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M J Bessman

Publications and source records attributed to M J Bessman.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Studies on the mutator gene, mutT of Escherichia coli. Molecular cloning of the gene, purification of the gene product, and identification of a novel nucleoside triphosphatase.

The mutator gene, mutT, has been cloned into an expression vector and overproduced in Escherichia coli. The gene product has been purified to over 90% homogeneity as judged by gel electrophoresis and amino acid analysis. The amino acid composition of the protein and the sequence of the 20 amino acids of the N-terminal region agree well with the nucleotide sequence of the gene reported by Akiyama et al. (Akiyama, M., Horiuchi, T., and Sekiguchi, M. (1987) Mol. Gen. Genet. 206, 9-16) and indicate that the first of the potential initiation codons (position 164) of the open reading frame in the PvuII fragment carrying the mutT gene is the site of initiation of translation of the 15,000-Da polypeptide. A novel nucleoside triphosphatase activity which has a preference for dGTP is associated with the purified protein, and preliminary experiments are consistent with the notion that the mutT gene product is the enzyme responsible for this activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

The purification and properties of deoxyguanosine triphosphate triphosphohydrolase from Escherichia coli.

Deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP) triphosphohydrolase (EC 3.1.5.1) has been purified approximately 16,000-fold to apparent homogeneity from extracts of Escherichia coli. The enzyme has a native molecular weight of 230,000 and a sedimentation coefficient of 9.3 S. Its subunit molecular weight derived from electrophoresis in denaturing polyacrylamide gels is 58,900, and it has a unique N-terminal sequence for the first 25 amino acids, which indicate that the native enzyme is composed of 4 homologous subunits. It is insensitive to sulfhydryl reagents and EDTA and can be heated to 60 degrees C for 60 min without loss of activity. The enzyme requires Mg2+ for activity, is highly specific for dGTP among the canonical deoxynucleoside triphosphates, and has a unique activity among nucleoside triphosphatases in that the products of the reaction are deoxyguanosine and inorganic tripolyphosphate. Preliminary evidence suggest that this enzyme is responsible for the optA mutant phenotype first described by Saito and Richardson (Saito, H., and Richardson, C.C. (1981) J. Virol. 37, 343-351).

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1986

Biochemical studies on the mutagen, 6-N-hydroxylaminopurine. Synthesis of the deoxynucleoside triphosphate and its incorporation into DNA in vitro.

The nucleotide analogue, 6-N-hydroxylaminopurine deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dHAPTP) has been synthesized from 6-chloropurine by a procedure involving both enzymatic and chemical reagents. In a series of experiments involving several different DNA polymerases including 3 procaryotic and 2 eucaryotic enzymes, it was shown that dHAPTP is ambiguous in its base-pairing characteristics, since it can replace both dATP and dGTP in DNA synthesis. It was also shown that different enzymes have different capacities to distinguish dHAPTP from the canonical deoxynucleoside triphosphates. These results are consistent with (but do not prove) the hypothesis that the mechanism of 6-N-hydroxylaminopurine mutagenesis seen in both eucaryotic and procaryotic organisms is due to its conversion, in vivo, to a deoxynucleoside triphosphate which is incorporated ambiguously for dATP and dGTP during DNA replication.

Adenine↗
PubMed1984

The interaction of DNA polymerase III and the product of the Escherichia coli mutator gene, mutD.

A comparison of DNA polymerase III core enzyme (McHenry, C. S., and Crow, W. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 1748-1753) prepared from wild type Escherichia coli and a strain harboring the mutator gene, mutD5 (Degnen, G. E., and Cox, E. C. (1974) J. Bacteriol. 17, 477-487) has revealed several differences in their properties. Among these are alterations in the heat stability, divalent cation requirement, pH optimum, 3'----5'-single strand exonuclease activity, and DNA-dependent conversion of a deoxynucleoside triphosphate to its corresponding monophosphate ("turnover"). The decrease in the 3'-single strand exonuclease and turnover indicate a defect in the editing function of the mutD strain, which is at least in part responsible for the high spontaneous mutation rate in mutD. Transformation of mutD by a hybrid plasmid, pRD3, constructed from an EcoRI restriction fragment of E. coli and pBR322, cures mutD of its abnormally high mutation rate, and simultaneously restores its 3'-exonuclease activity. These observations are consistent with the notion that the mutD gene product is a subunit of DNA polymerase III, and it either contains the catalytic site for the 3'-exonuclease or modulates its activity. From a consideration of the known molecular weights of the subunits in DNA polymerase III core (McHenry C. S., and Crow, W. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 1748-1753) the molecular weights of the two proteins translated in maxicells transformed with pRD3, and from a comparison of our results with those obtained with the mutator dnaQ (Horiuchi, T., Maki, H., Maruyama, M., and Sekiguchi, M. (1981) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 78, 3770-3774) and the work of Cox and Horner (Cox, E. C., and Horner, D. L. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 80, 2295-2299) as well as Echols et al. (Echols, H., Lu, C., and Burgers, P. M. J. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 80, 2189-2192) we tentatively assign the mutD gene product to the epsilon subunit of DNA polymerase III.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1983

Influence of local nucleotide sequence on substitution of 2-aminopurine for adenine during deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in vitro.

Three highly purified DNA polymerases, Escherichia coli polymerase I (enzyme A) and the polymerases induced by wild-type T4 phage and by T4 phage mutant L141 (antimutator phenotype), have been examined with respect to their tendency to incorporate the deoxyribonucleotide of 2-aminopurine [(AP)] for deoxyadenylate at specific sites in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Using phi X174 phage DNA as a template and selected phi X174 restriction fragments as specific primers, we synthesized short sequences of phi X174 DNA in vitro by the polymerase of interest, with the 5'-triphosphate of 2-aminopurine deoxyriboside and dATP at equimolar concentration. The relative incorporation of (AP) at the various adenine sites was determined by providing the newly synthesized DNA fragment with a specific terminal radioactive label, subjecting the DNA fragment to thermal depurination as a DNA cleavage reaction highly selective for (AP), and analyzing the resulting radioactive fragments by denaturing gel electrophoresis, autoradiography, and microdensitometry. The L141 polymerase shows very pronounced site-dependent variations in (AP) incorporation. For the wild-type T4 polymerase, the pattern of (AP) incorporation follows the biases seen for the L141 enzyme, although in a less pronounced form. Sequence preferences for (AP) incorporation are least marked for E. coli polymerase I (enzyme A); in several instances, they run counter to the sequence biases observed with the T4 enzymes. For the enzyme showing the most pronounced sequence effects, L141 polymerase, the extent of (AP) incorporation was determined at 57 different sites. No simple principle governing the sequence dependence of (AP) incorporation could be deduced from these results.

2-Aminopurine↗
PubMed1981

Nonrandom substitution of 2-aminopurine for adenine during deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis in vitro.

The incorporation of the deoxyribonucleotide of 2-aminopurine [(AP)] for deoxyadenylate into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in vitro has been examined by using five highly purified DNA polymerases: calf thymus polymerase alpha, Escherichia coli polymerase I, and the polymerases induced by T4 phage mutant L56 (mutator phenotype), wild-type T4 phage, and T4 phage mutant L141 (antimutator phenotype). On a template of gapped salmon sperm DNA, the overall incorporation of (AP) relative to the incorporation of adenine decreases in this series of enzymes, in line with the increasing 3'-exonucleolytic activity associated with these polymerases. The nearest-neighbor distributions for (AP) and for adenine in the newly synthesized DNA were determined to test for potential sequence selectivity in the incorporation of (AP). In polymerizations in which d(AP)TP fully replaced dATP, the L141 polymerase, and to a lesser degree the wild type T4 polymerase, synthesized a DNA in which the distribution for (AP) was distinctly skewed compared to the nearest-neighbor distribution observed for adenine; incorporation of (AP) was relatively favored after guanine and disfavored after adenine and thymine. These sequence effects were less pronounced in syntheses in which both dATP and d(AP)TP were present. When dGTP was replaced by dITP, or dTTP by dUTP, adenine was still incorporated to the normal extent after the analogue, but the incorporation of (AP) was reduced after these analogues, which form weaker base pairs. The results indicate that incorporation of (AP) is disfavored with all polymerases tested and that a greater bias exists with those polymerases containing an active 3'-exonuclease. This bias against (AP) incorporation is alleviated after strong base pairs, and particularly following guanine, possibly due to stabilizing vertical stacking interactions.

2-Aminopurine↗
PubMed1976

An antimutator deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase. I. Purification and properties of the enzyme.

The DNA polymerase induced by an antimutator T4 phage has been purified to apparent homogeneity and has been compared to the wild type polymerase. The mutant enzyme resembles the wild type in thermal stability, pH optimum, salt activation, divalent metal ion requirement, inhibition by a sulfhydryl reagent, and apparent affinity for DNA. However, the mutant enzyme differs from the wild type in its 8-fold higher 3'-exonuclease activity and in its decreased apparent affinity for deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. Inhibition studies indicate that the exonuclease of the mutant enzyme is more vulnerable to physical and chemical modification than its wild type counterpart.

Coliphages↗
PubMed1976

An antimutator deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase. II. In vitro and in vivo studies of its temperature sensitivity.

Upon infection of Escherichia coli with the temperature-sensitive bacteriophage T4 mutant, L141, at 43 degrees, DNA polymerase activity is induced, yet there is a marked decrease in DNA synthesis. Temperature shift experiments of infected cultures show dramatic changes in the rate of DNA synthesis, while the polymerase activity in extracts remains constant. Unlike most temperature-sensitive systems in which the lesion can be traced to an unstable enzyme, L141 provides a unique example in which the catalytic properties of the enzyme and the change in the nature of the template caused by the increased temperature combine to reduce the rate of DNA synthesis.

Coliphages↗
PubMed1974

Adriamycin and daunorubicin inhibition of mutant T4 DNA polymerases.

The anticancer drugs, adriamycin and daunorubicin, as well as two other DNA reagents, ethidium bromide and 9-aminoacridine, all exert a differential inhibitory effect on nucleotide incorporation for purified DNA polymerases induced by mutant and wild-type bacteriophage T4. When compared with DNA polymerase of wild-type phage, antimutator enzymes are inhibited to a far greater extent and mutator enzymes to a lesser extent. In contrast, the polymerase-associated 3'-exonuclease activities of wild type and mutants are also inhibited by the compounds but nondifferentially.

Acridines↗