Molecular cloning, characterization, and chromosomal localization of dapF, the Escherichia coli gene for diaminopimelate epimerase.

The Escherichia coli dapF gene was isolated from a cosmid library as a result of screening for clones overproducing diaminopimelate epimerase. Insertional mutagenesis was performed on the cloned dapF gene with a mini-Mu transposon, leading to chloramphenicol resistance. One of these insertions was transferred onto the chromosome by a double-recombination event, allowing us to obtain a dapF mutant. This mutant accumulated large amounts of LL-diaminopimelate, confirming the blockage in the step catalyzed by the dapF product, but did not require meso-diaminopimelate for growth. The dapF gene was localized in the 85-min region of the E. coli chromosome between cya and uvrD.     

Cytochrome c550 from Thiobacillus versutus: cloning, expression in Escherichia coli, and purification of the heterologous holoprotein.

The gene coding for cytochrome c550 from Thiobacillus versutus, cycA, has been cloned and sequenced. It codes for a protein of 134 amino acids plus a 19-amino-acid-long signal peptide. Both coding and noncoding DNA sequences of the clone are homologous to the Paracoccus denitrificans DNA sequence. An expression vector was constructed by cloning the cycA gene directly behind the lac promoter of pUC. The cycA gene was expressed in Escherichia coli under semianaerobic conditions, and mature holo-cytochrome c550 was isolated with the periplasmic soluble protein fraction. Under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, significantly less cytochrome c550 was produced. The heterologously expressed cytochrome c550 was isolated and purified to better than 95% purity and was compared with cytochrome c550 isolated and purified from T. versutus. No structural differences could be detected by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis UV-visible light spectroscopy, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, indicating that E. coli produces the cytochrome and attaches the heme correctly.     

The purification and properties of deoxyguanosine triphosphate triphosphohydrolase from Escherichia coli

Deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP) triphosphohydrolase (EC 3.1.5.1) has been purified approximately 16,000-fold to apparent homogeneity from extracts of Escherichia coli. The enzyme has a native molecular weight of 230,000 and a sedimentation coefficient of 9.3 S. Its subunit molecular weight derived from electrophoresis in denaturing polyacrylamide gels is 58,900, and it has a unique N-terminal sequence for the first 25 amino acids, which indicate that the native enzyme is composed of 4 homologous subunits. It is insensitive to sulfhydryl reagents and EDTA and can be heated to 60 degrees C for 60 min without loss of activity. The enzyme requires Mg2+ for activity, is highly specific for dGTP among the canonical deoxynucleoside triphosphates, and has a unique activity among nucleoside triphosphatases in that the products of the reaction are deoxyguanosine and inorganic tripolyphosphate. Preliminary evidence suggest that this enzyme is responsible for the optA mutant phenotype first described by Saito and Richardson (Saito, H., and Richardson, C.C. (1981) J. Virol. 37, 343-351).     

A beta-mannanase from Bacillus subtilis B36: purification, properties, sequencing, gene cloning and expression in Escherichia coli

MANB36, a secrete endo-beta-1,4-D-mannanase produced by Bacillus subtilis B36, was purified to homogeneity from a culture supernatant and characterized. The optimum pH value for the mannanase activity of MANB36 is 6.4 and the optimum temperature is 50 degrees C. The enzyme activity of MANB36 is remarkably thermostable at 60 degrees C and the specific activity of MANB36 is 927.84 U/mg. Metal cations (except Hg2+ and Ag+), EDTA and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) have no effects on enzyme activity. This enzyme exhibits high specificity with the substituted galactomannan locust bean gum (LBG). The gene encoding for MANB36, manB36, was cloned by PCR and sequenced. manB36 contains a single open reading frame (ORF) consisting of 1104 bp that encodes a protein of 367 amino acids. The predicted molecular weight of 38.13 kDa, calculated by the deduced protein of the gene manB36 without signal peptide, coincides with the apparent molecular weight of 38.0 kDa of the purified MANB36 estimated by SDS-PAGE. The mature protein of MANB36 has been expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and the expressed mannanase has normal bioactivity.     

Gene cloning,purification, and characterization of 2,3-diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase from Escherichia coli

2,3-Diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase (DAPAL), which catalyzes alpha,beta-elimination of 2,3-diaminopropionate regardless of its stereochemistry, was purified from Salmonella typhimurium. We cloned the Escherichia coli ygeX gene encoding a putative DAPAL and purified the gene product to homogeneity. The protein obtained contained pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and was composed of two identical subunits with a calculated molecular weight of 43,327. It catalyzed the alpha,beta-elimination of both D- and L-2,3-diaminopropionate. The results confirmed that ygeX encoded DAPAL. The enzyme acted on D-serine, but its catalytic efficiency was only 0.5% that with D-2,3-diaminopropionate. The enzymologic properties of E. coli DAPAL resembled those of Salmonella DAPAL, except that L-serine, D-and L-beta-Cl-alanine were inert as substrates of the enzyme from E. coli. DAPAL had significant sequence similarity with the catalytic domain of L-threonine dehydratase, which is a member of the fold-type II group of pyridoxal phosphate enzymes, together with D-serine dehydratase and mammalian serine racemase.     

Cloning, expression, and purification of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli invasin DraD.

In this study we presented a very efficient expression system, based on pET30LIC/Ek vector, for producing DraD invasin of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli and a one-step chromatography purification procedure for obtaining pure recombinant protein (DraD-C-His(6)). This protein has a molecular weight of 14,818 and calculated pI of 6.6. It contains a polyhistidine tag at the C-terminus (13 additional amino acids) that allowed single-step isolation by Ni affinity chromatography. Also, we obtained specific antibodies against DraD invasin to develop tools for characterizing the expression and biological function of this protein. The amount and quality of DraD-C-His(6) fusion protein purified from E. coli overexpression system seems to be fully appropriate for crystallographic studies (soluble form), and for establishing role of the protein in bacterium (cultured cell line interaction and in the internalization process) and for obtaining rabbit polyclonal antisera (insoluble form).     

Production of active pediocin PA-1 in Escherichia coli using a thioredoxin gene fusion expression approach: cloning, expression, purification, and characterization

Antimicrobial peptides possess cationic and amphipathic properties that allow for interactions with the membrane of living cells. Bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria, in particular, are currently being studied for their potential use as food preservatives and for applications in health care. However, bacteriocin exploitation is often limited owing to low production yields. Gene cloning and heterologous protein or peptide production is one way to possibly achieve overexpression of bacteriocins to support biochemical studies. In this work, production of recombinant active pediocin PA-1 (PedA) was accomplished in Escherichia coli using a thioredoxin (trx) gene fusion (trx-pedA) expression approach. Trx-PedA itself did not show any biological activity, but upon cleavage by an enterokinase, biologically active pediocin PA-1 was obtained. Recombinant pediocin PA-1 characteristics (molecular mass, biological activity, physicochemical properties) were very similar to those of native pediocin PA-1. In addition, a 4- to 5-fold increase in production yield was obtained, by comparison with the PA-1 produced naturally by Pediococcus acidilactici PAC 1.0. The new production method, although not optimized, offers great potential for supporting further investigations on pediocin PA-1 and as a first-generation process for the production of pediocin PA-1 for high-value applications.     

N-acetyl-heparosan lyase of Escherichia coli K5: gene cloning and expression.

The structure of the capsular polysaccharide of Escherichia coli K5 is identical to that of N-acetyl-heparosan, a nonsulfated precursor of heparin, which makes this E. coli antigen an attractive starting point for the chemical synthesis of analogs of low-molecular-weight heparin. This polysaccharide is synthesized as a high-molecular-weight molecule that can be depolymerized by an enzyme displaying endo-beta-eliminase activity. The eliminase-encoding gene, designated elmA, has been cloned from E. coli K5 by expression in E. coli K-12. The K-12 genome is devoid of the elmA sequence. The elmA gene product is 820 amino acids long. Active recombinant eliminase is produced by K-12 cells in both cell-bound and secreted forms. Deletion analyses have shown that the C terminus and the N terminus are required for activity and secretion, respectively.     

Dehydroquinate synthase from Escherichia coli: purification, cloning, and construction of overproducers of the enzyme

Dehydroquinate synthase has been purified 9000-fold from Escherichia coli K-12 (strain MM294). The synthase is encoded by the aroB gene, which is carried by plasmid pLC29-47 from the Carbon-Clarke library. Construction of an appropriate host bearing pLC29-47 results in a strain that produces 20 times more enzyme than strain MM294. Subcloning of the aroB gene behind a tac promoter results in E. coli transformants that produce 1000 times more enzyme than MM294: the synthase constitutes 5% of the soluble protein of the cell. A laborious isolation from 50 g of wild-type E. coli cells yields 80 micrograms of impure enzyme, whereas 50 g of cells containing the subcloned gene yields 150 mg of homogeneous enzyme in a two-column purification. Dehydroquinate synthase is a monomeric protein of Mr 40 000-44 000. The chromosomal enzyme from E. coli K-12, the cloned enzyme encoded by the plasmid pLC29-47, and the subcloned inducible enzyme encoded by pJB14 all comigrate on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions.     

Mouse Aurora A: expression in Escherichia coli and purification

Aurora kinases have recently become some of the most intensely pursued oncology targets for the design of small-molecule inhibitors. Most of the active Aurora-A protein variants are currently being expressed from baculoviruses in insect cells, while catalytically impaired proteins can also be generated in and purified from Escherichia coli. In this study we present a method of expressing large quantities of active mouse Aurora-A kinase domain as an N-terminal glutathione-S-transferase fusion protein in bacteria and outline a simple purification method that produces greater than 99% pure protein samples suitable for enzymatic assays and X-ray crystallography. The methods described in this report simplify mouse Aurora-A expression and purification, and may aid in the production of other difficult kinases in prokaryotes.     

Molecular cloning, DNA structure and expression of the Escherichia coli D-xylose isomerase.

The D-xylose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.5) gene from Escherichia coli was cloned and isolated by complementation of an isomerase-deficient E. coli strain. The insert containing the gene was restriction mapped and further subcloning located the gene in a 1.6-kb Bg/II fragment. This fragment was sequenced by the chain termination method, and showed the gene to be 1002 bp in size. The Bg/II fragment was cloned into a yeast expression vector utilising the CYCl yeast promoter. This construct allowed expression in E. coli grown on xylose but not glucose suggesting that the yeast promoter is responding to the E. coli catabolite repression system. No expression was detected in yeast from this construct and this is discussed in terms of the upstream region in the E. coli insert with suggestions of how improved constructs may permit achievement of the goal of a xylose-fermenting yeast.     

A novel 2-aminophenol 1,6-dioxygenase involved in the degradation of p-chloronitrobenzene by Comamonas strain CNB-1: purification, properties, genetic cloning and expression in Escherichia coli

Comamonas strain CNB-1 was isolated from a biological reactor treating wastewater from a p-chloronitrobenzene production factory. Strain CNB-1 used p-chloronitrobenzene as sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. A 2-aminophenol 1,6-dioxygenase was purified from cells of strain CNB-1. The purified 2-aminophenol 1,6-dioxygenase had a native molecular mass of 130 kDa and was composed of - and -subunits of 33 and 38 kDa, respectively. This enzyme is different from currently known 2-aminophenol 1,6-dioxygenases in that it: (a) has a higher affinity for 2-amino-5-chlorophenol (K_m=0.77 M) than for 2-aminophenol (K_m=0.89 M) and (b) utilized protocatechuate as a substrate. These results suggested that 2-amino-5-chlorophenol, an intermediate during p-chloronitrobenzene degradation, is the natural substrate for this enzyme. N-terminal amino acids of the - and -subunits were determined to be T-V-V-S-A-F-L-V and M-Q-G-E-I-I-A-E, respectively. A cosmid library was constructed from the total DNA of strain CNB-1 and three clones (BG-1, BG-2, and CG-13) with 2-aminophenol 1,6-dioxygenase activities were obtained. DNA sequencing of clone BG-2 revealed a 15-kb fragment that contained two ORFs, ORF9 and ORF10, with N-terminal amino acid sequences identical to those of the - and -subunits, respectively, from the purified 2-aminophenol 1,6-dioxygenase. The enzyme was actively synthesized when the genes coding for the ORF9 and ORF10 were cloned into Escherichia coli.     

High-level expression and purification of Escherichia coli oligopeptidase B

Oligopeptidase B (OpdB) of Escherichia coli, previously called protease II, has a trypsin-like specificity, cleaving peptides at lysine and arginine residues and belongs to the prolyl oligopeptidase family of new serine peptidases. In this study, we report the fusion expression of E. coli oligopeptidase B with an N-terminal histidine tag using pET28a as the expression vector. Although most of the recombinant OpdB was produced as inclusion bodies, the solubility of the recombinant protease increased significantly when the expression temperature shifted from 37 to 30 degrees C. Recombinant OpdB (approximately 10 mg) could be purified from the soluble fraction of the crude extract of 1L log-phase E. coli culture containing 1.5 g wet bacterial cells. The purified OpdB has a molecular weight of approximately 80 kDa and a specific activity of 4.8 x 10(4) U/mg. OpdB could also be purified from the inclusion bodies with a lower yield. The recombinant enzyme was very stable under 40 degrees C. By comparison of the substrate specificity of the purified OpdB with that of OpdA, another trypsin-like protease in E. coli, we found that Boc-Glu-Lys-Lys-MCA is a specific substrate for E. coli OpdB. We also found that compared to OpdA, OpdB is much more sensitive to GMCHA-OPh(t)Bu, a synthetic trypsin inhibitor that can retard the growth of E. coli.     

Clostridium sticklandii glycine reductase selenoprotein A gene: cloning, sequencing, and expression in Escherichia coli.

Gene grdA, which encodes selenoprotein A of the glycine reductase complex from Clostridium sticklandii, was identified and characterized. This gene encodes a protein of 158 amino acids with a calculated M(r) of 17,142. The known sequence of 15 amino acids around the selenocysteine residue and the known carboxy terminus of the protein are correctly predicted by the nucleotide sequence. An opal termination codon (TGA) corresponding to the location of the single selenocysteine residue in the polypeptide was found in frame at position 130. The C. sticklandii grdA gene was inserted behind the tac promotor of an Escherichia coli expression vector. An E. coli strain transformed with this vector produced an 18-kDa polypeptide that was not detected in extracts of nontransformed cells. Affinity-purified anti-C. sticklandii selenoprotein A immunoglobulin G reacted specifically with this polypeptide, which was indistinguishable from authentic C. sticklandii selenoprotein A by immunological analysis. Addition of the purified expressed protein to glycine reductase protein components B and C reconstituted the active glycine reductase complex. Although synthesis of enzymically active protein A depended on the presence of selenium in the growth medium, formation of immunologically reactive protein did not. Moreover, synthesis of enzymically active protein in a transformed E. coli selD mutant strain indicated that there is a nonspecific mechanism of selenocysteine incorporation. These findings imply that mRNA secondary structures of C. sticklandii grdA are not functional for UGA-directed selenocysteine insertion in the E. coli expression system.     

BspRI restriction endonuclease: cloning, expression in Escherichia coli and sequential cleavage mechanism

The GGCC-specific restriction endonuclease BspRI is one of the few Type IIP restriction endonucleases, which were suggested to be a monomer. Amino acid sequence information obtained by Edman sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis was used to clone the gene encoding BspRI. The bspRIR gene is located adjacently to the gene of the cognate modification methyltransferase and encodes a 304 aa protein. Expression of the bspRIR gene in Escherichia coli was dependent on the replacement of the native TTG initiation codon with an ATG codon, explaining previous failures in cloning the gene using functional selection. A plasmid containing a single BspRI recognition site was used to analyze kinetically nicking and second-strand cleavage under steady-state conditions. Cleavage of the supercoiled plasmid went through a relaxed intermediate indicating sequential hydrolysis of the two strands. Results of the kinetic analysis of the first- and second-strand cleavage are consistent with cutting the double-stranded substrate site in two independent binding events. A database search identified eight putative restriction-modification systems in which the predicted endonucleases as well as the methyltransferases share high sequence similarity with the corresponding protein of the BspRI system. BspRI and the related putative restriction endonucleases belong to the PD-(D/E)XK nuclease superfamily.