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Mutational analysis of the non-homologous region of subunit A of the yeast V-ATPase.

Subunit A is the catalytic nucleotide binding subunit of the vacuolar proton-translocating ATPase (or V-ATPase) and is homologous to subunit beta of the F(1)F(0) ATP synthase (or F-ATPase). Amino acid sequence alignment of these subunits reveals a 90-amino acid insert in subunit A (termed the non-homologous region) that is absent from subunit beta. To investigate the functional role of this region, site-directed mutagenesis has been performed on the VMA1 gene that encodes subunit A in yeast. Substitutions were performed on 13 amino acid residues within this region that are conserved in all available A subunit sequences. Most of the 18 mutations introduced showed normal assembly of the V-ATPase. Of these, one (R219K) greatly reduced both proton transport and ATPase activity. By contrast, the P217V mutant showed significantly reduced ATPase activity but higher than normal levels of proton transport, suggesting an increase in coupling efficiency. Two other mutations in the same region (P223V and P233V) showed decreased coupling efficiency, suggesting that changes in the non-homologous region can alter coupling of proton transport and ATP hydrolysis. It was previously shown that the V-ATPase must possess at least 5-10% activity relative to wild type to undergo in vivo dissociation in response to glucose withdrawal. However, four of the mutations studied (G150A, D157E, P177V, and P223V) were partially or completely blocked in dissociation despite having greater than 30% of wild type levels of activity. These results suggest that changes in the non-homologous region can also alter in vivo dissociation of the V-ATPase independent of effects on activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of new members of hydrophobin family using primary structure analysis.

BACKGROUND: Hydrophobins are fungal proteins that can turn into amphipathic membranes at hydrophilic/hydrophobic interfaces by self-assembly. The assemblages by Class I hydrophobins are extremely stable and possess the remarkable ability to change the polarity of the surface. One of its most important industrial applications is its usage as paint. Without detailed knowledge of the 3D structure and self-assembly principles of hydrophobins, it is difficult to make significant progress in furthering its research. RESULTS: In order to provide useful information to hydrophobin researchers, we analyzed primary structure of hydrophobins to gain more insight about these proteins. In this paper, we presented an in-depth primary sequence analysis using batch BLAST search of the database, sequence filtering by programming and motif finding by MEME. We used batch BLAST to find similar sequences in the NCBI nr database. Then we used MEME to find out motifs. Based on the newly found motifs and the well-known C-CC-C-C-CC-C pattern we used MAST to search the entire nr database. At the end, domain search and phylogenetic analysis were conducted to confirm the result. After searching the nr database with the new PSSM-format motifs identified by MEME, many sequences from various species were found by MAST. Filtering process by pattern, domain and length left 9 qualified candidates. CONCLUSION: All of 9 newly identified potential hydrophobins possess the common pattern and hydrophobin domain. From the multiple sequence alignment result, we can see that some of them are grouped very close to other known hydrophobins, which means their phylogenetic relationship is very close and it is highly plausible that they are indeed hydrophobin proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterization of a cDNA encoding the bovine coxsackie and adenovirus receptor.

Non-human adenoviruses such as bovine adenovirus type 3 (BAV-3) that do not replicate in human cells but can infect human cells in culture could provide an attractive alternative to human adenoviral vectors for gene therapy. In addition, a large-animal model for genetic diseases can be very useful for the assessment of the efficacy of adenovector-mediated gene delivery in man. Recombinant human subgroup C adenovectors use the coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) to enter their target cells. Through RT-PCR and sequencing we determined the complete coding sequence of bovine CAR which serves as the primary adenoviral attachment site on bovine cells. A multiple sequence alignment, involving all the previously identified CAR species (man, mouse, rat, pig, and dog) showed that bovine CAR was most related to porcine CAR (92% nucleotide similarity) and demonstrated a highly conserved adenovirus binding Ig1 domain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

SpaC and NisC, the cyclases involved in subtilin and nisin biosynthesis, are zinc proteins.

Lantibiotics are peptide-derived antimicrobial agents that are ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified by a multienzyme complex to their biologically active forms. Nisin has attracted much attention recently due to its novel mechanism of action including specific binding to the bacterial cell wall precursor lipid II, followed by membrane permeabilization. Nisin has been commercially used as a food preservative, while other lantibiotics show promising activity against bacterial infections. The posttranslational modifications are believed to be carried out by a multienzyme complex. At present the enzymes catalyzing the formation of the lantibiotic signature structural motifs, dehydroalanine (Dha), dehydrobutyrine (Dhb), lanthionine (Ln), and methyllanthionine (MeLn), are poorly characterized. In an effort to gain insight into the mechanism by which lantibiotics are biosynthesized, the cyclase enzymes involved in the synthesis of nisin and subtilin (NisC and SpaC, respectively) have been cloned, expressed, and purified. Both proteins exist as monomers in solution and contain a stoichiometric zinc atom. EXAFS data on SpaC and a C349A mutant are in line with two cysteine ligands to the metal in the wild-type enzyme with possibly two additional histidines. The two cysteine ligands are likely Cys303 and Cys349 on the basis of sequence alignments and EXAFS data. The metal may function to activate the cysteine thiol of the peptide substrate toward intramolecular Michael addition to the dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine residues in the peptide.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

DNA sequence variation of mitochondrial large-subunit rRNA provides support for a two-subclass organization of the Anthozoa (Cnidaria).

We have sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene from 29 species of Anthozoa, representing six orders of the subclasses Ceriantipatharia, Hexacorallia, and Octocorallia, with the focus on deep-seamount corals (> 500-m depth). We have detected significant length variation in the gene, with homologous gene fragments ranging from 545 bp in a shallow-water scleractinian coral to 911 bp in a deep-sea antipatharian black coral. The aligned sequences were divided into five regions: three high-identity sequence blocks (HSBs) and two highly variable blocks of insertions/deletions (INDELs). Most of the length variation among species occurred as varying numbers of nucleotides in the two INDELs. Little or no intraspecific sequence variation was detected over spatial scales of up to approximately 150 km. Interspecific sequence variation was lowest among the octocorals and greatest among the ceriantipatharians. Our data indicate that the orders Ceriantharia and Antipatharia are highly divergent, and a phylogenetic reconstruction provides support for the two-subclass system of the class Anthozoa (Hexacorallia and Octocorallia).

Animals↗

Characterization, nucleotide sequence and genome organization of leek white stripe virus, a putative new species of the genus Necrovirus.

White stripe is a disease affecting leek in France with which an isometric virus c. 30 nm in diameter is associated. The most evident symptom is the presence of white stripes on the leaves extending to the stem. Attempts to demonstrate transmission through the soil by sowing or transplanting leek in contaminated soil were unsuccessful. The virus was transmitted by sap inoculation to a narrow range of herbaceous hosts, all of which were infected only locally. Virus purification was from infected leek tissues, where it accumulated in large amounts, as demonstrated by ultrastructural observations. RNA was extracted from purified virus preparations and cDNA clones were prepared. The complete nucleotide sequence of the viral RNA was determined: The genome is 3,662 nucleotides long and contains five open reading frames (ORFs). The first (ORF 1) encodes a putative translation product of M(r) 23,803 (p24) and read through of its amber stop codon results in a protein of M(r) 82,625 (p83) (ORF 2). ORF 3 and ORF 4 encode two small polypeptides of M(r) 11,280 (p11) and M(r) 6,261 (p6), respectively. ORF 5 encodes the capsid protein of M(r) 27,460 (p27). The genome organization and sequence alignments with the corresponding products of necroviruses suggest that the virus isolated from leek is a new species in the genus Necrovirus, for which the name of leek white stripe virus (LWSV) is proposed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Phylogenetic analysis of viroid and viroid-like satellite RNAs from plants: a reassessment.

The proposed monophyletic origin of a group of subviral plant pathogens (viroids and viroid-like satellite RNAs), as well as the phylogenetic relationships and the resulting taxonomy of these entities, has been recently questioned. The criticism comes from the (apparent) lack of sequence similarity among these RNAs necessary to reliably infer a phylogeny. Here we show that, despite their low overall sequence similarity, a sequence alignment manually adjusted to take into account all the local similarities and the insertions/deletions and duplications/rearrangements described in the literature for viroids and viroid-like satellite RNA, along with the use of an appropriate estimator of genetic distances, constitutes a data set suitable for a phylogenetic reconstruction. When the likelihood-mapping method was applied to this data set, the tree-likeness obtained was higher than that corresponding to a sequence alignment that does not take into consideration the local similarities. In addition, bootstrap analysis also supports the major groups previously proposed and the reconstruction is consistent with the biological properties of this RNAs.

Evolution, Molecular↗

Cloning and sequence characterisation of falcipain-2 from Plasmodium falciparum Gombak A strain (Malaysia).

In this study, the genome of the Plasmodium falciparum Gombak A strain was examined for the presence of a gene encoding falcipain-2, a cysteine protease, using homology-based polymerase chain reaction cloning. The nucleotide sequence obtained from the gene cloned (designated pFG1) is approximately 99% homologous to other falcipain-2 genes from different strains. Comparatively, it is 69% homologous to falcipain-3 genes. Direct cloning of the falcipain-2 gene and its resemblance to the reported corresponding mRNA transcript suggests the absence of introns in this gene. Sequence alignment and comparison revealed four amino acid differences at positions 15, 51, 59 and 414 in the falcipain-2 from P. falciparum Gombak A as compared to other falcipain-2 proteins from different strains.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Sequence and localization of human NASP: conservation of a Xenopus histone-binding protein.

In this study the sequence and localization of human testicular NASP (nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein) are reported. NASP cDNA contains 2561 nt encoding a protein of 787 amino acids. The open reading frame contains 2446 nt followed by an ochre stop codon (TAA) and 104 nucleotides of untranslated sequence containing a poly(A) addition signal 10 bases upstream of the poly(A) tail. Northern blot analysis of human testis poly(A) mRNA indicates a message of approximately 3.2 kb. Multiple sequence alignment (MSA) analysis of the encoded human NASP amino acid sequence with the sequence for the Xenopus histone-binding protein N1/N2 and the rabbit NASP amino acid sequence demonstrates that the human sequence and the Xenopus sequence have extensive amino acid homology upstream of the rabbit initiation codon. Significantly, there is an 85% identity between the human and the rabbit NASP sequences when the alignment starts at the N-terminal of the rabbit sequence and at amino acid 101 of the human sequence. The nuclear translocation signal found in N1/N2 and rabbit NASP is completely conserved in human NASP. The first histone-binding domain of Xenopus is 70% identical and 90% similar to the human NASP domain. The second histone-binding domain of Xenopus is 48% identical and 71% similar to the human NASP domain. MSA analysis of the three sequences generated an unrooted ancestral tree with two branches, indicating that fewer amino acid changes have occurred between the Xenopus and the human sequences than between the Xenopus and the rabbit sequences. In the human testis, NASP is localized predominantly in primary spermatocytes and round spermatids. Spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, Leydig cells, peritubular cells, and other somatic cells do not stain. Human spermatozoa contain NASP in the acrosomal region. Following the acrosome reaction, some NASP remains in the equatorial and postacrosomal regions. We propose that mammalian testes and sperm contain a histone-binding protein which may play a role in regulating the early events of spermatogenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Mavicyanin, a stellacyanin-like protein from zucchini peelings: primary structure and comparison with other cupredoxins.

The complete amino-acid sequence of mavicyanin, a small blue copper-containing glycoprotein isolated from zucchini peelings, is presented. The sequence of this cupredoxin was deduced from analysis of peptides obtained after cleavage of the protein with trypsin or Asp-N endoproteinase. Mavicyanin consists of a single polypeptide chain of 108 amino-acid residues. Accurate molecular weight determination by electrospray mass spectrometry (12 752 Da) indicates a mass difference of approx. 1005 Da with respect to the mass of the protein, as determined on the basis of the amino-acid sequence (11747 Da). This difference was tentatively assigned to the carbohydrate moiety, not yet characterized, attached to the protein via an N-linkage to Asn-58 and O-linkages to unidentified Ser/Thr residues. The comparison of the primary structure of mavicyanin with those of other cupredoxins shows that three copper ligands (His-44, Cys-57 and His-90) are conserved, while a glutamine residue (Gln-95), as in stellacyanin, is possibly the fourth ligand. An amino-acid sequence alignment of mavicyanin with copper proteins currently identified as phytocyanins is also proposed, showing same invariant residues in key positions related to the maintenance of the beta-barrel fold and to the active site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A sequence-profile-based HMM for predicting and discriminating beta barrel membrane proteins.

MOTIVATION: Membrane proteins are an abundant and functionally relevant subset of proteins that putatively include from about 15 up to 30% of the proteome of organisms fully sequenced. These estimates are mainly computed on the basis of sequence comparison and membrane protein prediction. It is therefore urgent to develop methods capable of selecting membrane proteins especially in the case of outer membrane proteins, barely taken into consideration when proteome wide analysis is performed. This will also help protein annotation when no homologous sequence is found in the database. Outer membrane proteins solved so far at atomic resolution interact with the external membrane of bacteria with a characteristic beta barrel structure comprising different even numbers of beta strands (beta barrel membrane proteins). In this they differ from the membrane proteins of the cytoplasmic membrane endowed with alpha helix bundles (all alpha membrane proteins) and need specialised predictors. RESULTS: We develop a HMM model, which can predict the topology of beta barrel membrane proteins using, as input, evolutionary information. The model is cyclic with 6 types of states: two for the beta strand transmembrane core, one for the beta strand cap on either side of the membrane, one for the inner loop, one for the outer loop and one for the globular domain state in the middle of each loop. The development of a specific input for HMM based on multiple sequence alignment is novel. The accuracy per residue of the model is 83% when a jack knife procedure is adopted. With a model optimisation method using a dynamic programming algorithm seven topological models out of the twelve proteins included in the testing set are also correctly predicted. When used as a discriminator, the model is rather selective. At a fixed probability value, it retains 84% of a non-redundant set comprising 145 sequences of well-annotated outer membrane proteins. Concomitantly, it correctly rejects 90% of a set of globular proteins including about 1200 chains with low sequence identity (<30%) and 90% of a set of all alpha membrane proteins, including 188 chains.

Algorithms↗

Identification and cloning of a gene locus encoding peptide synthetase of Pseudomonas fluorescens by two sets of PCR primers.

A chromosomal locus encoding biosynthetic genes for a putative peptide synthetase of Pseudomonas fluorescens was identified and cloned. To achieve this, two sets of degenerated oligonucleotide primers KAGGA:SGTTG and TGD:LGG were used in PCR. These primers were selected based on highly conserved units of known peptide synthetases involved in adenylation and thiolation regions of Bacillus subtilis. The discrete amplified bands from PCR ca. 300 bp for KAGGA:SGTTG and ca. 500 bp for TGD:LGG proved to be integral part of the genomic DNA of P. fluorescens were cloned and sequenced. Sequence alignments of both fragments confirmed the putative peptide synthetase genes in P. fluorescens. The present study describes the identification and cloning of peptide synthetase genes of P. fluorescens, which can be used to identify a genetic locus encoding peptide synthetase in other microbial species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Conserved N-terminal motifs of telomerase reverse transcriptase required for ribonucleoprotein assembly in vivo.

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) reverse transcriptase responsible for the maintenance of one strand of the telomere terminal repeats. The key protein subunit of the telomerase complex, known as TERT, possesses reverse transcriptase (RT)-like motifs that directly mediate nucleotide addition. The RT motifs are located in the C-terminal region of the polypeptide. Sequence alignments also revealed the existence of four conserved motifs (named GQ, CP, QFP, and T) in the N-terminal region of TERT. The GQ motif of yeast TERT has been demonstrated previously to be essential for telomerase catalysis and may participate in RNP formation. In this report, we show that substitution of conserved residues in the CP, QFP, and T motifs of yeast TERT also impairs both telomere maintenance and telomerase activity, thus confirming the validity of the sequence alignment. The extent of telomere shortening correlates with the extent of reduction in the level of telomerase activity, TERT protein, and TERT-associated TLC1 RNA. Overexpression of the mutant proteins does not result in telomere shortening, implying that assembly rather than catalytic function was affected. This notion was further supported by comparing the efficiency of RNP formation in the wild type and the overexpression strains. Taken together, our results show that three of the four N-terminal motifs are required for efficient telomerase RNP formation in vivo but not for the enzymatic function of telomerase. We also show that the majority of telomerase-associated TLC1 RNA has a more upstream 3' end than previously reported, consistent with additional processing events during RNP maturation.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Molecular characterization of a weak fibrinogen-clotting enzyme from Trimeresurus jerdonii venom.

A fibrinogen-clotting enzyme designed as jerdonobin-II was isolated from the venom of Trimeresurus jerdonii. It differed in molecular weight and N-terminal sequence with the previously isolated jerdonobin, a thrombin-like enzyme from the same venom. The enzyme consists of a single polypeptide chain with molecular weights of 30,000 and 32,000 under non-reducing and reducing conditions, respectively. Jerdonobin-II showed weak fibrinogen clotting activity and its activity unit on fibrinogen was calculated to be less than one unit using human thrombin as standard. The precursor protein sequence of jerodonobin-II was deduced from cloned cDNA sequence. The sequence shows high similarity (identity=89%) to TSV-PA, a specific plasminogen activator from venom of T. stejnegeri. Despite of the sequence similarity, jerdonobin-II was found devoid of plasminogen activating effect. Sequence alignment analysis suggested that the replacement of Lys239 in TSV-PA to Gln239 in jerdonobin-II might play an important role on their plasminogen activating activity difference.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Comparison of 11 herpesvirus isolates from tortoises using partial sequences from three conserved genes.

Herpesviruses are an important cause of epidemic disease in tortoises. There are at least two serologically distinct herpesviruses capable of infecting tortoises. Methods for the diagnosis of herpesvirus infections in tortoises include virus isolation and a number of different PCRs. We have compared 11 virus isolates collected from various species in different countries over several years using sequences from three different viral genes. During this study we used four different PCR protocols described for the diagnosis of herpesvirus infections in tortoises. The protocols used included two based on portions of the DNA polymerase gene, one targeting the UL5 homologue, and one targeting the UL39 homologue. Comparison of the methods showed that the tortoise herpesvirus-specific protocols were all serotype specific. Sequences of the obtained amplicons were compared with one another and with sequences of herpesviruses available in GenBank. The sequence alignments showed that the tortoise herpesviruses were most closely related to members of the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae. They also showed that the tortoise isolates could be clearly divided into two genogroups.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterisation of an emerging rickettsia-like organism in Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar.

A rickettsia-like organism (RLO) was observed in farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar located in south-east Tasmania, Australia. Several assays such as immunoperoxidase, immunoelectron microscopy, polymerase chain reaction and nucleic acid sequencing, as well as phylogenetic analysis of rDNA sequences, were performed on infected fish tissues. Immunohistochemistry results suggested the presence of related antigenic determinants between the Tasmanian RLO and the type strain LF-89 of Piscirickettsia salmonis. However, sequence alignment demonstrated that the Tasmanian RLO contains a 19 bp deletion at the 3'-end of the internal transcribed spacer region of the rDNA operon, indicating a genetic divergence from P. salmonis isolates, which are exotic to Australia.

Animals↗

Evolution of prothrombin: isolation and characterization of the cDNAs encoding chicken and hagfish prothrombin.

The cDNA sequences of chicken and hagfish prothrombin have been determined. The sequences predict that prothrombin from both species is synthesized as a prepro-protein consisting of a putative Gla domain, two kringle domains, and a two-chain protease domain. Chicken and hagfish prothrombin share 51.6% amino acid sequence identity (313/627 residues). Both chicken and hagfish prothrombin are structurally very similar to human, bovine, rat, and mouse prothrombin and all six species share 41% amino acid sequence identity. Amino acid sequence alignments of human, bovine, rat, mouse, chicken, and hagfish prothrombin suggest that the thrombin B-chain and the propeptide-Gla domain are the regions most constrained for the common function(s) of vertebrate prothrombins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A zinc-containing mannitol-2-dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides ATCC 12291: purification of the enzyme and cloning of the gene.

Mannitol-2-dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.67) of Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides ATCC 12291 catalyzing the NADH-dependent reduction of d-fructose to d-mannitol was purified to homogeneity. Native mannitol-2-dehydrogenase has a molecular mass of 155 kDa as determined by gel filtration chromatography. In SDS-PAGE, a single band appeared corresponding to a molecular mass of 43 kDa which indicated that the enzyme was composed of four identical subunits. Enzyme activity was completely inhibited by EDTA and could be restored by zinc ions, but not by Mn(2+) or Mg(2+) which demonstrated that zinc is a cofactor. Purified mannitol-2-dehydrogenase exhibited a maximal specific activity of 400 micromol fructose reduced min(-1) x (mg protein)(-1), using NADH as electron donor. The enzyme showed a high substrate specificity for d-fructose and d-mannitol, however it accepted NADPH as a cofactor with 32% activity ( V(max)) relative to NADPH (100%). The mdh gene, encoding mannitol-2-dehydrogenase, was identified by hybridization with a degenerate gene probe complementary to the nucleotide sequence encoding the first eight N-terminal amino acids of the enzyme. The mdh gene was cloned on a 4.2-kb DNA fragment, subcloned, and expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequencing of the gene revealed an open reading frame of 1017 bp, encoding a protein of 338 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 36.0 kDa. Plasmid-encoded mdh was functionally expressed, with 70 U/mg of cell-free protein in E. coli. Multiple sequence alignments showed that mannitol-2-dehydrogenase was affiliated with members of the Zn(2+)-containing medium-chain alcohol/polyol dehydrogenase/reductase protein family (MDR).

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗