect of depletion of FtsY on spore morphology and the protein composition of the spore coat layer in Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis FtsY is a homolog of the alpha-subunit of mammalian signal recognition particle (SRP) receptor, and is essential for protein translocation and vegetative cell growth. An FtsY conditional null mutant (strain ISR39) can express ftsY during the vegetative stage but not during spore formation. Spores of ISR39 have the same resistance to heat and chloroform as the wild-type, while their resistance to lysozyme is reduced. Electron microscopy showed that the outer coat of spores was incompletely assembled. The coat protein profile of the ftsY mutant spores was different from that of wild-type spores. The amounts of CotA, and CotE were reduced in spore coat proteins of ftsY mutant spores and the molecular mass of CotB was reduced. In addition, CotA, CotB, and CotE are present in normal form at T(8) of sporulation in ftsY mutant cells. These results suggest that FtsY has a pivotal role in assembling coat proteins onto the coat layer during spore morphogenesis.     

信号识别颗粒调控蛋白转运系统

蛋白质是一类重要的生物大分子。在蛋白质转运系统中,很多蛋白质在核糖体中合成,然后通过内质网或质膜的转运到达相应的细胞器发挥生物学功能。蛋白质的分泌表达途径总共分为三类,分别为Sec分泌途径、双精氨酸途径和信号识别颗粒转运系统。本文简要介绍蛋白质的基本转运途径,主要介绍由信号识别颗粒所介导的蛋白质转运。分别概述信号识别颗粒及其受体的组成与功能,并对其调控途径做简要的介绍;同时也简单介绍与其相关的Yid C膜蛋白家族;对信号识别颗粒蛋白调控系统存在的必需性提出新的见解。     

Episodic sitewise positive selection on the signal recognition particle protein Ffh in Actinobacteria

In this work, we report a case of episodic sitewise positive selection acting on the highly conserved SRP protein Ffh in Actinobacteria. An elevated non-synonymous to synonymous mutation ratio (ω) was observed along the non-terminal branches of the species tree, which contained 11 Actinobacteria species, where positively selected residues were frequently observed within the signal sequence-binding domain. Together with the estimated lineage-specific ω ratios for several core components in the major protein translocation systems, our data suggest that this positive selection might be partially driven by the diversification of signal sequences.     

Conformational change of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> signal recognition particle Ffh is affected by the functionality of signal peptides of ribose-binding protein

We examined the effects of synthetic signal peptides, wild-type (WT) and export-defective mutant (MT) of ribose-binding protein, on the conformational changes of signal recognition particle 54 homologue (Ffh) in Escherichia coli. Upon interaction of Ffh with WT peptide, the intrinsic Tyr fluorescence, the transition temperature of thermal unfolding, and the GTPase activity of Ffh decreased in a peptide concentration-dependent manner, while the emission intensity of 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid increased. In contrast, the secondary structure of the protein was not affected. Additionally, polarization of fluorescein-labeled WT increased upon association with Ffh. These results suggest that WT peptide induces the unfolded states of Ffh. The WT-mediated conformational change of Ffh was also revealed to be important in the interaction between SecA and Ffh. However, MT had marginal effect on these conformational changes suggesting that the in vivo functionality of signal peptide is important in the interaction with Ffh and concomitant structural change of the protein.     

Bacillus subtilisα-amylase: the rate limiting step of secretion is growth phase-independent

When Bacillus subtilis alpha-amylase was expressed under the control of sacR in a degU32(Hy) strain, the production of exoenzyme occurred during both the exponential and stationary phases of growth. In each phase, pulse-chase experiments showed that the rate-limiting step of the secretion process was the release of the processed form of the protein in each physiological context. The rate of this event was slightly slower (t(1/2) = 3.2 min) during the stationary phase than during the exponential phase (t(1/2) = 2 min). The effectors which possibly control the efficiency of the release stage, the level of PrsA or the calcium binding properties of the cell wall, remained unchanged throughout growth phases.     

Complexes with truncated RNAs from the large domain of Archaeoglobus fulgidus signal recognition particle

Protein SRP19 is an important component of the signal recognition particle (SRP) as it promotes assembly of protein SRP54 with SRP RNA and recognizes a tetranucleotide loop. Structural features and RNA binding activities of SRP19 of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus were investigated. An updated alignment of SRP19 sequences predicted three conserved regions and two alpha-helices. With Af-SRP RNA the Af-SRP54 protein assembled into an A. fulgidus SRP which remained intact for many hours. Stable complexes were formed between Af-SRP19 and truncated SRP RNAs, including a 36-residue fragment representing helix 6 of A. fulgidus SRP RNA.     

过表达TatAdCd转位酶对枯草芽孢杆菌脂肪酶分泌的影响

【目的】研究过表达枯草芽孢杆菌Tat运输途径的Tat Ad Cd转位酶对促进脂肪酶分泌的影响。【方法】用cdd基因的串联启动子和前导区,替换tat AD-CD操纵子的启动子和前导区,并在染色体sac B基因位点整合表达;采用q RT-PCR方法表征tat AD-CD操纵子的表达水平;用脂肪酶表达质粒p HP13L转化Tat Ad Cd转位酶过表达菌株,构建产脂肪酶重组菌。通过测定脂肪酶活性,以及聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳,考察Tat Ad Cd转位酶过表达对脂肪酶分泌的影响。【结果】tat AD-CD操纵子被过表达,其胞内m RNA相对水平提高了185倍。Tat Ad Cd转位酶的过表达,使脂肪酶发酵单位提高了40%。【结论】使用cdd基因的串联启动子和前导区,能够有效地过表达目的基因;枯草芽孢杆菌脂肪酶可以同时经由Sec途径和Tat途径分泌;过表达Tat Ad Cd转位酶,能够显著提高脂肪酶的分泌量。     

Characterization of the secretion efficiency of a plant signal peptide in Bacillus subtilis.

Summary The ability of the Bacillus subtilis secretion machinery to interact with a heterologous signal peptide was studied using a plant (wheat -amylase) signal peptide. The plant signal peptide was capable of mediating secretion of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase and B. amyloliquefaciens levansucrase from B. subtilis. This secretion was dependent on the plant signal peptide, as deletion of five amino acids from the hydrophobic core resulted in a block of secretion. Attempts to improve the efficiency of the plant signal peptide in B. subtilis were made by increasing the length of the hydrophobic core from 10 to 16 residues by insertion of 2, 4, 5 or 6 amino acids. None of the alterations improved the secretion efficiency relative to the wild-type plant signal peptide.     

Interaction of the Bacillus subtilis chaperone CsaA with the secretory protein YvaY

Bacillus subtilis CsaA was previously characterised as a molecular chaperone with export-related activities. In order to elucidate the functionality of CsaA further, interaction with its postulated substrate YvaY was investigated. Similar binding to carrier immobilised mature and preYvaY revealed that the interaction was not mediated via the signal peptide of preYvaY. Higher affinity to denatured peptides compared to native peptides indicated preferred binding to unfolded proteins. To characterise affinity of CsaA more detailed, binding to preYvaY derived peptides was analysed. CsaA showed affinity to multiple peptides in the scan, mainly correlated to a positive net charge. Affinity of export-specific Escherichia coli chaperone SecB to the carrier immobilised peptides indicated partially overlapping binding characteristics of SecB and CsaA.     

Consequences of depletion of the signal recognition particle in Escherichia coli

Thus far, the role of the Escherichia coli signal recognition particle (SRP) has only been studied using targeted approaches. It has been shown for a handful of cytoplasmic membrane proteins that their insertion into the cytoplasmic membrane is at least partially SRP-dependent. Furthermore, it has been proposed that the SRP plays a role in preventing toxic accumulation of mistargeted cytoplasmic membrane proteins in the cytoplasm. To complement the targeted studies on SRP, we have studied the consequences of the depletion of the SRP component Fifty-four homologue (Ffh) in E. coli using a global approach. The steady-state proteomes and the proteome dynamics were evaluated using one- and two-dimensional gel analysis, followed by mass spectrometry-based protein identification and immunoblotting. Our analysis showed that depletion of Ffh led to the following: (i) impaired kinetics of the biogenesis of the cytoplasmic membrane proteome; (ii) lowered steady-state levels of the respiratory complexes NADH dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, and cytochrome bo(3) oxidase and lowered oxygen consumption rates; (iii) increased levels of the chaperones DnaK and GroEL at the cytoplasmic membrane; (iv) a σ(32) stress response and protein aggregation in the cytoplasm; and (v) impaired protein synthesis. Our study shows that in E. coli SRP-mediated protein targeting is directly linked to maintaining protein homeostasis and the general fitness of the cell.     

Dynamics of protein phosphorylation on Ser/Thr/Tyr in Bacillus subtilis

The Ser/Thr/Tyr phosphoproteome of Bacillus subtilis was analyzed by a 2-D gel-based approach combining Pro-Q Diamond staining and [(33)P]-labeling. In exponentially growing B. subtilis cells 27 proteins could be identified after staining with Pro-Q Diamond and/or [(33)P]-labeling and one additional protein was labeled solely by [(33)P] resulting in a total of 28 potentially phosphorylated proteins. These proteins are mainly involved in enzymatic reactions of basic carbon metabolism and the regulation of the alternative sigma factor sigma(B). We also found significant changes of the phosphoproteome including increased phosphorylation and dephosphorylation rates of some proteins as well as the detection of four newly phosphorylated proteins in response to stress or starvation. For nine proteins, phosphorylation sites at serine or threonine residues were determined by MS. These include the known phosphorylation sites of Crh, PtsH, and RsbV. Additionally, we were able to identify novel phosphorylation sites of AroA, Pyk, and YbbT. Interestingly, the phosphorylation of RsbRA, B, C, and D, four proteins of a multicomponent protein complex involved in environmental stress signaling, was found during exponential growth. For RsbRA, B, and D, phosphorylation of one of the conserved threonine residues in their C-termini were verified by MS (T171, T186, T181, respectively).     

原核生物信号识别颗粒（SRP）介导蛋白识别转运途径的研究进展

SRP介导的蛋白识别转运过程首先在真核细胞中发现,作用机制已经研究清楚;而SRP在原核细胞中的发现较晚,虽然该途径主要功能蛋白的序列同真核细胞相似,进化上比较保守,但作用机制还未完全揭示,而且SRP体系在原核生物物种间有一定差别,预示着其机制既有统一性,又具有物种特异性。目前原核生物SRP途径的研究主要集中在Ffh、FtsY和4.5SRNA结构与功能,以及这一过程中能量物质GTP的代谢和作用;文章以此为着眼点,概括总结了原核生物中SRP介导蛋白识别转运的研究进展,同时简单介绍了链霉菌中SRP介导蛋白识别转运的研究近况。希望通过链霉菌的相关研究,从进化角度完善和统一原核生物SRP途径的作用机制。     

Heterologous protein secretion in Lactococcus lactis is enhanced by the Bacillus subtilis chaperone-like protein PrsA

The Bacillus subtilis lipoprotein PrsA enhances the yield of several homologous and heterologous exported proteins in B. subtilis by being involved in the posttranslocational stage of the secretion process. In this work, we have studied the effect of B. subtilis PrsA on the secretion of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens α-amylase (AmyQ), a target protein for PrsA, and Bacillus licheniformis penicillinase (PenP) a nontarget protein for PrsA, in Lactococcus lactis. Two compatible plasmids were constructed and introduced into L. lactis strain NZ9000: one high copy plasmid, expressing the AmyQ gene (amyQ) or the PenP gene (penP), and one low copy plasmid, expressing the PrsA encoding gene (prsA). When amyQ and prsA were simultaneously expressed under the nisin-inducible promoter P _nisA , Western blotting experiments revealed a 15- to 20-fold increase in the total yield of AmyQ and a sixfold increase in secreted AmyQ activity, compared to a control strain lacking prsA. When expressed under the same induction conditions, PrsA had no effect on the secretion or total yield of PenP. These results show that the secretion yield of some heterologous proteins can be significantly increased in L. lactis when coproduced with the B. subtilis PrsA protein.     

Lipids trigger a conformational switch that regulates signal recognition particle (SRP)-mediated protein targeting

Co-translational protein targeting to the membrane is mediated by the signal recognition particle and its receptor (FtsY). Their homologous GTPase domains interact at the membrane and form a heterodimer in which both GTPases are activated. The prerequisite for protein targeting is the interaction of FtsY with phospholipids. However, the mechanism of FtsY regulation by phospholipids remained unclear. Here we show that the N terminus of FtsY (A domain) is natively unfolded in solution and define the complete membrane-targeting sequence. We show that the membrane-targeting sequence is highly dynamic in solution, independent of nucleotides and directly responds to the density of anionic phospholipids by a random coil-helix transition. This conformational switch is essential for tethering FtsY to membranes and activates the GTPase for its subsequent interaction with the signal recognition particle. Our results underline the dynamics of lipid-protein interactions and their importance in the regulation of protein targeting and translocation across biological membranes.     

The Bacillus subtilis regulator protein SpoIIE shares functional and structural similarities with eukaryotic protein phosphatases 2C

Dephosphorylation of SpoIIAA-P by SpoIIE is strictly dependent on the presence of the bivalent metal ions Mn2+ or Mg2+. Replacement by Ala of one of the four Asp residues, invariant in all representatives of protein phosphatase 2C, completely abolished the SpoIIE phosphatase activity in vitro, whilst replacement of the Asp residues by another acidic amino acid, Glu, had varying effects on the activities of the resulting mutated proteins. D610E and D795E exhibited some residual activity while D628E and D745E were without enzymatic activity. The results suggest that the functional model in which metal-associated water molecules are involved in the dephosphorylation reaction catalyzed by human protein phosphatase 2C alpha can also be applied to the bacterial protein phosphatase 2C-like protein.