Genes concerned with synthesis of poly(glycerol phosphate), the essential teichoic acid in Bacillus subtilis strain 168, are organized in two divergent transcription units

Abstract

Insertional mutagenesis has revealed that a 22 kbp segment from the /&A region of the Bacillus subtilis 168 chromosome (310" on the genetic map) contains at least six independent transcription units, all apparently devoted to production of cell envelope components. Genes concerned with synthesis of poly(glycero1 phosphate), poly(groP), an essential cell wall polymer in B. subtilis 168, are organized in two divergently transcribed operons denoted tagABC and tagDEF. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicates that three of these six genes encode extremely basic polypeptides. The deduced products of the tugA BCoperon may be involved in poly(groP) assembly and export, whereas those of the tagDEF operon, which are very hydrophilic, are more likely to be implicated in poly(groP) precursor biosynthesis. The first gene of the tagDEF operon encodes glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase (Pooley et al., 1991, Journal of General Microbiology 137,921-928) and its deduced product has significant homology with cholinephosphate cytidylyltransferase from yeast. There is also substantial homology between the deduced products of tagB in the tagABC operon and fagF in the tagDEF operon.

Cloning of a Human cDNA for CTP-Phosphoethanolamine Cytidylyltransferase by Complementation in Vivo of a Yeast Mutant

“…The regions of greatest identity in the two halves of ETs are also homologous to the sequences in the N-terminal half of CTs. Based on the high degree of homology between the N-terminal domain of rat CT, a similarly located region in yeast CT, and a Bacillus subtilis glycerolphosphate cytidylyltransferase (4,8,28), it has been proposed that this region bears the active site of these cytidylyltransferases. This was confirmed by that the catalytic activity of a truncated form of rat CT, comprising residues 1-236, was quite similar to that of the wild-type CT (29).…”

Genetic and biochemical characterization of Bacillus subtilis 168 mutants specifically blocked in the synthesis of the teichoic acid poly(3-O- -D-glucopyranosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine 1-phosphate): gneA, a new locus, is associated with UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 4-epimerase activity

“…Genetic analysis of conditional lethal mutants deficient in poly(groP) synthesis (Boylan et al, 1972;Karamata et al, 1972;Pooley et al, 1987;Briehl et al, 1989;, and in particular the more recent nucleotide sequencing studies (Honeyman & Stewart, 1989;Mauel et al, 1991) have led to the identification of six genes likely to be specifically involved in the synthesis of glucosylated poly(groP). Putative enzyme activities for the encoded products of two of these genes have been proposed (Young, 1967 ; Pooley et al, 199 1).…”

Studies of the Genetics, Function, and Kinetic Mechanism of TagE, the Wall Teichoic Acid Glycosyltransferase in Bacillus subtilis 168

“…This organism produces a linear 1,3-linked poly(glycerol phosphate) polymer that is modified at position 2 of glycerol with D-alanine or glucose (4). Classical genetic experiments in B. subtilis led to the isolation of the tag (teichoic acid glycerol phosphate) gene cluster for wall teichoic acid synthesis (7,8), and studies over the past decade using recombinant proteins have assigned biochemical functions to nearly all of the proteins involved in poly(glycerol phosphate) synthesis (9 -13). In addition, the pathway responsible for teichoic acid D-alanylation has been characterized in B. subtilis (14) as well as in other bacteria, such as S. aureus (5).…”