Polymorphism in the aerobactin-cloacin DF13 receptor genes from an enteroinvasive strain of Escherichia coli and pColV-K30 is associated only with a decrease in cloacin susceptibility. (1/26)

We have cloned chromosomal genes mediating the aerobactin iron transport system from the enteroinvasive strain Escherichia coli 978-77. The physical map of the region spanning the siderophore biosynthesis genes and the upstream portion of the receptor gene in strain 978-77-derived clones was identical to the corresponding regions in pColV-K30, while the downstream portion was different. Recombinant plasmids derived from strain 978-77 encoded a 76-kDa outer membrane protein, in contrast to the 74-kDa polypeptide encoded by similar clones derived from pColV-K30. No differences were found in the uptake of ferric aerobactin mediated by either the 76-kDa- or the 74-kDa-encoding plasmids. In contrast, cells containing the 76-kDa-encoding plasmids showed a 16-fold decrease in susceptibility to cloacin compared with cells harboring the 74-kDa-encoding plasmids. Two classes of chimeric aerobactin receptor genes were constructed by exchanging sequences corresponding to the downstream portion from the aerobactin receptor gene of both systems. The pColV-K30-978-77 chimeric gene encoded a 76-kDa outer membrane protein which mediated a low level of cloacin susceptibility, whereas the 978-77-pColV-K30 type encoded a protein of 74 kDa determining a level of cloacin susceptibility identical to that mediated by pColV-K30.  (+info)

Production and excretion of cloacin DF13 by Escherichia coli harboring plasmid CloDF13. (2/26)

The production and the mechanism of excretion of cloacin DF13 were investigated in noninduced and mitomycin C-induced cell cultures. A mitomycin C concentration was selected which did not cause lysis of cloacinogenic cells, but at the same time induced a maximal production of cloacin DF13. Native cloacin DF13, possessing killing activity, was first released into the cytoplasm. Shortly thereafter, the bacteriocin was transported through the cytoplasmic membrane and accumulated in the periplasm. Finally, cloacin DF13 was excreted into the culture medium. A small amount of cloacin DF13 remained associated with the cell surface. Producing cells did not become permeable for the cytoplasmic enzyme beta-galactosidase. Apparently the cloacin DF13 leaves the producing cells by an excretion process which is not similar to the mechanism proposed for bacterial secretory proteins. The processes of excretion by producing cells and of uptake by susceptible cells were also not identical because mutant cloacin DF13, which was not transported through the outer membrane into susceptible cells, was excreted like the wild-type cloacin DF13. The composition of the culture medium greatly affected production of cloacin DF13. The presence of sugars known to cause catabolite repression not only inhibited the production but also strongly reduced the excretion of cloacin DF13 into the culture medium.  (+info)

Changes in protein synthesis on mitomycin C induction of wild-type and mutant CloDF13 plasmids. (3/26)

Mitomycin C treatment of Escherichia coli K-12 cells containing the nonconjugative plasmid CloDF13 resulted in inhibition of host chromosome protein synthesis and a high rate of synthesis of two CloDF13-specified proteins whose molecular weights correspond to cloacin and immunity protein. Five molecules of immunity protein were synthesized for each cloacin DF13 molecule. Mitomycin C-treated cells containing a copy mutant of CloDF13 made three to four times as much of each protein as cells containing wild-type CloDF13. CloDF13 plasmids that contained the transposon Tn1 were isolated. Two did not induce after mitomycin C treatment, failing both to inhibit host cell synthesis and to produce the two new proteins. In minicells, they showed reduced CloDF13-specified protein synthesis and produced three Tn1-specified proteins.  (+info)

Uptake of cloacin DF13 by susceptible cells: removal of immunity protein and fragmentation of cloacin molecules. (4/26)

Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) directed against different epitopes on the equimolar complex of cloacin and immunity protein (cloacin DF13) were isolated, characterized, and used to study the uptake of cloacin DF13 by susceptible cells. Four MAbs recognized the amino-terminal part, one MAb recognized the central part, and three MAbs recognized the carboxyl-terminal part of the cloacin molecule. Three MAbs reacted with the immunity protein. Five MAbs inhibited the lethal action of cloacin DF13, but none of the MAbs inhibited the binding of cloacin DF13 to its purified outer membrane receptor protein or the in vitro inactivation of ribosomes. Binding of cloacin DF13 to susceptible cells cultured in broth resulted in a specific, time-dependent dissociation of the complex and a fragmentation of the cloacin molecules. Increasing amounts of immunity protein were detected in the culture medium from about 20 min after the addition of cloacin DF13. Cloacin was fragmented into two carboxyl-terminal fragments with relative molecular masses of 50,000 and 10,000. The larger fragment was detected 5 min after the binding of the bacteriocin complex to the cells. The smaller fragment was detected after 10 min. Both fragments were associated with the cells and could not be detected in the culture supernatant fraction. Cells grown in brain heart infusion were much less susceptible to cloacin DF13 than cells grown in broth, although they possessed a similar number of outer membrane receptor molecules. This decreased susceptibility correlated with a decreased translocation, dissociation, and fragmentation of cloacin DF13.  (+info)

Methylation-dependent transcription controls plasmid replication of the CloDF13 cop-1(Ts) mutant. (5/26)

The CloDF13 cop-1(Ts) mutant expresses a temperature-dependent plasmid copy number. At 42 degrees C the mutant shows a "runaway" behavior, and cells harboring this plasmid are killed. The cop-1(Ts) mutation is a G-to-A transition that disturbs one of the two methylation sites which are located opposite in the stem-loop structure within a region involved in both the initiation of primer synthesis for DNA replication and the termination of the cloacin operon transcript. We demonstrate that the mutation results in an increased primer (RNA II) synthesis resulting from nonconditional enhanced RNA II promoter activity, which at 42 degrees C causes a decrease in the amount of active replication repressor molecules (RNA I) synthesized from the opposite strand. We found that the absence of Dam methylation abolishes the mutant phenotype and that under this condition the high mutant level of RNA II synthesis is reduced, which is accompanied by a restoration of the regulation by RNA I. The role of methylation in the regulation of plasmid replication is discussed.  (+info)

Expression in Escherichia coli K-12 of the 76,000-dalton iron-regulated outer membrane protein of Shigella flexneri confers sensitivity to cloacin DF13 in the absence of Shigella O antigen. (6/26)

One of the chromosomal segments associated with virulence in Shigella flexneri encodes the production of aerobactin and the synthesis of an iron-regulated 76-kilodalton outer membrane protein believed to be the ferric-aerobactin receptor. However, S. flexneri expressing this putative aerobactin receptor, which is slightly larger than that encoded by pColV, is insensitive to the killing action of cloacin DF13, a bacteriocin which binds to other aerobactin receptor proteins and kills the cells. In this paper we show that the conjugal transfer of DNA encoding the iron-regulated 76-kilodalton protein from S. flexneri to Escherichia coli K-12 conferred cloacin DF13 sensitivity on the recipients. However, E. coli K-12 which had also inherited genes specifying Shigella O-antigen biosynthesis remained cloacin insensitive. The data suggest that it is unwise to use cloacin DF13 sensitivity alone to screen transconjugants or clinical isolates for the expression of aerobactin receptor proteins.  (+info)

Novel aerobactin receptor in Klebsiella pneumoniae. (7/26)

Several Klebsiella pneumoniae strains which produced enterochelin but not aerobactin were nevertheless sensitive to cloacin DF13. In contrast, a strain of serotype K1:O1 which produced both siderophores was cloacin-resistant. Loss by mutation of the O1 but not K1 antigen rendered this strain cloacin-sensitive, indicating that the O1 antigen prevented access of cloacin to the cloacin/aerobactin receptor. Unlike the K1:O1 strain, the aerobactin-negative strains failed to hybridize in a colony blot assay with an aerobactin receptor gene probe prepared from pColV-K30. However, antisera raised against the 74 kDa pColV-K30 aerobactin receptor cross-reacted with a 76 kDa outer-membrane protein in each K. pneumoniae strain. In addition to the 76 kDa protein, the K1:O1 strain also produced a strongly cross-reacting 74 kDa protein. To determine whether these aerobactin-negative strains could use aerobactin, mutants unable to synthesize siderophores were isolated. Aerobactin promoted the growth of these mutants in iron-deficient media. The evidence presented suggests that some K. pneumoniae strains produce an aerobactin iron-uptake system without apparent production of aerobactin and which is probably based on a 76 kDa receptor, the gene for which does not hybridize with aerobactin receptor gene encoded on pColV-K30.  (+info)

pCloDF13-encoded bacteriocin release proteins with shortened carboxyl-terminal segments are lipid modified and processed and function in release of cloacin DF13 and apparent host cell lysis. (8/26)

By oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis, stop codon mutations were introduced at various sites in the pCloDF13-derived bacteriocin release protein (BRP) structural gene. The expression, lipid modification (incorporation of [3H]palmitate), and processing (in the presence and absence of globomycin) of the various carboxyl-terminal shortened BRPs were analyzed by a special electrophoresis system and immunoblotting with an antiserum raised against a synthetic BRP peptide, and their functioning with respect to release of cloacin DF13, lethality, and apparent host cell lysis were studied in Sup-, supF, and supP strains of Escherichia coli. All mutant BRPs were stably expressed, lipid modified, and processed by signal peptidase II, albeit with different efficiencies. The BRP signal peptide appeared to be extremely stable and accumulated in induced cells. Full induction of the mutant BRPs, including the shortest containing only 4 amino acid residues of the mature polypeptide, resulted in phospholipase A-dependent and Mg2+-suppressible apparent cell lysis. The extent of this lysis varied with the mutant BRP used. Induction of all mutant BRPs also prevented colony formation, which appeared to be phospholipase A independent. One shortened BRP, containing 20 amino acid residues of the mature polypeptide, was still able to bring about the release of cloacin DF13. The results indicated that the 8-amino-acid carboxyl-terminal segment of the BRP contains a strong antigenic determinant and that a small segment between amino acid residues 17 and 21, located in the carboxyl-terminal half of the BRP, is important for release of cloacin DF13. Either the stable signal peptide or the acylated amino-terminal BRP fragments (or both) are involved in host cell lysis and lethality.  (+info)

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