Autogenous regulation by lysine of thelysAgene ofEscherichia coli

Genes downstream from pucB and pucA are essential for formation of the B800-850 complex of Rhodobacter capsulatus

The formation of the light-harvesting complex B800-850 (LH-II) of Rhodobacter capsulatus requires, in addition to the synthesis of the polypeptides alpha and beta (the gene products of pucA and pucB), the synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll and carotenoids and the expression of at least one gene localized downstream from the pucBA operon. This was concluded from the observation that a Tn5 insertion downstream from pucBA inhibited the formation of the LH-II complex and the formation of the pucBA mRNA. The Tn5 insertion point was mapped and found to be over 500 base pairs (bp) downstream from the end of the pucA gene, suggesting the presence of additional puc genes. A region of about 3,000 bp including the pucB and pucA genes and DNA downstream from pucA was sequenced and found to contain three open reading frames (ORFs C, D, and E). The polypeptide deduced from the first ORF (C) contains 403 amino acids with strongly hydrophobic stretches and one large and three small hydrophilic domains carrying many charged residues. The other two ORFs contain 113 (D) and 118 (E) codons. The amino acid sequences of the N terminus and two tryptic peptides of an alkaline-soluble Mr-14,000 subunit of the isolated LH-II complex were identical with the deduced amino acid sequence of ORF E.

Nucleotide sequence of the lysA gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum and possible mechanisms for modulation of its expression

Sequence analysis localized the lysA gene of Corynebacterium glutamicum strain AS019 within a 1.35 kb open reading frame, potentially encoding a 445 amino acid product. Immediately downstream from this gene we found a potential rho-independent transcription terminator, while the 5' flanking region (300 bp) harbors unusual topological and structural features, located in the vicinity of a potential ribosome binding site. Within this upstream region, enzymatic and genetic analyses indicated the occurrence of a promoter responsible for significant, although weak, expression of the encoded enzymatic activity. The same significant expression level was observed with a plasmid harboring an additional 0.5 kb of genomic information upstream from lysA, while its full expression apparently requires 2 kb of additional genomic information located immediately upstream from the cloned gene. The upstream sequence requirement apparently associated with the full expression of the lysA gene of C. glutamicum shows some similarity with the Escherichia coli system.

General organization of the genes specifically involved in the diaminopimelate-lysine biosynthetic pathway of Corynebacterium glutamicum

We utilized diaminopimelate-lysine mutants of Escherichia coli K12 to clone the genes specifically involved in the Corynebacterium glutamicum diaminopimelate-lysine anabolic pathway. From a cosmid genomic bank of C. glutamicum strain AS019, we isolated cosmids pSM71, pSM61 and pSM531, that are respectively able to complement dapA/dapB, dapD, and lysA mutants of E. coli. DNA hybridization analysis indicates that these complementing genes are located on the chromosome of C. glutamicum in at least three separate transcription units. Subcloning of parental cosmids in dapA, dapD, and lysA mutants of E. coli localized these genes, respectively, within 1.4, 3.4, and 1.8 kb fragments, cloned in an E. coli/C. glutamicum shuttle vector. Enzymatic analysis in C. glutamicum identified the dapA-complementing gene as L-2,3-dihydrodipicolinate synthetase (dapA), and the lysA-complementing gene as meso-diaminopimelate decarboxylase (lysA). In contrast, complementation of E. coli dapD8, presumably lacking L-delta 1-tetrahydrodipicolinate synthetase (dapD), led us to clone a diaminopimelate-lysine anabolic gene of C. glutamicum which does not exist in E. coli: meso-diaminopimelate dehydrogenase. Although meso-diaminopimelate is crucial in lysine formation and in cell wall biosynthesis, expression of the genomic copies of the cloned genes, which encode activities involved at key branching points of the diaminopimelate-lysine pathway of C. glutamicum, appears constitutive with regard to the addition of diaminopimelate and/or lysine during cell growth.