Phylogenetic analysis and evolution of RNase P RNA in proteobacteria.

The secondary structures of the eubacterial RNase P RNAs are being elucidated by a phylogenetic comparative approach. Sequences of genes encoding RNase P RNA from each of the recognized subgroups (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) of the proteobacteria have now been determined. These sequences allow the refinement, to nearly the base pair level, of the phylogenetic model for RNase P RNA secondary structure. Evolutionary change among the RNase P RNAs was found to occur primarily in four discrete structural domains that are peripheral to a highly conserved core structure. The new sequences were used to examine critically the proposed similarity (C. Guerrier-Takada, N. Lumelsky, and S. Altman, Science 246:1578-1584, 1989) between a portion of RNase P RNA and the "exit site" of the 23S rRNA of Escherichia coli. Phylogenetic comparisons indicate that these sequences are not homologous and that any similarity in the structures is, at best, tenuous.     

Miracidia of Schistosoma japonicum: approach and attachment to the snail host

Schistosoma japonicum miracidia swim directed along a chemical gradient toward the snails Oncomelania hupensis and Biomphalaria glabrata, and they turn back when the concentration of attractive chemicals decreases. The host signal for this chemotactic response has a molecular weight of more than 30,000. When swimming miracidia encounter the surface of O. hupensis or agar containing O. hupensis snail-conditioned water (SCW) they perform the host-specific responses "contact with return," "repeated investigation," and "attachment," but they do not exhibit such behavior when encountering B. glabrata surface or agar containing B. glabrata SCW. Thus S. japonicum miracidia respond to different host signals when they approach snails than when they attach to snails.     

Production of Neisseria gonorrhoeae pili (fimbriae) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa K/2PfS, when transformed with an expression plasmid harboring the pilin gene (pilE1) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae MS11, was able to express and assemble gonococcal pilin monomers into surface-associated pili, as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and immunoelectron microscopy. Concomitant with the expression of gonococcal pili in P. aeruginosa was the virtual loss of production of P. aeruginosa K/2PfS pili normally associated with the host cell.     

arcD, the first gene of the arc operon for anaerobic arginine catabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, encodes an arginine-ornithine exchanger.

In the absence of oxygen and nitrate, Pseudomonas aeruginosa metabolizes arginine via the arginine deiminase pathway, which allows slow growth on rich media. The conversion of arginine to ornithine, CO2, and NH3 is coupled to the production of ATP from ADP. The enzymes of the arginine deiminase pathway are organized in the arcDABC operon. The arcD gene encodes a hydrophobic polytopic membrane protein. Translocation of arginine and ornithine in membrane vesicles derived from an Escherichia coli strain harboring a recombinant plasmid carrying the arcD gene was studied. Arginine and ornithine uptake was coupled to the proton motive force with a bias toward the transmembrane electrical potential. Accumulated ornithine was readily exchangeable for external arginine or lysine. The exchange was several orders of magnitude faster than proton motive force-driven transport. The ArcD protein was reconstituted in proteoliposomes after detergent solubilization of membrane vesicles. These proteoliposomes mediate a stoichiometric exchange between arginine and ornithine. It is concluded that the ArcD protein is a transport system that catalyzes an electroneutral exchange between arginine and ornithine to allow high-efficiency energy conversion in the arginine deiminase pathway.     

Competitive inhibition of lipolytic enzymes. VII. The interaction of pancreatic phospholipase A2 with micellar lipid/water interfaces of competitive inhibitors.

In a recent series of kinetic studies (De Haas et al. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1046, 249-257 and references therein) we have demonstrated that synthetic (R)-phospholipid analogues containing a 2-acylaminogroup instead of the 2-acyloxy function found in natural phospholipids, behave as strong competitive inhibitors of porcine pancreatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2). We also showed that these analogues strongly bind to the active site of the enzyme but only after their incorporation into a micellar substrate/water interface. In the present study we investigated the interaction of native PLA2 and of an inactive PLA2 in which the active site residue His-48 has been modified by alkylation with 1-bromo-2-octanone, with pure micelles of several of these inhibitors in both enantiomeric forms by means of ultraviolet difference absorption spectroscopy. Our results show that the first interaction step between native or modified enzyme and micellar lipid/water interfaces probably consists of a low-affinity Langmuir-type adsorption characterized by signals arising from the perturbation of the single Trp-3 residue. Once present at the interface the native enzyme is able to bind, in a second step, a single inhibitor molecule of the (R)-configuration in its active site, whereas the (S)-enantiomer is not bound in the active site. The overall dissociation constant of the interfacial phospholipase-inhibitor complex is three orders of magnitude lower for micelles composed of the (R)-isomer than those of the (S)-isomer. The modified PLA2 still adsorbs to micellar lipid/water interfaces but cannot bind either of the two enantiomers into its active site and similar dissociation constants were found for lipid-protein complexes with micelles of either the (R) or the (S) inhibitors. After blanking the ultraviolet signals due to the perturbation of Trp-3 in the initial adsorption step of the enzyme to a micellar surface of a non-inhibitory phospholipid analogue, the progressive binding of a single (R)-inhibitor molecule into the active site could be followed quantitatively by a tyrosine perturbation. These titrations yielded numerical values for the dissociation constants in the interface and provide a possible explanation for the large difference in overall dissociation constants of the complexes between enzyme and micelles of (R)-and (S)-inhibitors. With the use of PLA2 mutants in which each time a single tyrosine was replaced by phenylalanine, the tyrosine residues involved in binding of the monomeric inhibitor molecule were identified as Tyr-69 and Tyr-52.     

Purification, characterization and partial amino acid sequences of a xylanase produced by Penicillium chrysogenum.

An extracellular xylanase (1,4-beta-D-xylan xylanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.8, endo 1,4-beta-xylanase) was found to be the major protein in the culture filtrate of Penicillium chrysogenum when grown on 1% xylan. In contrast to other microorganism no xylanase multiplicity was found in P. chrysogenum under the conditions used. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity by high performance anion-exchange and size-exclusion chromatography. It had an M(r) of 35,000 as estimated by SDS-PAGE and was shown to be active as a monomer. No glycosylation of the protein could be detected neither by a sensitive glycostain nor by enzymatic deglycosylation studies. The enzyme hydrolyzed oat spelt and birchwood xylan randomly, yielding xylose and xylobiose as major end products. It had no cellulase, CMCase, beta-xylosidase or arabinogalactanase activity but acted on p-nitrophenylcellobioside. The pH and temperature optima for its activity were pH 6.0 and 40 degrees C, respectively. Eight peptides obtained after endoproteinase LysC digestion of xylanase have been sequenced, six of them showed considerable amino acid similarity to glucanases and high M(r)/acidic xylanases from different bacteria, yeasts and fungi.     

Rat platelet phospholipase A2. Kinetic characterization using the monomolecular film technique.

We have determined some kinetic parameters of rat platelet phospholipase A2, such as surface pressure dependency and substrate specificity, using the monomolecular film technique. We found that rat platelet phospholipase A2 is very specific for phospholipids having a negatively charged headgroup, no activity was detected when using zwitterionic phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine. Furthermore, the interfacial pressure window which permits enzyme activity is very narrow as compared to pancreatic phospholipase A2. Maximal enzyme activity is found at 22 mN/m when using 1,2-dilauroylphosphatidylglycerol as substrate. Studies of the competitive inhibition of mixed films containing 2-acylaminophosphatidylglycol show that platelet phospholipase A2 is less sensitive than pancreatic and intestinal phospholipase A2. These results imply that, despite the high degree of sequence similarity, one must be very cautious in extrapolating inhibition data from one phospholipase A2 to similar enzymes from other origins.     

Cloning of a superoxide dismutase gene from Listeria ivanovii by functional complementation in Escherichia coli and characterization of the gene product.

Summary A gene encoding superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1., SOD) was isolated from a plasmid library of chromosomal DNA from Listeria ivanovii by functional complementation of an SOD-negative Escherichia coli host. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned gene was determined and contained an open reading frame which codes for a protein of 202 amino acid residues (calculated molecular weight 22 755 Da including the amino-terminal methionine residue). Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of L. ivanovii SOD with previously reported SOD amino acid sequences revealed considerable homologies with Fe- and Mn-dependent SODs. Enzymatic analyses using cell lysates and the purified recombinant enzyme indicated that this SOD is manganese-dependent. The recombinant SOD accounted for up to 30% of the total soluble protein in recombinant E. coli and protected sodA sodB mutants against the toxic effects of paraquat. Subunits of the recombinant Listeria SOD and of both E. coli SODS formed enzymatically active hybrids in vivo.Some of our preliminary observations have been published as a conference report of SOD V (Jerusalem, 1989) in Free Rad Res Commun (1991) 12–13:371     

Casein kinase I phosphorylates the 25-kDa mRNA cap-binding protein

The 25-kDa mRNA cap-binding protein (eIF-4E) exists in both phosphorylated and dephosphorylated forms in eukaryotic cells. Phosphorylated eIF-4E appears to be preferentially associated with 48 S initiation complexes and with the 220-kDa subunit of eIF-4F. In addition, dephosphorylation of eIF-4E has been observed during heat shock and mitosis which are accompanied by decreased protein synthesis. However, the control of eIF-4E phosphorylation and its regulatory role remain poorly understood. Using eIF-4E as a substrate we have identified and purified from rabbit reticulocytes a protein kinase that phosphorylates eIF-4E in vitro. This enzyme phosphorylated eIF-4E on both serine and threonine residues with an apparent Km of 3.7 microM. The molecular mass of the enzyme and specificity for substrates other than eIF-4E suggested that this enzyme was a species of casein kinase I. This was confirmed by comparing the phosphopeptide map of the purified reticulocyte enzyme with that of rabbit skeletal muscle casein kinase I and by comparing phosphopeptide maps of eIF-4E phosphorylated in vitro by each enzyme. We conclude that casein kinase I phosphorylates eIF-4E in vitro and suggest that eIF-4E may be phosphorylated by casein kinase I in intact cells under some physiologic conditions.