Identification of a novel protein, PriB, in Klebsiella pneumoniae

PriB is a primosomal protein required for the reinitiation of replication in bacteria. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a novel PriB protein in Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPN_04595; KpPriB). Unlike the well-studied Escherichia coli PriB protein (EcPriB), which exists as a homodimer comprising 104-aa polypeptides, KpPriB forms a monomer of only 55 aa, due to the absence of the 49 aa N-terminus in KpPriB. Although this N-terminal region (1–49 aa) in EcPriB contains several important residues, such as K18, R34, and W47, which are crucial for ssDNA binding, we found that KpPriB binds ssDNA, but not ssRNA, with comparable affinity as that for EcPriB. Results from filter-binding assays demonstrate that the KpPriB–ssDNA interaction is cooperative and salt-sensitive. Substituting the residue K33 in KpPriB with alanine, the position corresponding to the classic ssDNA-binding residue K82 of EcPriB located in loop L₄₅, significantly reduced ssDNA-binding activity and cooperativity. These results reveal that the 1–49 aa region of the classical PriB protein is unnecessary for ssDNA binding. On the basis of these findings, the structure–function relationships of KpPriB are discussed.