Biomedical subjects

G Djordjevic

Publications and source records attributed to G Djordjevic.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Analysis of the genetic switch and replication region of a P335-type bacteriophage with an obligate lytic lifestyle on Lactococcus lactis.

The DNA sequence of the replication module, part of the lysis module, and remnants of a lysogenic module from the lytic P335 species lactococcal bacteriophage phi31 was determined, and its regulatory elements were investigated. The identification of a characteristic genetic switch including two divergent promoters and two cognate repressor genes strongly indicates that phi31 was derived from a temperate bacteriophage. Regulation of the two early promoters was analyzed by primer extension and transcriptional promoter fusions to a lacLM reporter. The regulatory behavior of the promoter region differed significantly from the genetic responses of temperate Lactococcus lactis phages. The cro gene homologue regulates its own production and is an efficient repressor of cI gene expression. No detectable cI gene expression could be measured in the presence of cro. cI gene expression in the absence of cro exerted minor influences on the regulation of the two promoters within the genetic switch. Homology comparisons revealed a replication module which is most likely expressed from the promoter located upstream of the cro gene homologue. The replication module encoded genes with strong homology to helicases and primases found in several Streptococcus thermophilus phages. Downstream of the primase homologue, an AT-rich noncoding origin region was identified. The characteristics and location of this region and its ability to reduce the efficiency of plaquing of phi31 10(6)-fold when present at high copy number in trans provide evidence for identification of the phage origin of replication. Phage phi31 is an obligately lytic phage that was isolated from commercial dairy fermentation environments. Neither a phage attachment site nor an integrase gene, required to establish lysogeny, was identified, explaining its lytic lifestyle and suggesting its origin from a temperate phage ancestor. Several regions showing extensive DNA and protein homologies to different temperate phages of Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, and Streptococcus were also discovered, indicating the likely exchange of DNA cassettes through horizontal gene transfer in the dynamic ecological environment of dairy fermentations.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1997

Cloning and molecular analysis of promoter-like sequences isolated from the chromosomal DNA of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356.

Promoter-like sequences from the chromosomal DNA of thermophilic strain Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 were cloned. Analysis of the three DNA fragments showing promoter activity, designated P3, P6, and P15, were performed in Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactococcus lactis, and E. coli. The reporter cat-86 gene was expressed in all three bacterial species under control of the fragments P3 and P6. Fragment P15 showed promoter activity only in Lactobacillus reuteri and E. coli but not in Lactococcus lactis. The three host-specific transcriptional start points (TSPs) were used when transcription of the cat-86 gene was controlled by fragment P3 in Lactobacillus reuteri, E. coli, and Lactococcus lactis. Similarly, fragment P15 initiated transcription of the cat-86 gene at two distinctive sites in Lactobacillus reuteri and E. coli. Only within fragment P6, a common TSP was used in Lactobacillus reuteri and E. coli, but different from that used in Lactococcus lactis. Each TSP was preceded by the putative -35 and -10 hexamers. Computer analysis of the fragment P3 sequence revealed the existence of divergent promoter-like sequence (P3rev) located on the complementary DNA strand. Fragments P6 and P15 were also functional in Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 from which chromosomal DNA they were originally cloned.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1994

Mutational analysis of cat-86 gene expression controlled by lactococcal promoters in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Escherichia coli.

Promoters were cloned from the chromosomal DNA of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis NP4510 by using promoter-probe vector pGKV210. N-Methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced mutagenesis of L. lactis-(pBV413), with low-level expression of the cat-86 gene, resulted in enhanced expression. Subcloning and sequencing of the mutated plasmid designated pBV415 revealed that the mutation is located within the PstI-HindIII fragment containing the coding sequence of the cat-86 gene (the 10th CTG codon was replaced by a TTG; both code for leucine). A set of otherwise identical plasmids with four combinations of CTG and TTG codons at the 10th and 46th positions in the cat-86 gene were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis. These plasmids containing cat-86 derivatives displayed a significant variation in cat expression in L. lactis and E. coli. The data suggest that cat expression is dependent on the secondary structure of the cat mRNA. New cat-86 derivatives described here can be used in lactococci, in which they provide additional flexibility for promoter cloning.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1994

Cloning of promoter-like sequences from Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei CG11 and their expression in Escherichia coli, Lactococcus lactis, and Lactobacillus reuteri.

Fragments of chromosomal DNA from Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei CG11 (formerly Lactobacillus casei CG11) capable of functioning as promoters were isolated using the broad host range, promoter-probe vector pGKV210. Five such fragments designated P61, P79, P80, P116, and P144 were completely sequenced and analyzed. Fragment P61 had the highest transcriptional efficiency in Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus reuteri whereas P80 was the most active in Lactococcus lactis. In general, the orders of the transcriptional strengths were almost identical in E. coli and Lactobacillus reuteri but different from that in Lactococcus lactis. Mapping of the 5' end of cat mRNA showed that different regions of fragments P79 and P144 were used as promoters in Lactococcus lactis than in E. coli and Lactobacillus reuteri. Analysis of these DNA sequences revealed that the putative -35 and -10 hexanucleotides resembled those of E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, and lactococci. The spacing between these two hexanucleotides and between the putative -10 hexanucleotide and the transcriptional start point (A residues predominated) ranged from 17 to 18 base pairs and from 5 to 7 base pairs, respectively. Each of the cloned Lactobacillus paracasei CG11 promoter-like fragments contained an AT-rich sequence upstream of the putative -35 region (from 60 to 73%).

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Improved vector for promoter screening in lactococci.

Fragments of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis NP45 chromosomal DNA provided promoter activity in Escherichia coli when cloned into the promoter probe vector pGKV210. Only 13% of these recombinant plasmids promoted detectable cat-86 activity when transferred to L. lactis, i.e., expressed chloramphenicol resistance. In these promoter-containing versions of pGKV210, the cat-86 gene specifies chloramphenicol-inducible chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression. This could be a limiting factor for cloning of promoters with lower activity in L. lactis. Therefore, we have constructed a new promoter probe vector, pBV5030, with the mutated version of the cat-86 gene, which is constitutively expressed when transcriptionally activated by the insertion of a promoter. We found that in L. lactis IL1403 the constitutively expressed cat-86 gene (on a pBV5030 derivative) has four times higher activity than the inducible version of the same gene (on a pGKV210 derivative) when both have the same promoter inserted upstream of the cat-86 gene. These results suggest that plasmid pBV5030 could be a more efficient vector for the cloning of promoters from lactococci.

Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase↗