The Phosphatomes of the Multicellular Myxobacteria Myxococcus xanthus and Sorangium cellulosum in Comparison with Other Prokaryotic Genomes

Abstract

BackgroundAnalysis of the complete genomes from the multicellular myxobacteria Myxococcus xanthus and Sorangium cellulosum identified the highest number of eukaryotic-like protein kinases (ELKs) compared to all other genomes analyzed. High numbers of protein phosphatases (PPs) could therefore be anticipated, as reversible protein phosphorylation is a major regulation mechanism of fundamental biological processes.MethodologyHere we report an intensive analysis of the phosphatomes of M. xanthus and S. cellulosum in which we constructed phylogenetic trees to position these sequences relative to PPs from other prokaryotic organisms.Principal FindingsPredominant observations were: (i) M. xanthus and S. cellulosum possess predominantly Ser/Thr PPs; (ii) S. cellulosum encodes the highest number of PP2c-type phosphatases so far reported for a prokaryotic organism; (iii) in contrast to M. xanthus only S. cellulosum encodes high numbers of SpoIIE-like PPs; (iv) there is a significant lack of synteny among M. xanthus and S. cellulosum, and (v) the degree of co-organization between kinase and phosphatase genes is extremely low in these myxobacterial genomes.ConclusionsWe conclude that there has been a greater expansion of ELKs than PPs in multicellular myxobacteria.

Complete genome sequence and identification of polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis genes of the myxobacterium Minicystis rosea DSM 24000T

“…It has also been reported that PP2c-type PPs can compete with ELKs in bacteria [ 37 ]. However, a higher number of PP2c-type PPs has been observed in M. rosea (21 genes) than A. dehalogenans (2 genes), M. xanthus (4 genes), and S. cellulosum So ce56 (16 genes), reported as the highest PP2c-type PPs containing prokaryote [ 38 ]. Moreover, an elevated ratio of ELKs/PPs has been also observed in M. rosea (8.2/1), as in A. dehalogenans (1.7/1), M. xanthus (6.9/1), and S. cellulosum So ce56 (7.7/1) [ 38 ].…”

“…However, a higher number of PP2c-type PPs has been observed in M. rosea (21 genes) than A. dehalogenans (2 genes), M. xanthus (4 genes), and S. cellulosum So ce56 (16 genes), reported as the highest PP2c-type PPs containing prokaryote [ 38 ]. Moreover, an elevated ratio of ELKs/PPs has been also observed in M. rosea (8.2/1), as in A. dehalogenans (1.7/1), M. xanthus (6.9/1), and S. cellulosum So ce56 (7.7/1) [ 38 ]. It could explain the phosphorylation events which cannot be reversed by PPs during multicellular development in myxobacteria [ 38 ] .…”

“…Moreover, an elevated ratio of ELKs/PPs has been also observed in M. rosea (8.2/1), as in A. dehalogenans (1.7/1), M. xanthus (6.9/1), and S. cellulosum So ce56 (7.7/1) [ 38 ]. It could explain the phosphorylation events which cannot be reversed by PPs during multicellular development in myxobacteria [ 38 ] . We identified 90 ELK proteins as being involved in the fruiting body production in M. rosea by BLASTP search (length ≥ 50% and e-value ≤1e-10) against the fruiting body forming proteins of M. xanthus [ 39 ] and HMM-profile based searches [ 40 ].…”

Myxobacterial Genomics and Post-Genomics: A Review of Genome Biology, Genome Sequences and Related ‘Omics Studies

“…The large numbers of kinases are disproportionate with genome size as a consequence of extensive gene duplication [ 58 ]. As might be expected, the number of genes encoding Ser/Thr phospho-protein phosphatases in myxobacterial genomes correlates with their number of Ser/Thr kinases, but in far smaller numbers [ 59 ].…”

Enzymatic and Functional Analysis of a Protein Phosphatase, Pph3, from Myxococcus xanthus

“…1) (18). Eight invariant residues in the conserved motifs of PP2C-like protein phosphatases also exist in Pph3 (24,27).…”