Expression and secretion of Mirabilis antiviral protein in Escherichia coli and its inhibition of in vitro eukaryotic and prokaryotic protein synthesis

Mirabilis antiviral protein (MAP), a ribosome-inactivating protein, exhibits inhibitory effects on both plant virus infection and protein synthesis. To study these functions by site-specific mutagenesis, the total synthetic gene of MAP was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. However, the growth of the host was inhibited by the products, and the yield of MAP was very low. To improve the system for expressing MAP, an expression vector, pSH7, was constructed. This vector is based on the high copy number plasmid pUC19 and includes PL promoter and temperature-sensitive cI857 repressor. The plasmid also contains the ompA signal sequence and the total synthetic MAP gene. The MAP gene was expressed and its product was secreted into the culture medium after E. coli transformants were cultivated at 30 degrees C and the temperature was raised to 42 degrees C. The secreted MAP was then purified and characterized. This protein was identical to native MAP as determined by its mobility in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the amino acid sequence at the NH2 terminus, and its inhibitory effect on in vitro protein synthesis. MAP was found to inhibit the in vitro protein synthesis of rabbit reticulocyte and wheat germ. It further showed an IC50 concentration of approximately 200 nM in an E. coli in vitro translation system in contrast to ricin A-chain, a well known ribosome-inactivating protein.     

Thermostable alanine racemase from Bacillus stearothermophilus: DNA and protein sequence determination and secondary structure prediction

The nucleotide sequence of the alanine racemase (EC 5.1.1.1) gene from a thermophile, Bacillus stearothermophilus, was determined by the dideoxy chain termination method with universal and synthetic site-specific primers. The amino acid sequence of the enzyme predicted from the nucleotide sequence was confirmed by peptide sequence information derived from the N-terminal amino acid residues and several tryptic fragments. The alanine racemase gene consists of 1158 base pairs encoding a protein of 386 amino acid residues; the molecular weight of the apoenzyme is estimated as 43,341. The racemase gene of B. stearothermophilus has a closely similar size (1158 vs 1167 base pairs) to that of the gene of a mesophile, B. subtilis, but shows a higher preference for codons ending in G or C. A comparison of the amino acid sequence with those of Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhimurium dadB and alr enzymes revealed overall sequence homologies of 31-54%, including an identical octapeptide bearing the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binding site. Although the residues common in the four racemases are not continuously arrayed, these constitute distinct domains and their hydropathy profiles are very similar. The secondary structure of B. stearothermophilus alanine racemase was predicted from the results obtained by theoretical analysis and circular dichroism measurement.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a large subunit of Salmonella typhimurium glutamate synthase (GOGAT) gene in Escherichia coli

Two pathways of ammonium assimilation and glutamate biosynthesis have been identified in microorganisms. One pathway involves the NADP-linked glutamate dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the amination of 2-oxoglutarate to form glutamate. An alternative pathway involves the combined activities of glutamine synthetase, which aminates glutamate to form glutamine, and glutamate synthase, which transfers the amide group of glutamine to 2-oxoglutarate to yield two molecules of glutamate. We have cloned the large subunit of the glutamate synthase (GOGAT) from Salmonella typhimurium by screening the expression of GOGAT and complementing the gene in E. coli GOGAT large subunit-deficient mutants. Three positive clones (named pUC19C12, pUC19C13 and pUC19C15) contained identical Sau3AI fragments, as determined by restriction mapping and Southern hybridization, and expressed GOGAT efficiently and constitutively using its own promoter in the heterologous host. The coding region expressed in Escherichia coli was about 170 kDa on SDS-PAGE. This gene spans 4,732 bases, contains an open reading frame of 4,458 nucleotides, and encodes a mature protein of 1,486 amino acid residues (Mr = 166,208). The FMN-binding domain of GOGAT contains 12 glycine residues, and the 3Fe-4S cluster has 3 cysteine residues. The comparison of the translated amino acid sequence of the Salmonella GOGAT with sequences from other bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Shigella flexneri, Yersinia pestis, Vibrio vulnificus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa shows sequence identity between 87 and 95%.     

Formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase of Escherichia coli: cloning and sequencing of the fpg structural gene and overproduction of the protein.

An Escherichia coli genomic library composed of large DNA fragments (10-15 kb) was constructed using the plasmid pBR322 as vector. From it 700 clones were individually screened for increased excision of the ring-opened form of N7-methylguanine (2-6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5N-methyl-formamidopyrimidine) or Fapy. One clone overproduced the Fapy-DNA glycosylase activity by a factor of 10-fold as compared with the wild-type strain. The Fapy-DNA glycosylase overproducer character was associated with a 15-kb recombinant plasmid (pFPG10). After subcloning a 1.4-kb fragment which contained the Fapy-DNA glycosylase gene (fpg+) was inserted in the plasmids pUC18 and pUC19 yielding pFPG50 and pFPG60 respectively. The cells harbouring pFPG60 displayed a 50- to 100-fold increase in glycosylase activity and overexpressed a 31-kd protein. From these cells the Fapy-DNA glycosylase was purified to apparent physical homogeneity as evidenced by a single protein band at 31 kd on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. The amino acid composition of the protein and the amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence demonstrate that the cloned fragment contains the structural gene coding for the Fapy-DNA glycosylase. The nucleotide sequence of the fpg gene is composed of 809 base pairs and codes for a protein of 269 amino acids with a calculated mol. wt of 30.2 kd.     

天花粉胰蛋白酶抑制剂基因的合成与克隆

天花粉胰蛋白酶抑制剂是从中药天花粉中分离出来的一种新的胰蛋白酶抑制剂,其结构最近被测定为含有三对二硫键的27肽,它也是目前发现的最小的多肽类蛋白酶抑制剂。本文报导了天花粉胰蛋白酶抑制剂基因的合成及克隆。设计的合成基因采用了大肠杆菌偏爱的密码子,全长为108个碱基对,它包括了起始密码子ATG,终止密码子TAG和两端的HindⅢ和BamH Ⅰ的识别顺序。整个基因的合成分为两步,首先用化学方法合成四个DNA片段(F1,38mer;F2,30mer;F3,30mer和F4A,46mer),再经连接酶连接成为两个3′端彼此互补的DNA片段(F1+F2,68mer和F3+F4,76mer),最后从两个互为引物的3′端用Klenow酶聚合补齐得到双链基因。同时,用在基因3′端有两个碱基改变的F4B代替F4A,使基因的终止密码子(TAG)变为甲硫氨酸密码子(ATG),并使基因的阅读框架与质粒pUC19中的LaeZ基因相一致,从而实现该基因与LaeZ基因的融合表达。合成基因经DNA序列分析证明其结构正确。     

玉米核糖体失活蛋白基因的克隆及序列分析

将提取的玉米RNA反转录成Cdna,以此为模板,合成特异性引物,应用多聚酶链式反应(PCR)技术扩增出目的片段。对PCR片段直接进行序列分析,测定并克隆玉米的核糖体失活蛋白(RIP)基因。序列分析表明,已测定的玉米RIP基因序列长为983bp,其中编码区长828bp,共编码有275个氨基酸和一个终止密码子,GC含量为58.3%。与已发表的序列相比较其核苷酸序列及推导的氨基酸序列的同源性分别为98.4%和97.4%。     

Synthesis, cloning, and expression in Escherichia coli of a spinach acyl carrier protein-I gene

A synthetic gene of 268 bp encoding the 82 amino acid spinach acyl carrier protein (ACP)-I was constructed based on the known amino acid sequence. Two gene fragments, one encoding the amino-terminal portion and the other the carboxy-terminal portion of the protein, were assembled from synthetic oligonucleotides and inserted into the phage M13mp19. These partial gene constructions were joined and inserted into the plasmid pTZ19R. DNA sequencing confirmed the accuracy of the constructions. The synthetic gene was then subcloned into the Escherichia coli expression vector pKK233-2, under the control of the trc promoter. Western blot analysis and radioimmunoassay indicated that E. coli cells carrying this plasmid produced up to 6 mg/liter of a protein which was immunologically cross-reactive and similar in electrophoretic mobility to authentic spinach acyl carrier protein. The bacterial cells were able to attach the phosphopantetheine prosthetic group to the synthetic plant gene product allowing it to be acylated in vitro by acyl-ACP synthetase.     

Nucleotide sequence of the luxA gene of Vibrio harveyi and the complete amino acid sequence of the alpha subunit of bacterial luciferase

The nucleotide sequence of the 1.85-kilobase EcoRI fragment from Vibrio harveyi that was cloned using a mixed-sequence synthetic oligonucleotide probe (Cohn, D. H., Ogden, R. C., Abelson, J. N., Baldwin, T. O., Nealson, K. H., Simon, M. I., and Mileham, A. J. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 120-123) has been determined. The alpha subunit-coding region (luxA) was found to begin at base number 707 and end at base number 1771. The alpha subunit has a calculated molecular weight of 40,108 and comprises a total of 355 amino acid residues. There are 34 base pairs separating the start of the alpha subunit structural gene and a 669-base open reading frame extending from the proximal EcoRI site. At the 3' end of the luxA coding region there are 26 bases between the end of the structural gene and the start of the luxB structural gene. Approximately two-thirds of the alpha subunit was sequenced by protein chemical techniques. The amino acid sequence implied by the DNA sequence, with few exceptions, confirmed the chemically determined sequence. Regions of the alpha subunit thought to comprise the active center were found to reside in two discrete and relatively basic regions, one from around residues 100-115 and the second from around residues 280-295.     

Synthesis of a gene for human serum albumin and its expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A 1761 base pairs long artificial gene coding for human serum albumin (HSA) has been prepared by a newly developed synthetic approach, resulting in the largest synthetic gene so far described. Oligonucleotides corresponding to only one strand of the HSA gene were prepared by chemical synthesis, while the complementary strand was obtained by a combination of enzymatic and cloning steps. 24 synthetic, 69-85 nucleotides long oligonucleotides covering the major part of the HSA gene (41-1761 nucleotides) were used as building blocks. Generally, four groups of 6-6 such oligonucleotides were successively cloned in pUC19 Escherichia coli vector to obtain about quarters of the gene as large fragments. Joining of these four fragments resulted in a cloned DNA coding for the 13-585 amino acid region of HSA, which was further supplemented with a double-stranded linker sequence coding for the amino terminal 12 amino acids. The completed structural gene composed of frequently used codons in the highly expressed yeast genes was then supplied with yeast regulatory sequences and the HSA expression cassette so obtained was inserted into an Escherichia coli-Saccharomyces cerevisiae shuttle vector. This vector was shown to direct the expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae of correctly processed, mature HSA which was recognized by antiserum to HSA, and possessed the correct N-terminal amino acid sequence.     

Screening and characterization of a novel fibrinolytic metalloprotease from a metagenomic library

A metagenomic library was constructed using total genomic DNA extracted from the mud in the west coast of Korea and was used together with a fosmid vector, pCC1FOS in order to uncover novel gene sources. One clone from approximately 30,000 recombinant Escherichia coli clones was identified that showed proteolytic activity. The gene for the proteolytic enzyme was subcloned into pUC19 and sequenced, and a database search for homologies revealed it to be a zinc-dependent metalloprotease. The cloned gene included the intact coding gene for a novel metalloproteinase and its own promoter. It comprised an open reading frame of 1,080 base pairs, which encodes a protein of 39,490 Da consisting of 359 amino acid residues. A His-Glu-X-X-His sequence, which is a conserved sequence in the active site of zinc-dependent metalloproteases, was found in the deduced amino acid sequence of the gene, suggesting that the enzyme is a zinc-dependent metalloprotease. The purified enzyme showed optimal activity at 50°C for 1 h and pH 7.0. The enzyme activity was inhibited by metal-chelating reagents, such as EDTA, EGTA and 1,10-phenanthroline. The enzyme hydrolyzed azocasein as well as fibrin. Thus, the enzyme could be useful as a therapeutic agent to treat thrombosis. The sequence reported in this paper has been deposited in the GenBank database (Accession number: EF100137).     

用重叠PCR合成植物甜蛋白brazzein基因

目的:为在泡盛曲霉(Aspergillus awamori)中进行表达,采用重叠PCR合成了植物甜蛋白brazzein基因。方法:根据非洲热带植物Pentadiplandra brazzeana产生的天然甜蛋白brazzein的氨基酸序列及泡盛曲霉糖化酶基因glaA的密码子偏爱性,设计并化学合成了2对3’-端互补的寡聚核苷酸,通过PCR延伸获得2条末端有部分重叠的双链核苷酸片段,再通过重叠PCR扩增,合成了用于泡盛曲霉表达的植物甜蛋白brazzein基因。结果:将brazzein基因克隆到pMD18-T载体,随机挑取6个重组质粒测序,结果1个重组质粒有连续4个碱基缺失,3个重组质粒各有1个碱基缺失,2个重组质粒携带的brazzein基因核苷酸序列完全正确。结论:合成的brazzein基因大小162 bp,编码54个氨基酸,推断的氨基酸序列与Pentadiplandra brazzeana产生的天然brazzein完全一致,表明植物甜蛋白brazzein基因成功合成。     

Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the type E staphylococcal enterotoxin gene.

The gene for staphylococcal enterotoxin type E (entE) was cloned from Staphylococcus aureus into plasmid vector pBR322 and introduced into Escherichia coli. A staphylococcal enterotoxin type E-producing E. coli strain was isolated. The complete nucleotide sequence of the cloned structural entE gene and the N-terminal amino acid sequence of mature staphylococcal enterotoxin type E were determined. The entE gene contained 771 base pairs that encoded a protein with a molecular weight of 29,358 which was apparently processed to a mature extracellular form with a molecular weight of 26,425. DNA sequence comparisons indicated that staphylococcal enterotoxins type E and A are closely related. There was 84% nucleotide sequence homology between entE and the gene for staphylococcal enterotoxin type A; these genes encoded protein products that had 214 (83%) homologous amino acid residues (mature forms had 188 [82%] homologous amino acid residues).     

Cloning and characterization of cDNA encoding 3-methylcholanthrene inducible rat mRNA for UDP-glucuronosyltransferase

We have isolated cDNA clones of the mRNA for rat UDP-glucuronosyltransferase that catalyzes the glucuronidation of 4-nitrophenol, by using synthetic oligonucleotides as hybridization probes. The complete nucleotide sequence of the 1,927-base pairs cDNA insert has been determined. With untranslated sequences of 124 and 216 base pairs in the 5'- and 3'-terminal regions, respectively, the cDNA insert contained 1,587 base pairs that encode a complete primary structure of a putative precursor form of 4-nitrophenol UDP-glucuronosyltransferase with a calculated molecular weight of 60,114. The cDNA sequence also indicates the presence of 25 amino acids preceding the sequence determined by microsequence of the isolated protein. This extrapeptide, for the most part, consists of hydrophobic amino acids which are characteristic of the signal peptides as found for secretory proteins and most transmembrane proteins. Furthermore, the deduced amino acid sequence contains a putative halt transfer signal of a hydrophobic segment (residues 487-510), which is flanked on both sides by the peptide segments of highly charged amino acid residues (residues 463-486 and 511-529). These features are consistent with the properties of transmembrane proteins. Specific cDNA probes were used to analyze the induction of the enzyme in rat tissues by treatment with 3-methylcholanthrene. RNA blot analysis showed that 3-methylcholanthrene increased 10- to 15-fold the amount of hybridizable mRNA in liver. The livers and kidneys from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats were found to contain almost the same amount of hybridizable mRNA, although the basal level in the kidney was much higher than that of the liver, and the amounts in the lung were much lower than that of the liver and kidney.     

Cloning and nucleotide sequence analysis of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene from Vibrio anguillarum.

The chloramphenicol resistant gene (cat) encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) in a transferable R plasmid (pJA7324) isolated from the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum strain PT24 was cloned into the plasmid vector pUC19. The nucleotide sequence analysis of 1,348 base pair DNA identified an open reading frame encoding a protein of 216 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 25,471 daltons. The predicted amino acid sequences for this cat gene are 37-69% homologous with other CAT proteins of both Gram-negative and -positive bacteria. Colony hybridization performed with a PvuII-BamHI fragment including this cat gene as a probe, revealed that the same or similar chloramphenicol resistance genes existed among V. anguillarum isolates.     

Sequence of the cDNA and gene for angiogenin, a human angiogenesis factor

Human cDNAs coding for angiogenin, a human tumor derived angiogenesis factor, were isolated from a cDNA library prepared from human liver poly(A) mRNA employing a synthetic oligonucleotide as a hybridization probe. The largest cDNA insert (697 base pairs) contained a short 5'-noncoding sequence followed by a sequence coding for a signal peptide of 24 (or 22) amino acids, 369 nucleotides coding for the mature protein of 123 amino acids, a stop codon, a 3'-noncoding sequence of 175 nucleotides, and a poly(A) tail. The gene coding for human angiogenin was then isolated from a genomic lambda Charon 4A bacteriophage library employing the cDNA as a probe. The nucleotide sequence of the gene and the adjacent 5'- and 3'-flanking regions (4688 base pairs) was then determined. The coding and 3'-noncoding regions of the gene for human angiogenin were found to be free of introns, and the DNA sequence for the gene agreed well with that of the cDNA. The gene contained a potential TATA box in the 5' end in addition to two Alu repetitive sequences immediately flanking the 5' and 3' ends of the gene. The third Alu sequence was also found about 500 nucleotides downstream from the Alu sequence at the 3' end of the gene. The amino acid sequence of human angiogenin as predicted from the gene sequence was in complete agreement with that determined by amino acid sequence analysis. It is about 35% homologous with human pancreatic ribonuclease, and the amino acid residues that are essential for the activity of ribonuclease are also conserved in angiogenin. This provocative finding is thought to have important physiological implications.     

Sequences of Escherichia coli uvrA gene and protein reveal two potential ATP binding sites

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the uvrA gene of Escherichia coli. The coding region of the gene is 2820 base pairs which specifies a protein of 940 amino acids and Mr = 103,874. The polypeptide sequence predicted from the DNA sequence was confirmed by analyzing the UvrA protein: the sequence of the first 7 NH2-terminal amino acids as well as the amino acid composition of the pure protein agreed with those predicted from the nucleotide sequence. By comparing the sequence of UvrA protein to the amino acid sequences of other ATPases, we found that two regions in the UvrA protein, separated from one another by about 600 amino acids, have the highly conserved G-X4-GKT(S)-X6-I(V) sequence found at the active sites of many, but not all, ATPases. Our findings suggest that UvrA protein may have two ATP binding sites.     

The primary structure of E. coli RNA polymerase, Nucleotide sequence of the rpoC gene and amino acid sequence of the beta''-subunit.

The primary structure of the E. coli rpoC gene (5321 base pairs) coding the beta'-subunit of RNA polymerase as well as its adjacent segment have been determined. The structure analysis of the peptides obtained by cleavage of the protein with cyanogen bromide and trypsin has confirmed the amino acid sequence of the beta'-subunit deduced from the nucleotide sequence analysis. The beta'-subunit of E. coli RNA polymerase contains 1407 amino acid residues. Its translation is initiated by codon GUG and terminated by codon TAA. It has been detected that the sequence following the terminating codon is strikingly homologous to known sequences of rho-independent terminators.