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Isolation and characterization of catabolite repression control mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO.

Independently controlled, inducible, catabolic genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are subject to strong catabolite repression control by intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Mutants which exhibited a pleiotropic loss of catabolite repression control of multiple pathways were isolated. The mutations mapped in the 11-min region of the P. aeruginosa chromosome near argB and pyrE and were designated crc. Crc- mutants no longer showed repression of mannitol and glucose transport, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glucokinase, Entner-Doudoroff dehydratase and aldolase, and amidase when grown in the presence of succinate plus an inducer. These activities were not expressed constitutively in Crc- mutants but exhibited wild-type inducible expression.

Amides↗

An oxygen-dependent coproporphyrinogen oxidase encoded by the hemF gene of Salmonella typhimurium.

The 8th step in the 10-step heme biosynthetic pathway of Salmonella typhimurium is the oxidation of coproporphyrinogen III to protoporphyrinogen IX. On the basis of genetic studies, we have suggested that this reaction may be catalyzed by either of two different enzymes, an oxygen-dependent one encoded by hemF or an oxygen-independent enzyme encoded by hemN. Here, we report the cloning of the S. typhimurium hemF gene and its DNA sequence. The predicted amino acid sequence of the HemF protein is 44% identical to that of the coproporphyrinogen oxidase encoded by the yeast HEM13 gene. The wild-type S. typhimurium strain LT-2 produces an oxygen-dependent coproporphyrinogen oxidase activity detectable in crude extracts, which is not found in hemF mutants and is overproduced in strains carrying the hemF gene on a multicopy plasmid. the hemF gene is the second gene in an operon with an upstream gene with an unknown function, whose amino acid sequence suggests a relation to amidases involved in cell wall synthesis or remodeling. The upstream gene and hemF are cotranscribed from a promoter which was mapped by primer extension. A weaker, hemF-specific promoter is inferred from the behavior of an omega-Cm insertion mutation in the upstream gene. Although this insertion decreases expression of beta-galactosidase about 7.5-fold when placed upstream of a hemF-lacZ operon fusion, it still allows sufficient HemF expression from an otherwise wild-type construct to confer a Hem+ phenotype. The hemF operon is transcribed clockwise with respect to the genetic map.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification and structure of the nasR gene encoding a nitrate- and nitrite-responsive positive regulator of nasFEDCBA (nitrate assimilation) operon expression in Klebsiella pneumoniae M5al.

Klebsiella pneumoniae can use nitrate and nitrite as sole nitrogen sources through the nitrate assimilatory pathway. The structural genes for assimilatory nitrate and nitrite reductases together with genes necessary for nitrate transport form an operon, nasFEDCBA. Expression of the nasF operon is regulated both by general nitrogen control and also by nitrate or nitrite induction. We have identified a gene, nasR, that is necessary for nitrate and nitrite induction. The nasR gene, located immediately upstream of the nasFEDCBA operon, encodes a 44-kDa protein. The NasR protein shares carboxyl-terminal sequence similarity with the AmiR protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the positive regulator of amiE (aliphatic amidase) gene expression. In addition, we present evidence that the nasF operon is not autogenously regulated.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Purification and properties of a membrane-bound lytic transglycosylase from Escherichia coli.

A membrane-bound lytic transglycosylase (Mlt) has been solubilized in the presence of 2% Triton X-100 containing 0.5 M NaCl from membranes of an Escherichia coli mutant that carries a deletion in the slt gene coding for a 70-kDa soluble lytic transglycosylase (Slt70). The enzyme was purified by a four-step procedure including anion-exchange (HiLoad SP-Sepharose and MonoS), heparin-Sepharose, and poly(U)-Sepharose 4B column chromatography. The purified protein that migrated during denaturing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as a single band corresponding to an apparent molecular mass of about 38 kDa is referred to as Mlt38. Optimal activity was found in buffers with a pH between 4.0 and 4.5. The enzyme is stimulated by a factor of 2.5 in the presence of Mg2+ at a concentration of 10 mM and loses its activity rapidly at temperatures above 30 degrees C. Besides insoluble murein sacculi, the enzyme was able to degrade glycan strands isolated from murein by amidase treatment. The enzymatic reaction occurred with a maximal velocity of about 2.2 mg/liter/min with murein sacculi as a substrate. The amino acid sequences of four proteolytic peptides showed no identity with known sequences in the data bank. With Mlt38, the number of proteins in E. coli showing lytic transglycosylase activity rises to three.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Isolation of the hemF operon containing the gene for the Escherichia coli aerobic coproporphyrinogen III oxidase by in vivo complementation of a yeast HEM13 mutant.

Coproporphyrinogen III oxidase, an enzyme involved in heme biosynthesis, catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of coproporphyrinogen III to form protoporphyrinogen IX. Genetic and biochemical studies suggested the presence of two different coproporphyrinogen III oxidases, one for aerobic and one for anaerobic conditions. Here we report the cloning of the hemF gene, encoding the aerobic coproporphyrinogen III oxidase from Escherichia coli, by functional complementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae HEM13 mutant. An open reading frame of 897 bp encoding a protein of 299 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 34.3 kDa was identified. Sequence comparisons revealed 43% amino acid sequence identity with the product of the S. cerevisiae HEM13 gene and 90% identity with the product of the recently cloned Salmonella typhimurium hemF gene, while a structural relationship to the proposed anaerobic enzyme from Rhodobacter sphaeroides was not obvious. The hemF gene is in an operon with an upstream open reading frame (orf1) encoding a 31.7-kDa protein with homology to an amidase involved in cell wall metabolism. The hemF gene was mapped to 52.6 min of the E. coli chromosome. Primer extension experiments revealed a strong transcription initiation site upstream of orf1. A weak signal, possibly indicative of a second promoter, was also identified just upstream of the hemF gene. A region containing bent DNA (Bent 111), previously mapped to 52.6 min of the E. coli chromosome, was discovered in the 5' region of orf1. Two potential integration host factor binding sites were found, one close to each transcription start site. An open reading frame (orf3) transcribed in a direction opposite that of the hemF gene was found downstream of the hemF gene. It encodes a protein of 40.2 kDa that showed significant homology to proteins of the XylS/AraC family of transcriptional regulators.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A gene (sleB) encoding a spore cortex-lytic enzyme from Bacillus subtilis and response of the enzyme to L-alanine-mediated germination.

The Bacillus subtilis sleB gene, which codes for the enzyme homologous to the germination-specific amidase from Bacillus cereus, was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. Sequence analysis showed that it had an open reading frame of 918 bp, coding for a polypeptide of 305 amino acids with a putative signal sequence of 29 residues. Enzyme activity was not found in germination exudate of B. subtilis spores, which differs from the case of B. cereus enzyme. A B. subtilis mutant with an insertionally inactivated sleB gene revealed normal behavior in growth and sporulation. However, the sleB mutant was unable to complete germination mediated by L-alanine.

Alanine↗

Molecular characterization of a germination-specific muramidase from Clostridium perfringens S40 spores and nucleotide sequence of the corresponding gene.

The exudate of fully germinated spores of Clostridium perfringens S40 in 0.15 M KCI-50 mM potassium phosphate (pH 7.0) was found to contain another spore-lytic enzyme in addition to the germination-specific amidase previously characterized (S. Miyata, R. Moriyama, N. Miyahara, and S. Makino, Microbiology 141:2643-2650, 1995). The lytic enzyme was purified to homogeneity by anion-exchange chromatography and shown to be a muramidase which requires divalent cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, or Mn2+) for its activity. The enzyme was inactivated by sulfhydryl reagents, and sodium thioglycolate reversed the inactivation by Hg2+. The muramidase hydrolyzed isolated spore cortical fragments from a variety of wild-type organisms but had minimal activity on decoated spores and isolated cell walls. However, the enzyme was not capable of digesting isolated cortical fragments from spores of Bacillus subtilis ADD1, which lacks muramic acid delta-lactam in its cortical peptidoglycan. This indicates that the enzyme recognizes the delta-lactam residue peculiar to spore peptidoglycan, suggesting an involvement of the enzyme in spore germination. Immunochemical studies indicated that the muramidase in its mature form is localized on the exterior of the cortex layer in the dormant spore. A gene encoding the muramidase, sleM, was cloned into Escherichia coli, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The gene encoded a protein of 321 amino acids with a deduced molecular weight of 36,358. The deduced amino acid sequence of the sleM gene indicated that the enzyme is produced in a mature form. It was suggested that the muramidase belongs to a separate group within the lysozyme family typified by the fungus Chalaropsis lysozyme. A possible mechanism for cortex degradation in C. perfringens S40 spores is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cloning, expression, and purification of UDP-3-O-acyl-GlcNAc deacetylase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a metalloamidase of the lipid A biosynthesis pathway.

The lpxC (envA) gene of Escherichia coli encodes UDP-3-O-acyl-GlcNAc deacetylase, the second and committed step of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. Although present in all gram-negative bacteria examined, the deacetylase from E. coli is the only example of this enzyme that has been expressed and purified. In order to examine other variants of this protein, we cloned the Pseudomonas aeruginosa deacetylase structural gene from a lambda library as a 5.1-kb EcoRI fragment. The LpxC reading frame encodes an inferred protein of 33,435 Da that is highly homologous to the E. coli protein and that possesses a nearly identical hydropathy profile. In order to verify function, we subcloned the P. aeruginosa lpxC gene into the T7-based expression vector pET11a. Upon induction at 30 degrees C, this construct yielded active protein to approximately 18% of the soluble fraction. We devised a novel, rapid, and reproducible assay for the deacetylase which facilitated purification of the enzyme in three steps. The purified recombinant protein was found to be highly sensitive to EDTA yet was reactivated by the addition of excess heavy metal, as was the case for crude extracts of P. aeruginosa. In contrast, deacetylase activity in crude extracts of E. coli was insensitive to EDTA, and the extracts of the envA1 mutant were sensitive in a time-dependent manner. The lpxC gene has no significant homology with amidase signature sequences. Therefore, we assign this protein to the metalloamidase family as a member with a novel structure.

Amidohydrolases↗

Three Bacillus cereus bacteriophage endolysins are unrelated but reveal high homology to cell wall hydrolases from different bacilli.

The ply genes encoding the endolysin proteins from Bacillus cereus phages Bastille, TP21, and 12826 were identified, cloned, and sequenced. The endolysins could be overproduced in Escherichia coli (up to 20% of total cellular protein), and the recombinant proteins were purified by a two-step chromatographical procedure. All three enzymes induced rapid and specific lysis of viable cells of several Bacillus species, with highest activity on B. cereus and B. thuringiensis. Ply12 and Ply21 were experimentally shown to be N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidases (EC 3.5.1.28). No apparent holin genes were found adjacent to the ply genes. However, Ply21 may be endowed with a signal peptide which could play a role in timing of cell lysis by the cytoplasmic phage endolysin. The individual lytic enzymes (PlyBa, 41.1 kDa; Ply21, 29.5 kDa, Ply12, 27.7 kDa) show remarkable heterogeneity, i.e., their amino acid sequences reveal only little homology. The N-terminal part of Ply21 was found to be almost identical to the catalytic domains of a Bacillus sp. cell wall hydrolase (CwlSP) and an autolysin of B. subtilis (CwlA). The C terminus of PlyBa contains a 77-amino-acid sequence repeat which is also homologous to the binding domain of CwlSP. Ply12 shows homology to the major autolysins from B. subtilis and E. coli. Comparison with database sequences indicated a modular organization of the phage lysis proteins where the enzymatic activity is located in the N-terminal region and the C-termini are responsible for specific recognition and binding of Bacillus peptidoglycan. We speculate that the close relationship of the phage enzymes and cell wall autolysins is based upon horizontal gene transfer among different Bacillus phages and their hosts.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cloning of genes coding for the three subunits of thiocyanate hydrolase of Thiobacillus thioparus THI 115 and their evolutionary relationships to nitrile hydratase.

Thiocyanate hydrolase is a newly found enzyme from Thiobacillus thioparus THI 115 that converts thiocyanate to carbonyl sulfide and ammonia (Y. Katayama, Y. Narahara, Y. Inoue, F. Amano, T. Kanagawa, and H. Kuraishi, J. Biol. Chem. 267:9170-9175, 1992). We have cloned and sequenced the scn genes that encode the three subunits of the enzyme. The scnB, scnA, and scnC genes, arrayed in this order, contained open reading frames encoding sequences of 157, 126, and 243 amino acid residues, respectively, for the beta, alpha, and gamma subunits, respectively. Each open reading frame was preceded by a typical Shine-Dalgarno sequence. The deduced amino-terminal peptide sequences for the three subunits were in fair agreement with the chemically determined sequences. The protein molecular mass calculated for each subunit was compatible with that determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. From a computer analysis, thiocyanate hydrolase showed significant homologies to bacterial nitrile hydratases known to convert nitrile to the corresponding amide, which is further hydrolyzed by amidase to form acid and ammonia. The two enzymes were homologous over regions corresponding to almost the entire coding regions of the genes: the beta and alpha subunits of thiocyanate hydrolase were homologous to the amino- and carboxyl-terminal halves of the beta subunit of nitrile hydratase, and the gamma subunit of thiocyanate hydrolase was homologous to the alpha subunit of nitrile hydratase. Comparisons of the catalytic properties of the two homologous enzymes support the model for the reaction steps of thiocyanate hydrolase that was previously presented on the basis of biochemical analyses.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Purification, gene cloning, targeted knockout, overexpression, and biochemical characterization of the major pyrazinamidase from Mycobacterium smegmatis.

The pyrazinamidase from Mycobacterium smegmatis was purified to homogeneity to yield a product of approximately 50 kDa. The deduced amino-terminal amino acid sequence of this polypeptide was used to design an oligonucleotide probe for screening a DNA library of M. smegmatis. An open reading frame, designated pzaA, which encodes a polypeptide of 49.3 kDa containing motifs conserved in several amidases was identified. Targeted knockout of the pzaA gene by homologous recombination yielded a mutant, pzaA::aph, with a more-than-threefold-reduced level of pyrazinamidase activity, suggesting that this gene encodes the major pyrazinamidase of M. smegmatis. Recombinant forms of the M. smegmatis PzaA and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis pyrazinamidase/nicotinamidase (PncA) were produced in Escherichia coli and were partially purified and compared in terms of their kinetics of nicotinamidase and pyrazinamidase activity. The comparable Km values obtained from this study suggested that the unique specificity of pyrazinamide (PZA) for M. tuberculosis was not based on an unusually high PZA-specific activity of the PncA protein. Overexpression of pzaA conferred PZA susceptibility on M. smegmatis by reducing the MIC of this drug to 150 micrograms/ml.

Amidohydrolases↗

Generation and properties of a Streptococcus pneumoniae mutant which does not require choline or analogs for growth.

A mutant (JY2190) of Streptococcus pneumoniae Rx1 which had acquired the ability to grow in the absence of choline and analogs was isolated. Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and wall teichoic acid (TA) isolated from the mutant were free of phosphocholine and other phosphorylated amino alcohols. Both polymers showed an unaltered chain structure and, in the case of LTA, an unchanged glycolipid anchor. The cell wall composition was also not altered except that, due to the lack of phosphocholine, the phosphate content of cell walls was half that of the parent strain. Isolated cell walls of the mutant were resistant to hydrolysis by pneumococcal autolysin (N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase) but were cleaved by the muramidases CPL and cellosyl. The lack of active autolysin in the mutant cells became apparent by impaired cell separation at the end of cell division and by resistance against stationary-phase and penicillin-induced lysis. As a result of the absence of choline in the LTA, pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) was no longer retained on the cytoplasmic membrane. During growth in the presence of choline, which was incorporated as phosphocholine into LTA and TA, the mutant cells separated normally, did not release PspA, and became penicillin sensitive. However, even under these conditions, they did not lyse in the stationary phase, and they showed poor reactivity with antibody to phosphocholine and an increased release of C-polysaccharide from the cell. In contrast to ethanolamine-grown parent cells (A. Tomasz, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 59:86-93, 1968), the choline-free mutant cells retained the capability to undergo genetic transformation but, compared to Rx1, with lower frequency and at an earlier stage of growth. The properties of the mutant could be transferred to the parent strain by DNA of the mutant.

Carbohydrate Sequence↗

Evidence that the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor sigmaE is required for normal cell wall structure in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

The sigE gene of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) encodes an RNA polymerase sigma factor belonging to the extracytoplasmic function (ECF) subfamily. Constructed sigE deletion and disruption mutants were more sensitive than the parent to muramidases such as hen egg white lysozyme and to the CwlA amidase from Bacillus subtilis. This correlated with an altered muropeptide profile, as determined by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of lytic digests of purified peptidoglycan. The sigE mutants required high levels of magnesium for normal growth and sporulation, overproducing the antibiotic actinorhodin and forming crenellated colonies in its absence. Together, these data suggest that sigE is required for normal cell wall structure. The role of sigmaE was further investigated by analyzing the expression of hrdD, which is partially sigE dependent. The hrdD gene, which encodes the sigmaHrdD subunit of RNA polymerase, is transcribed from two promoters, hrdDp1 and hrdDp2, both similar to promoters recognized by other ECF sigma factors. The activities of hrdDp1 and hrdDp2 were reduced 20- and 3-fold, respectively, in sigE mutants, although only hrdDp1 was recognized by EsigmaE in vitro. Growth on media deficient in magnesium caused the induction of both hrdD promoters in a sigE-dependent manner.

Amidohydrolases↗

Evidence for a holin-like protein gene fully embedded out of frame in the endolysin gene of Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophage 187.

We have cloned, sequenced, and characterized the genes encoding the lytic system of the unique Staphylococcus aureus phage 187. The endolysin gene ply187 encodes a large cell wall-lytic enzyme (71.6 kDa). The catalytic site, responsible for the hydrolysis of staphylococcal peptidoglycan, was mapped to the N-terminal domain of the protein by the expression of defined ply187 domains. This enzymatically active N terminus showed convincing amino acid sequence homology to an N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase, whereas the C-terminal part, whose function is unknown, revealed striking relatedness to major staphylococcal autolysins. An additional reading frame was identified entirely embedded out of frame (+1) within the 5' region of ply187 and was shown to encode a small, hydrophobic protein of holin-like function. The hol187 gene features a dual-start motif, possibly enabling the synthesis of two products of different lengths (57 and 55 amino acids, respectively). Overproduction of Hol187 in Escherichia coli resulted in growth retardation, leakiness of the cytoplasmic membrane, and loss of de novo ATP synthesis. Compared to other holins identified to date, Hol187 completely lacks the highly charged C terminus. The secondary structure of the polypeptide is predicted to consist of two small, antiparallel, hydrophobic, transmembrane helices. These are supposed to be essential for integration into the membrane, since site-specific introduction of negatively charged amino acids into the first transmembrane domain (V7D G8D) completely abolished the function of the Hol187 polypeptide. With antibodies raised against a synthetic 18-mer peptide representing a central part of the protein, it was possible to detect Hol187 in the cytoplasmic membrane of phage-infected S. aureus cells. An important indication that the protein actually functions as a holin in vivo was that the gene (but not the V7D G8D mutation) was able to complement a phage lambda Sam mutation in a nonsuppressing E. coli HB101 background. Plaque formation by lambdagt11::hol187 indicated that both phage genes have analogous functions. The data presented here indicate that a putative holin is encoded on a different reading frame within the enzymatically active domain of ply187 and that the holin is synthesized during the late stage of phage infection and found in the cytoplasmic membrane, where it causes membrane lesions which are thought to enable access of Ply187 to the peptidoglycan of phage-infected Staphylococcus cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Expression of Mycobacterium smegmatis pyrazinamidase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis confers hypersensitivity to pyrazinamide and related amides.

A pyrazinamidase (PZase)-deficient pncA mutant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, constructed by allelic exchange, was used to investigate the effects of heterologous amidase gene expression on the susceptibility of this organism to pyrazinamide (PZA) and related amides. The mutant was highly resistant to PZA (MIC, >2,000 microg/ml), in accordance with the well-established role of pncA in the PZA susceptibility of M. tuberculosis (A. Scorpio and Y. Zhang, Nat. Med. 2:662-667, 1996). Integration of the pzaA gene encoding the major PZase/nicotinamidase from Mycobacterium smegmatis (H. I. M. Boshoff and V. Mizrahi, J. Bacteriol. 180:5809-5814, 1998) or the M. tuberculosis pncA gene into the pncA mutant complemented its PZase/nicotinamidase defect. In both pzaA- and pncA-complemented mutant strains, the PZase activity was detected exclusively in the cytoplasm, suggesting an intracellular localization for PzaA and PncA. The pzaA-complemented strain was hypersensitive to PZA (MIC, </=10 microg/ml) and nicotinamide (MIC, >/=20 microg/ml) and was also sensitive to benzamide (MIC, 20 microg/ml), unlike the wild-type and pncA-complemented mutant strains, which were highly resistant to this amide (MIC, >500 microg/ml). This finding was consistent with the observation that benzamide is hydrolyzed by PzaA but not by PncA. Overexpression of PzaA also conferred sensitivity to PZA, nicotinamide, and benzamide on M. smegmatis (MIC, 150 microg/ml in all cases) and rendered Escherichia coli hypersensitive for growth at low pH.

Amidohydrolases↗

Crc is involved in catabolite repression control of the bkd operons of Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Crc (catabolite repression control) protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has shown to be involved in carbon regulation of several pathways. In this study, the role of Crc in catabolite repression control has been studied in Pseudomonas putida. The bkd operons of P. putida and P. aeruginosa encode the inducible multienzyme complex branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase, which is regulated in both species by catabolite repression. We report here that this effect is mediated in both species by Crc. A 13-kb cloned DNA fragment containing the P. putida crc gene region was sequenced. Crc regulates the expression of branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and amidase in both species but not urocanase, although the carbon sources responsible for catabolite repression in the two species differ. Transposon mutants affected in their expression of BkdR, the transcriptional activator of the bkd operon, were isolated and identified as crc and vacB (rnr) mutants. These mutants suggested that catabolite repression in pseudomonads might, in part, involve control of BkdR levels.

3-Methyl-2-Oxobutanoate Dehydrogenase (Lipoamide)↗

Covalent linkage of polyamines to peptidoglycan in Anaerovibrio lipolytica.

Spermidine and cadaverine were found to be constituents of the cell wall peptidoglycan of Anaerovibrio lipolytica, a strictly anaerobic bacterium. The peptidoglycan was degraded with the N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanine amidase and endopeptidase into two peptide fragments, peptide I and peptide II, at a molar ratio of 4:1. Peptides I and II were identified as L-alanine-D-glutamic acid(alphacadaverine)gammameso-diaminopimelic acid (DAP)-D-alanine and L-alanine-D-glutamic acid(alphaspermidine)gammameso-DAP-D-alanine, respectively. The N(1)-amino group of spermidine was linked to the alpha-carboxyl group of the D-glutamic acid residue of peptide II.

Cadaverine↗

Complete nucleotide sequence and organization of the atrazine catabolic plasmid pADP-1 from Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP.

The complete 108,845-nucleotide sequence of catabolic plasmid pADP-1 from Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP was determined. Plasmid pADP-1 was previously shown to encode AtzA, AtzB, and AtzC, which catalyze the sequential hydrolytic removal of s-triazine ring substituents from the herbicide atrazine to yield cyanuric acid. Computational analyses indicated that pADP-1 encodes 104 putative open reading frames (ORFs), which are predicted to function in catabolism, transposition, and plasmid maintenance, transfer, and replication. Regions encoding transfer and replication functions of pADP-1 had 80 to 100% amino acid sequence identity to pR751, an IncPbeta plasmid previously isolated from Enterobacter aerogenes. pADP-1 was shown to contain a functional mercury resistance operon with 99% identity to Tn5053. Complete copies of transposases with 99% amino acid sequence identity to TnpA from IS1071 and TnpA from Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes were identified and flank each of the atzA, atzB, and atzC genes, forming structures resembling nested catabolic transposons. Functional analyses identified three new catabolic genes, atzD, atzE, and atzF, which participate in atrazine catabolism. Crude extracts from Escherichia coli expressing AtzD hydrolyzed cyanuric acid to biuret. AtzD showed 58% amino acid sequence identity to TrzD, a cyanuric acid amidohydrolase, from Pseudomonas sp. strain NRRLB-12227. Two other genes encoding the further catabolism of cyanuric acid, atzE and atzF, reside in a contiguous cluster adjacent to a potential LysR-type transcriptional regulator. E. coli strains bearing atzE and atzF were shown to encode a biuret hydrolase and allophanate hydrolase, respectively. atzDEF are cotranscribed. AtzE and AtzF are members of a common amidase protein family. These data reveal the complete structure of a catabolic plasmid and show that the atrazine catabolic genes are dispersed on three disparate regions of the plasmid. These results begin to provide insight into how plasmids are structured, and thus evolve, to encode the catabolism of compounds recently added to the biosphere.

Amino Acid Sequence↗