Immunological demonstration of a unique 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase in soil Arthrobacter strains.

Many bacteria biosynthesize 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenases for growth on aromatic acids, but gram-negative organisms have been most extensively studied. A gram-positive strain containing 2,3-dioxygenase activity was identified as Arthrobacter strain Mn-1. The 2,3-dioxygenase from strain Mn-1 was purified to homogeneity by fast protein liquid chromatography with a Mono Q anion-exchange column. Rabbit polyclonal antidioxygenase antibodies were prepared. Ouchterlony double-diffusion and Western blotting (immunoblotting) protocols were used to probe the distribution of the Mn-1 dioxygenase antigen in soil bacteria. Fourteen 2,3-dioxygenase-containing Bacillus and Pseudomonas strains did not contain immunologically cross-reactive proteins. Six of eight Arthrobacter strains contained 2,3-dioxygenase activity, and all of them produced cross-reactive proteins. The data presented here suggest that a unique type of dioxygenase is geographically widespread but is taxonomically confined to Arthrobacter soil bacteria.     

Purification and properties of homoprotocatechuate 2,3-dioxygenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus.

The enzyme 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate:oxygen 2,3-oxidoreductase (decyclizing) (homoprotocatechuate 2,3-dioxygenase) was purified from the thermophilic organism Bacillus stearothermophilus, grown with j-hydroxyphenylacetic acid as a source of carbon. The enzyme appeared to be homogeneous as judged by disc-gel electrophoresis and sedimentation equilibrium measurements. The average molecular weight determined by three independent procedures was 106,000; the protein was globular and was dissociated in sodium dodecyl sulfate to give a species of molecular weight 33,000 to 35,000. The enzyme was fairly stable on heating and showed maximal activity at about 57 degrees C. An Arrhenius plot of Km for homoprotocatechuate was concave upward, with a break at 32 degrees C; an increase in delta H above this temperature was compensated by lower values of --delta S. Several properties of this enzyme are contrasted with those reported for homoprotocatechuate 2,3-dioxygenase purified by other workers from Pseudomonas ovalis.     

Immunological demonstration of a unique 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase in soil Arthrobacter strains.

Many bacteria biosynthesize 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenases for growth on aromatic acids, but gram-negative organisms have been most extensively studied. A gram-positive strain containing 2,3-dioxygenase activity was identified as Arthrobacter strain Mn-1. The 2,3-dioxygenase from strain Mn-1 was purified to homogeneity by fast protein liquid chromatography with a Mono Q anion-exchange column. Rabbit polyclonal antidioxygenase antibodies were prepared. Ouchterlony double-diffusion and Western blotting (immunoblotting) protocols were used to probe the distribution of the Mn-1 dioxygenase antigen in soil bacteria. Fourteen 2,3-dioxygenase-containing Bacillus and Pseudomonas strains did not contain immunologically cross-reactive proteins. Six of eight Arthrobacter strains contained 2,3-dioxygenase activity, and all of them produced cross-reactive proteins. The data presented here suggest that a unique type of dioxygenase is geographically widespread but is taxonomically confined to Arthrobacter soil bacteria.     

The nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli rts gene

The nucleotide sequence of rts, an essential Escherichia coli gene, has been determined. Transformation of an rts mutant with the plasmid, pJAF1, containing the rts gene resulted in rescue of the defect. The transformation experiments indicate that the rts gene is distinct from the flanking birA, tRNA and tufB genes.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli gdhA gene

The DNA sequence of the gdhA gene of Escherichia coli K12, which encodes the 447 amino acid polypeptide subunit of NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase, is presented. The deduced protein sequence is strongly homologous to the corresponding enzyme of the eukaryotic fungus Neurospora crassa. The upstream DNA sequence includes several overlapping promoter consensus sequences. The downstream DNA sequence contains inverted repeats, predicted as forming long stable stem-loop structures in RNA, homologous to those found in several enterobacterial intergenic regions.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli recB gene.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli recB gene which encodes a subunit of the ATP-dependent DNase, Exonuclease V, has been determined. The proposed coding region for the RecB protein is 3543 nucleotides long and would encode a polypeptide of 1180 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 133,973. The start of the recB coding sequence overlaps the 3' end of the upstream ptr gene, and the recB termination codon overlaps the initiation codon of the downstream recD gene, suggesting that these genes may form an operon. No sequences which reasonably fit the consensus for an E. coli promoter could be identified upstream of the proposed recB translational start. The predicted RecB amino acid sequence contains regions of homology with ATPases, DNA binding proteins and DNA repair enzymes.     

Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the firA gene and the firA200(Ts) allele from Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli gene firA, previously reported to code for a small, histonelike DNA-binding protein, has been cloned and found to reside immediately downstream from skp, a gene previously identified as the firA locus. firA encodes a 36-kDa protein. The mutant firA200(Ts) allele was also cloned and shown to contain three mutations, each mutation giving rise to a single amino acid change. Partially purified wild-type FirA (from a firA+ strain) and mutant FirA [from a firA200(Ts) strain] proteins have amino-terminal sequences predicted from their common DNA sequences. Both proteins lack an N-terminal methionine. Modest overexpression of wild-type or mutant FirA restored wild-type growth to firA200(Ts) strains at 43 degrees C, whereas high-level expression of wild-type FirA was required for more complete suppression of the rifampin sensitivity of firA200(Ts) rpoB double mutants. High-level expression of mutant FirA did not suppress this rifampin sensitivity.     

Complete nucleotide sequence of the glutamate dehydrogenase gene from Escherichia coli K-12

A 2.3-kb PstI-ClaI chromosomal DNA segment, carrying the complete coding region of the glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) structural gene from Escherichia coli K-12, has been sequenced. The complete amino acid sequence (447 residues) of the GDH monomer has been deduced, and comparisons are made with reported amino acid sequences of GDH from other organisms.     

Chromosomal location and nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli dapA gene.

Restriction fragments hybridizing to phage HP1c1 DNA were identified in digests of DNA from lysogenic strains of Haemophilus influenzae. The results showed that the cohesive ends of the mature phage DNA were joined in lysogens and that the phage genome was covalently linked to the host DNA, indicating that lysogeny involves recombination between specific sites on the phage and host chromosomes. The site on the phage chromosome at which this recombination occurred was between 110 and 750 base pairs of the left end on the mature phage genome.     

The role of histidine 200 in MndD, the Mn(II)-dependent 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase from Arthrobacter globiformis CM-2, a site-directed mutagenesis study

The manganese-dependent 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase (MndD) from Arthrobacter globiformis CM-2 is an extradiol-cleaving catechol dioxygenase that catalyzes aromatic ring cleavage of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate (DHPA). Based on the recent crystal structure of the MndD–DHPA complex, a series of site-directed mutations were made at a conserved second-sphere residue, histidine 200, to gain insight into and clarify the role this residue plays in the Mn(II)-dependent catalytic mechanism. In this study, we report the activities and spectroscopic data of these H200 variants and their DHPA and 4-nitrocatechol (4-NC) complexes. The data collected from wild-type and mutant MndDs are consistent with a role for H200 interacting with a manganese-bound dioxygen moiety and are inconsistent with other previously proposed roles involving proton transfer. Spectroscopic observations, including unique low-field EPR signals found when DHPA and 4-NC are bound to the Mn(II) center of MndD, are discussed and their relationship to dioxygen activation catalyzed in MndD is explored. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase. A manganese(II) dioxygenase from Bacillus brevis

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetate 2,3-dioxygenase, an enzyme which catalyzes the extradiol cleavage of catechols, has been purified from Bacillus brevis. Like other extradiol-cleaving dioxygenases, this enzyme has a molecular weight of 140,000 with four subunits of 36,000 each. Unlike the other enzymes, this dioxygenase is not activated by added ferrous ion, not inhibited by cyanide or diethyldithiocarbamate, and not inactivated by H2O2. X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption analyses show the enzyme to contain approximately 2 g atoms of manganese per mol of protein. EPR spectra are consistent with a manganese(II) center in an environment of low symmetry. This is the first report of an oxygen-activating manganese enzyme.     

Catabolism of 3- and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate by the 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate pathway in Escherichia coli.

Various strains of Escherichia coli (but not strain K-12) were found to grow on 3-hydroxyphenylacetate and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate. Both compounds were catabolized by the same pathway, with 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate as a substrate for fission of the benzene nucleus, and with pyruvate and succinate as products. All the necessay enzymes were demonstrated in cell extracts prepared from induced cells but were essentially absent from uninduced cells. Mutants unable to grow on 3- and 4-hydroxyphenylactetate were defective in particular enzymes of the pathway. The characteristics of certain mutants indicated that either uptake or hydroxylation of 3- and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate may involve a common protein component. E. coli also grew on 3,4-hydroxyphenylacetate, with induction of the enzyme necessary for its degradation but not those for the uptake-hydroxylation of 3- and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate.     

The nucleotide sequence of IS5 from Escherichia coli

A 3-kb fragment of Haemophilus haemolyticus DNA which carries the HhaII restriction (r) and modification (m) genes has been cloned into the PstI site of pBR322 (Mann et al., 1978). When propagated in Escherichia coli, it was observed that spontaneous insertions of IS5 inactivated the restriction gene, producing r- mutants at a frequency of 10(-6). Electron microscopy, restriction-site mapping and sequence analysis of two r- plasmids have demonstrated the presence of IS5 at a single target site in both possible orientations. The complete nucleotide sequence of IS5 has been determined. It is 1195 bp long and has inverted terminal repeats of 16 bp. The target site for IS5 in this plasmid is 5'-CTAG. Approx. ten copies of IS5 were found to be present at about the same locations on the E. coli chromosome in various K-12 strains, using Southern hybridization analysis.     

The complete nucleotide sequence of the adenylate cyclase gene of Escherichia coli

The complete nucleotide sequence of the cya gene from E. coli was determined. The gene encodes a polypeptide consisting of 848 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of 97,542. The deduced protein structure reveals that cyclase is comprised of two domains, an amino-terminal region exhibiting catalytic activity and a carboxy-terminal region possibly carrying regulatory function. The frequent appearance of rare codons in the beginning of the gene as well as the sequence duplication in the promoter-initiator region suggest possible regulation(s) at the translational level. An unknown gene (cyaX) which seems to code for a very hydrophobic protein was found following the cya gene. Sequence analysis suggests that the cyax is a part of the cya operon.