To carry out a genetic analysis of the degradation and utilization of chitin by Serratia marcescens 2170, various Tn5 insertion mutants with characteristic defects in chitinase production were isolated and partially characterized. Prior to the isolation of the mutants, proteins secreted into culture medium in the presence of chitin were analyzed. Four chitinases, A, B, C1, and C2, among other proteins, were detected in the culture supernatant of S. marcescens 2170. All four chitinases and a 21-kDa protein (CBP21) lacking chitinase activity showed chitin binding activity. Cloning and sequencing analysis of the genes encoding chitinases A and B of strain 2170 revealed extensive similarities to those of other strains of S. marcescens described previously. Tn5 insertion mutagenesis of strain 2170 was carried out, and mutants which formed altered clearing zones of colloidal chitin were selected. The obtained mutants were divided into five classes as follows: mutants with (i) no clearing zones, (ii) fuzzy clearing zones, (iii) large clearing zones, (iv) delayed clearing zones, and (v) small clearing zones. Preliminary characterization suggested that some of these mutants have defects in chitinase excretion, a negatively regulating mechanism of chitinase gene expression, an essential factor for chitinase gene expression, and a structural gene for a particular chitinase. These mutants could allow researchers to identify the genes involved in the degradation and utilization of chitin by S. marcescens 2170.The number of studies dealing with bacterial chitinasestheir biochemical properties, the structure of the genes encoding them, the catalytic mechanism involved, and their tertiary structures-has been increasing rapidly. The hydrolysis of chitin by chitinases is the most critical step in the degradation and utilization of chitin by bacteria. However, the study of chitinases is not sufficient to elucidate the process by which chitin is degraded and utilized by bacteria. The process involves a number of steps, including the recognition of chitin outside of the cell, the induction of chitinases, the maintenance of proper levels of chitinase production, and the incorporation and catabolism of degradation products. In this study our intent was to identify the genes involved in the degradation and utilization of chitin. Our long-term goal is to answer the following questions. How do bacteria recognize chitin? How is chitinase production induced and regulated? Why do chitinolytic bacteria produce multiple chitinases? How are degradation products processed? Our ultimate goal in these studies is a general understanding of how bacterial cells degrade and utilize chitin.We have studied the chitinase system of Bacillus circulans WL-12 and have provided comprehensive findings on biochemical properties, structure-function relationships, the identification of essential amino acid residues for catalytic activity, and the mechanisms by which multiple chitinases are generated (1, 2, 4, 23, 31-35). However, this bacterium is not a suitable...
A recombinant cosmid containing genes involved in Klebsiella pneumoniae C3 core lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis was identified by its ability to confer bacteriocin 28b resistance to Escherichia coli K-12. The recombinant cosmid contains 12 genes, the whole waa gene cluster, flanked by kbl and coaD genes, as was found in E. coli K-12. PCR amplification analysis showed that this cluster is conserved in representative K. pneumoniae strains. Partial nucleotide sequence determination showed that the same genes and gene order are found in K. pneumoniae subsp. ozaenae, for which the core chemical structure is known. Complementation analysis of known waa mutants from E. coli K-12 and/or Salmonella enterica led to the identification of genes involved in biosynthesis of the inner core backbone that are shared by these three members of the Enterobacteriaceae. K. pneumoniae orf10 mutants showed a two-log-fold reduction in a mice virulence assay and a strong decrease in capsule amount. Analysis of a constructed K. pneumoniae waaE deletion mutant suggests that the WaaE protein is involved in the transfer of the branch -D-Glc to the O-4 position of L-glycero-D-manno-heptose
Up to now only one major type of core oligosaccharide has been found in the lipopolysaccharide of all Klebsiella pneumoniae strains analyzed. Applying a different screening approach, we identified a novel Klebsiella pneumoniae core (type 2). Both Klebsiella core types share the same inner core and the outer-core-proximal disaccharide, GlcN-(1,4)-GalA, but they differ in the GlcN substituents. In core type 2, the GlcpN residue is substituted at the O-4 position by the disaccharide -Glcp(1-6)-␣-Glcp(1, while in core type 1 the GlcpN residue is substituted at the O-6 position by either the disaccharide ␣-Hep(1-4)-␣-Kdo(2 or a Kdo residue (Kdo is 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid). This difference correlates with the presence of a three-gene region in the corresponding core biosynthetic clusters. Engineering of both core types by interchanging this specific region allowed studying the effect on virulence. The replacement of Klebsiella core type 1 in a highly type 2 virulent strain (52145) induces lower virulence than core type 2 in a murine infection model.
To determine the function of the wabG gene in the biosynthesis of the core lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Klebsiella pneumoniae, we constructed wabG nonpolar mutants. Data obtained from the comparative chemical and structural analysis of LPS samples obtained from the wild type, the mutant strain, and the complemented mutant demonstrated that the wabG gene is involved in attachment to ␣-L-glycero-D-manno-heptopyranose II (L,D-HeppII) at the O-3 position of an ␣-D-galactopyranosyluronic acid (␣-D-GalAp) residue. K. pneumoniae nonpolar wabG mutants were devoid of the cell-attached capsular polysaccharide but were still able to produce capsular polysaccharide. Similar results were obtained with K. pneumoniae nonpolar waaC and waaF mutants, which produce shorter LPS core molecules than do wabG mutants. Other outer core K. pneumoniae nonpolar mutants in the waa gene cluster were encapsulated. K. pneumoniae waaC, waaF, and wabG mutants were avirulent when tested in different animal models. Furthermore, these mutants were more sensitive to some hydrophobic compounds than the wild-type strains. All these characteristics were rescued by reintroduction of the waaC, waaF, and wabG genes from K. pneumoniae.In gram-negative bacteria the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is one of the major structural and immunodominant molecules of the outer membrane. LPS consists of three domains: lipid A, core oligosaccharide, and O-specific antigen or O side chain. In smooth LPS, the core region is conceptually divided into two regions: a lipid A proximal inner core and an outer core that provides the attachment site for the O antigen (21). Comparison of the known core LPS structures from Enterobacteriaceae organisms reveals that the first outer core residue might be either glucose (Glc) or a galacturonic acid (GalA) residue. In the four known Escherichia coli core types and in Salmonella enterica, a substitution of the L-glycero-D-manno-heptopyranose II (L,D-HeppII) at the O-3 position for a Glcp residue was found (12). For Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, and Yersinia enterocolitica, a substitution of the L,D-HeppII at the O-3 position for an ␣-D-galacturonic acid residue (␣-DGalpA) residue has been described (20,29,30). On the other hand, in most of the Enterobacteriaceae studied, the core LPS contains inner core phosphoryl modifications (21), but K. pneumoniae core LPS is devoid of such modifications (29) (Fig. 1).Important roles in outer membrane permeability and in pathogenesis have been shown for the outer core and for the negative charges contributed by phosphoryl inner core modification in E. coli and/or S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (32,33,34). In view of the peculiarities of the K. pneumoniae core LPS, we sought in this work to determine the importance of the outer core LPS in K. pneumoniae outer membrane permeability and in pathogenesis. The previous knowledge of the K. pneumoniae waa gene cluster (the nomenclature proposed by Reeves et al. [23] for proteins and genes involved in core LPS biosynthesis is used in this work) and t...
By the isolation of three different Aeromonas hydrophila strain AH-3 (serotype O34) mutants with an altered lipopolysaccharide (LPS) migration in gels, three genomic regions encompassing LPS core biosynthesis genes were identified and characterized. When possible, mutants were constructed using each gene from the three regions, containing seven, four, and two genes (regions 1 to 3, respectively). The mutant LPS core structures were elucidated by using mass spectrometry, methylation analysis, and comparison with the full core structure of an O-antigen-lacking AH-3 mutant previously established by us. Combining the gene sequence and complementation test data with the structural data and phenotypic characterization of the mutant LPSs enabled a presumptive assignment of all LPS core biosynthesis gene functions in A. hydrophila AH-3. The three regions and the genes contained are in complete agreement with the recently sequenced genome of A. hydrophila ATCC 7966. The functions of the A. hydrophila genes waaC in region 3 and waaF in region 2 were completely established, allowing the genome annotations of the two heptosyl transferase products not previously assigned. Having the functions of all genes involved with the LPS core biosynthesis and most corresponding single-gene mutants now allows experimental work on the role of the LPS core in the virulence of A. hydrophila.
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