Cloning and sequencing of papain-encoding cDNA

Messenger RNA extracted from Carica papaya fruit was converted to cDNA and cloned into the PstI restriction site of plasmid pBR322. Subclones of the approximately 1.4-kb fragment were sequenced. The nucleotide sequence matched that expected, based on the amino acid (aa) sequence for papain, with the following exceptions: at aa positions 47, 118 and 135 the codon for glutamate was found instead of glutamine; at aa position 169 the codon for asparagine was found instead of glycine; at aa positions 86-88, a difference in the order of the aa codons was observed, namely tyr-pro-tyr instead of the published pro-tyr-tyr. The upstream sequence revealed that papain is probably synthesized with a 133-aa prosegment, suggesting that the enzyme is synthesized as an inactive zymogen. The downstream segment revealed an unusual (AT)9AGAA sequence beginning 26 bp from the double TGA stop codon.     

Isolation and sequencing of a new beta-galactosidase-encoding archaebacterial gene

The gene lacS coding for a beta-galactosidase (beta Gal; EC 3.2.1.23) has been cloned from the thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus, strain MT-4. It encodes a polypeptide chain of 489 amino acids (aa) (56,764 Da) in good agreement with the value directly measured for the enzyme (60 +/- 2 kDa per subunit). The aa composition of the enzyme and, in particular, its peculiarly low cysteine content (one Cys per subunit) has been confirmed; at the same time, it has been observed that the very low G + C content of the S. solfataricus genome strongly influences the codon usage preferences in the lacS sequence. There appears to be no evident similarity between this and the Escherichia coli lacZ sequence, thus suggesting that the two enzymes have analogous function, but are not homologous. By comparison with the published sequences of archaebacterial promoters, terminators and ribosome-binding sites, potential regulatory sites have been identified in the flanking regions of the S. solfataricus lacS gene.     

Histidine ammonia-lyase from Streptomyces griseus.

Histidine ammonia-lyase (histidase; HutH) has been purified to homogeneity from Streptomyces griseus and the N-terminal amino acid (aa) sequence used to clone the histidase-encoding structural gene, hutH. The purified enzyme shows typical saturation kinetics and is inhibited competitively by D-histidine and histidinol phosphate. High concentrations of K.cyanide inactivate HutH unless the enzyme is protected by the substrate or histidinol phosphate. On the basis of the nucleotide sequence, the hutH structural gene would encode a protein of 53 kDa with an N terminus identical to that determined for the purified enzyme. Immediately upstream from hutH is a region that strongly resembles a class of Streptomyces promoters active during vegetative growth; however, there is no obvious ribosome-binding site adjacent to the hutH translation start codon. The deduced aa sequence of an upstream partial open reading frame shows no similarity with other proteins, including HutP of Bacillus subtilis and HutU of Pseudomonas putida. Promoter-probe analysis indicates that promoter activity maps within the DNA surrounding the hutH start codon. Pairwise comparisons of the primary structures of bacterial and mammalian histidases, together with the unique kinetic properties and gene organization, suggest that streptomycete histidase may represent a distinct family of histidases.     

Structure of the gene encoding the exoglucanase of Cellulomonas fimi

In Cellulomonas fimi the cex gene encodes an exoglucanase (Exg) involved in the degradation of cellulose. The gene now has been sequenced as part of a 2.58-kb fragment of C. fimi DNA. The cex coding region of 1452 bp (484 codons) was identified by comparison of the DNA sequence to the N-terminal amino acid (aa) sequence of the Exg purified from C. fimi. The Exg sequence is preceded by a putative signal peptide of 41 aa, a translational initiation codon, and a sequence resembling a ribosome-binding site five nucleotides (nt) before the initiation codon. The nt sequence immediately following the translational stop codon contains four inverted repeats, two of which overlap, and which can be arranged in stable secondary structures. The codon usage in C. fimi appears to be quite different from that of Escherichia coli. A dramatic (98.5%) bias occurs for G or C in the third position for the 35 codons utilized in the cex gene.     

Cloning and sequence determination of a cDNA encoding Aspergillus nidulans calmodulin-dependent multifunctional protein kinase.

A partial cDNA encoding Aspergillus nidulans calmodulin-dependent multifunctional protein kinase (ACMPK) was isolated from a lambda ZAP expression library by immunoselection using monospecific polyclonal antibodies to the enzyme. The sequence of both strands of the cDNA (CMKa) was determined. The deduced amino acid (aa) sequence contained all eleven consensus domains found in serine/threonine protein kinases [Hanks et al., Science 241 (1988) 42-52], as well as a putative calmodulin-binding domain. The cDNA contained an intron, lacked an in-frame start codon, and was not polyadenylated. A full-length copy of CMKa was subsequently isolated from a lambda gt10 library of A. nidulans cDNA using a restriction fragment of the first clone as a probe. It contained an in-frame start codon, an open reading frame (ORF) of 1242 bp and was polyadenylated. The ORF encoded a protein of 414 aa residues with an M(r) of 46,895 and an isoelectric point pI = 6.4. These values are in good agreement with that observed for the native enzyme [Bartelt et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85 (1988) 3279-3283]. When aligned to optimize homology, 29% of the predicted aa sequence of ACMPK is identical to that of the alpha-subunit of rat brain calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. ACMPK shares 40 and 44% identity in aa sequence with YCMK1 and YCMK2, respectively, two Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases recently cloned from Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Pausch et al., EMBO J. 10 (1991) 1511-1522]. Results of Southern analysis of restriction digests of genomic DNA indicate that ACMPK is encoded by a single-copy gene.     

麦迪霉素4"-O-丙酰基转移酶(mpt)基因结构的研究

对含有麦迪霉素4"-O-丙酰基转移酶(mpt)基因的BamHI-BamHI 8.0kb的DNA片段进行限制性酶切分析,绘制出了含有21个酶切位点的限制性酶切图谱。以含有碳霉素异戊酰基转移酶基因(CarE)的2.4kb DNA片段为探针,经Southern blot分子杂交,将mpt定位于一个EcoRI-EcoRI-Pstl 3.0kb的DNA片段上,将该片段克隆至大肠杆菌/链霉菌穿梭质粒载体pWHM3上,获得重组质粒pWFPE。含有pWFPE的螺旋霉素产生菌产二素链霉菌(S.ambofaciens)及变铅青链霉菌(J.lividans)TK24均可将内源产生的或外源加入的螺旋霉素酰化为4"-O-丙酰螺旋霉素。对EcoRI-EcoRI-PstI 3.0kbDNA片段上mpt基因进行序列分析,在该片段上有一个开放阅读框架,它以ATG为起始密码子,以TGA为终止密码子,与其序列对应的编码产物含有388个氨基酸。Mpt基因的G+C mol％为68.0,密码子第三位上G+C mol％为91.5。Mpt基因编码的氨基酸序列与CarE基因编码的氨基酸序列的相同性为67.6％,相似性为86.4％。在起始密码子上游6bp处存在…     

Cloning, sequence and chromosomal location of a MEL gene from Saccharomyces carlsbergensis NCYC396.

Yeast strains producing alpha-galactosidase (alpha Gal) are able to use melibiose as a carbon source during growth or fermentation. We cloned a MEL gene from Saccharomyces carlsbergensis NCYC396 through hybridization to the MEL1 gene cloned earlier from Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. uvarum. The alpha Gal encoded by the newly cloned gene was galactose-inducible as is the alpha Gal encoded by MEL1. A probable GAL4-protein recognition sequence was found in the upstream region of the NCYC396 MEL gene. The gene was transcribed to a 1.5-kb mRNA which, according to the nucleotide sequence, encodes a protein of 471 amino acids (aa) with an Mr of 52,006. The first 18 aa fulfilled the criteria for the signal sequence, but lacked positively charged aa residues, except the initiating methionine. The enzyme activity was found exclusively in the cellular fraction of the cultures. The deduced aa sequence was compared to the aa sequences of other alpha Gal enzymes. It showed 83% identity with the S. cerevisiae enzyme, but only 35% with the plant enzyme, 30% with the human enzyme and 17% with the Escherichia coli enzyme. With pulsed-field electrophoresis, the MEL gene was located on chromosome X of S. carlsbergensis, whereas the S. cerevisiae var. uvarum MEL1 gene is located on chromosome II.     

Cloning and sequence analysis of the rpsL and rpsG genes of Mycobacterium smegmatis and characterization of mutations causing resistance to streptomycin.

The Mycobacterium smegmatis rpsL and rpsG genes, encoding the ribosomal proteins S12 and S7, were cloned, and their DNA sequence was determined. The third nucleotide of the S12 termination codon overlapped the first nucleotide of the S7 translation initiation codon. A collection of 28 spontaneous streptomycin-resistant mutants of M. smegmatis were isolated. All had single-base-pair substitutions in the rpsL gene which were changed to a streptomycin-sensitive phenotype by complementation with a low-copy-number plasmid carrying the wild-type M. smegmatis rpsL gene. A total of eight different mutations were found in two specific regions of the rpsL gene. Fifty-seven percent (16 of 28) altered the Lys codon at position 43. Forty-six percent of the mutations (13 of 28) were due to a transition changing an AAG Lys codon to an AGG Arg codon, with eight changes at codon 43 and five at codon 88.     

Molecular characterization of the murine argininosuccinate synthetase locus.

The cDNA and gene encoding murine argininosuccinate synthetase were cloned and characterized. The cDNA sequence predicts a peptide of 412 amino acids (aa) including the initiator methionine. There is 98% identity with the aa sequence of the human enzyme. The 3'-untranslated region of the cDNA includes two regions of sequence which are conserved between mouse, rat, human and cow. The murine gene contains 16 exons with the start codon occurring in exon 3. Although alternative splicing occurs in primates to include or exclude exon 2, exon 2 sequences were included in the murine mRNA in all tissues and developmental stages examined. The inclusion of exon 2 in murine mRNA, compared to the usual exclusion in human mRNA, may be explained by differences in the donor splice sequences for exon 2.