Signal sequence mutations disrupt feedback between secretion of an exported protein and its synthesis in E. coli

Ribo-attenuators: novel elements for reliable and modular riboswitch engineering

Riboswitches are structural genetic regulatory elements that directly couple the sensing of small molecules to gene expression. They have considerable potential for applications throughout synthetic biology and bio-manufacturing as they are able to sense a wide range of small molecules and regulate gene expression in response. Despite over a decade of research they have yet to reach this considerable potential as they cannot yet be treated as modular components. This is due to several limitations including sensitivity to changes in genetic context, low tunability, and variability in performance. To overcome the associated difficulties with riboswitches, we have designed and introduced a novel genetic element called a ribo-attenuator in Bacteria. This genetic element allows for predictable tuning, insulation from contextual changes, and a reduction in expression variation. Ribo-attenuators allow riboswitches to be treated as truly modular and tunable components, thus increasing their reliability for a wide range of applications.

Mechanism of protonophores-mediated induction of heat-shock response in Escherichia coli

Background

Protonophores are the agents that dissipate the proton-motive-force (PMF) across E. coli plasma membrane. As the PMF is known to be an energy source for the translocation of membrane and periplasmic proteins after their initial syntheses in cell cytoplasm, protonophores therefore inhibit the translocation phenomenon. In addition, protonophores also induce heat-shock-like stress response in E. coli cell. In this study, our motivation was to investigate that how the protonophores-mediated phenomena like inhibition of protein translocation and induction of heat-shock proteins in E. coli were correlated.

Results

Induction of heat-shock-like response in E. coli attained the maximum level after about 20 minutes of cell growth in the presence of a protonophore like carbonyl cyanide m-chloro phenylhydrazone (CCCP) or 2, 4-dinitrophenol (DNP). With induction, cellular level of the heat-shock regulator protein sigma-32 also increased. The increase in sigma-32 level was resulted solely from its stabilization, not from its increased synthesis. On the other hand, the protonophores inhibited the translocation of the periplasmic protein alkaline phosphatase (AP), resulting its accumulation in cell cytosol partly in aggregated and partly in dispersed form. On further cell growth, after withdrawal of the protonophores, the previously accumulated AP could not be translocated out; instead the AP-aggregate had been degraded perhaps by an induced heat-shock protease ClpP. Moreover, the non-translocated AP formed binary complex with the induced heat-shock chaperone DnaK and the excess cellular concentration of DnaK disallowed the induction of heat-shock response by the protonophores.

Conclusion

Our experimental results suggested that the protonophores-mediated accumulation and aggregation of membrane proteins (like AP) in cell cytosol had signaled the induction of heat-shock proteins in E. coli and the non-translocated protein aggregates were possibly degraded by an induced heat-shock protease ClpP. Moreover, the induction of heat-shock response occurred by the stabilization of sigma-32. As, normally the DnaK-bound sigma-32 was known to be degraded by the heat-shock protease FtsH, our experimental results further suggested that the engagement of DnaK with the non-translocated proteins (like AP) had made the sigma-32 free and stable.

Why does ethanol induce cellular heat-shock response?

At the time of induction of the periplasmic protein alkaline phosphatase (AP) in Escherichia coli, the presence of ethanol (10% v/v) in the growth medium did not allow the induced AP to be translocated out to the periplasm. The nontransported AP was stored in the cytoplasm as the unfolded precursor form (AP with its amino-terminal signal sequence), which had no enzymatic activity. The presence of 10% v/v ethanol in the growth medium also induced the heat-shock response in E. coli, which was evident from the enhanced syntheses of several heat-shock proteins (HSPs) over their cellular basal levels. These results, in conjunction with our earlier findings on the occurrence of heat-shock response in an AP-signal sequence mutant of E. coli due to the export deficiency of AP precursor, suggest that the membrane protein precursors, stored in the cytoplasm due to the ethanol-mediated inhibition of translocation, behaved to the cells as abnormal proteins, which ultimately triggered the signal for the induction of heat-shock response in E. coli.

Cloning, mapping, and characterization of the Escherichia coli prc gene, which is involved in C-terminal processing of penicillin-binding protein 3

The prc gene, which is involved in cleavage of the C-terminal peptide from the precursor form of penicillin-binding protein 3 (PBP 3) of Escherichia coli, was cloned and mapped at 40.4 min on the chromosome. The gene product was identified as a protein of about 80 kDa in maxicell and in vitro systems. Fractionation of the maxicells producing the product suggested that the product was associated with the periplasmic side of the cytoplasmic membrane. This was consistent with the notion that the C-terminal processing of PBP 3 probably occurs outside the cytoplasmic membrane: the processing was found to be dependent on the secY and secA functions, indicating that the prc product or PBP 3 or both share the translocation machinery with other extracytoplasmic proteins. DNA sequencing analysis of the prc gene region identified an open reading frame, with two possible translational starts 6 bp apart from each other, that could code for a product with a calculated molecular weight of 76,667 or 76,432. The prc mutant was sensitive to thermal and osmotic stresses. Southern analysis of the chromosomal DNA of the mutant unexpectedly revealed that the mutation was a deletion of the entire prc gene and thus that the prc gene is conditionally dispensable. The mutation resulted in greatly reduced heat shock response at low osmolarity and in leakage of periplasmic proteins.

SecA protein: autoregulated initiator of secretory precursor protein translocation across the E. coli plasma membrane

Several classes of secA mutants have been isolated which reveal the essential role of this gene product for E. coli cell envelope protein secretion. SecA-dependent, in vitro protein translocation systems have been utilized to show that SecA is an essential, plasma membrane-associated, protein translocation factor, and that SecA's ATPase activity appears to play an essential but as yet undefined role in this process. Cell fractionation studies suggested that SecA protein is in a dynamic state within the cell, occurring in soluble, peripheral, and integral membraneous states. These data have been used to argue that SecA is likely to promote the initial insertion of secretory precursor proteins into the plasma membrane in a manner dependent on ATP hydrolysis. The protein secretion capability of the cell has been shown to translationally regulate secA expression with SecA protein serving as an autogenous repressor, although the exact mechanism and purpose of this regulation need to be defined further.

The role of the mature part of secretory proteins in translocation across the plasma membrane and in regulation of their synthesis in Escherichia coli

Presently available data are reviewed which concern the role of the mature parts of secretory precursor proteins in translocation across the plasma membrane of Escherichia coli. The following conclusions can be drawn; i) signals, acting in a positive fashion and required for translocation do not appear to exist in the mature polypeptides; ii) a number of features have been identified which either affect the efficiency of translocation or cause export incompatibility. These are: alpha) protein folding prior to translocation; beta) restrictions regarding the structure of N-terminus; gamma) presence of lipophilic anchors; delta) too low a size of the precursor. Efficiency of translocation is also enhanced by binding of chaperonins (SecB, trigger factor, GroEL) to precursors. Binding sites for chaperonins appear to exist within the mature parts of the precursors but the nature of these sites has remained rather mysterious. Mutant periplasmic proteins with a block in release from the plasma membrane have been described, the mechanism of this block is not known. The mature parts of secretory proteins can also be involved in the regulation of their synthesis. It appears that exported proteins are already recognized as such before they are channelled into the export pathway and that their synthesis can be feed-back inhibited at the translational level.

SecA protein autogenously represses its own translation during normal protein secretion in Escherichia coli

The Escherichia coli secA gene, whose expression is responsive to the protein secretion status of the cell, is the second gene in an operon. We found that both the basal and induced levels of SecA biosynthesis are dependent on prior translation of the upstream gene, gene X, and identified two large gene X-secA transcripts. The 10-fold derepression of secA expression by protein export defects was at the translational level since no further increases in gene X or secA mRNA levels were detected during this period, and a secA-lacZ protein fusion but not an operon fusion was appropriately derepressed. Furthermore, overexpression of the SecA protein severely reduced expression of only the secA-lacZ protein fusion, indicating that SecA autogenously represses its own translation.

Synthesis and export of the outer membrane lipoprotein in Escherichia coli mutants defective in generalized protein export

Export of the outer membrane lipoprotein in Escherichia coli was examined in conditionally lethal mutants that were defective in protein export in general, including secA, secB, secC, and secD. Lipoprotein export was affected in a secA(Ts) mutant of E. coli at the nonpermissive temperature; it was also affected in a secA(Am) mutant of E. coli at the permissive temperature, but not at the nonpermissive temperature. The export of lipoprotein occurred normally in E. coli carrying a null secB::Tn5 mutation; on the other hand, the export of an OmpF::Lpp hybrid protein, consisting of the signal sequence plus 11 amino acid residues of mature OmpF and mature lipoprotein, was affected by the secB mutation. The synthesis of lipoprotein was reduced in the secC mutant at the nonpermissive temperature, as was the case for synthesis of the maltose-binding protein, while the synthesis of OmpA was not affected. Lipoprotein export was found to be slightly affected in secD(Cs) mutants at the nonpermissive temperature. These results taken together indicate that the export of lipoprotein shares the common requirements for functional SecA and SecD proteins with other exported proteins, but does not require a functional SecB protein. SecC protein (ribosomal protein S15) is required for the optimal synthesis of lipoprotein.

Association of degradation and secretion of three chimeric polypeptides in Escherichia coli

We investigated the stability of fusion proteins composed of the signal peptide of the heat-labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli and three polypeptides: the bacterial cytoplasmic chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, the mouse dihydrofolate reductase, and human immune interferon. We demonstrate that these proteins are rapidly degraded as a result of being targeted to the secretion apparatus of E. coli, with the extent of degradation varying among the three fusion proteins. Four lines of experimental evidence are presented in support of this suggestion. First, the chimeric polypeptides containing a functional signal peptide were detected in low amounts in vivo. When a mutation was introduced in the signal peptide, resulting in lack of recognition by the secretion apparatus, the chimeric proteins accumulated at high levels in the cytoplasm of the cell. Second, both the wild-type and mutant polypeptides accumulated in a purified and reconstituted in vitro translation system from E. coli and were equally susceptible to digestion by an exogenous protease. Third, the chimeric polypeptides lacking the signal peptide accumulated in a stable form in vivo. Fourth, the precursors of the proteins containing a functional signal peptide accumulated in a secA ts mutant at the restrictive temperature when secretion was blocked, suggesting that degradation is tightly linked to the secretion apparatus.

The role of topogenic sequences in the movement of proteins through membranes

Recent advances have led to considerable convergence in ideas of the way topogenic sequences act to translocate proteins across various intracellular membranes (Table 2). Whereas co-translational translocation and processing were previously considered the norm at the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, several instances of post-translational translocation into endoplasmic reticulum microsomes in vitro have now been described. However, it must be noted that post-translational translocation in vitro is much less efficient than when endoplasmic reticulum membranes are present during translation, and it is possible that in the intact cell translocation occurs during translation. Movement of proteins into chloroplasts and mitochondria occurs after translation. When translocation is post-translational, proteins may perhaps traverse the membrane as folded domains, and the conformational effects of topogenic sequences on these domains may be as envisaged in Wickner's 'membrane-trigger hypothesis'. Both signal and transit sequences possess amphipathic structures which are capable of interacting with phospholipid bilayers, and these interactions may disturb the bilayer sufficiently to allow entry of the following domains of protein. There is increasing evidence that GTP is required to bind ribosomes and their associated nascent chains to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Precisely how the cell's energy is applied to achieve translocation is not clear, but one possibility at the endoplasmic reticulum is that a GTP-hydrolysing transducing mechanism may exist to couple signal sequence receptor binding to movement of the nascent chain across the membrane. Electrochemical gradients are required for protein movement to the mitochondrial inner membrane and across the bacterial inner membrane. Cytoplasmic factors such as SRP, the secA gene product or a 40 kDa protein (for mitochondrial precursors) may act by binding to topogenic sequences and preventing precursor proteins as they are translated from folding into forms which cannot be translocated. Specificity in the cell may be achieved both by targetting interactions between these cytoplasmic factors and their receptors located in target membranes, and also by specific binding of the topogenic sequences to specific proteins integrated into the target membranes. Possible candidates for the latter are the protein of microsomal membranes that reacts with a photoreactive signal peptide to give a 45 kDa complex (Fig. 1), the secY gene product of the bacterial inner membrane, and receptors on the outer membranes of chloroplasts and mitochondria. Whether these aid translocation as well as recognition is not clear.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Effects of signal sequence mutations on the kinetics of alkaline phosphatase export to the periplasm in Escherichia coli

We isolated a collection of mutants defective in the export of alkaline phosphatase to the periplasm. Two classes of mutants were obtained: one class with lesions unlinked to the phoA gene and a second class harboring linked mutations. Among the former class, one mutant is cold sensitive for growth and may be defective in a component of the Escherichia coli secretory apparatus. Included in the latter class are 47 mutants which are characterized in detail in this report. To facilitate DNA sequence analysis of these mutants, we devised a convenient method that relies on homologous recombination in vivo to transfer phoA mutations from the bacterial chromosome directly onto the genome of a single-stranded M13 phage vector. DNA sequence analysis revealed that our collection of mutants comprises six unique mutations, all of which reside in the phoA signal sequence coding region and lend further support to the notion that the length of the hydrophobic core of the signal sequence is crucial for its function in protein export. Kinetic studies showed that in these mutants, the small fraction of alkaline phosphatase which succeeds in reaching a periplasmic location, despite a defective signal sequence, is translocated across the membrane in a slow, posttranslational fashion.

Does secA mediate coupling between secretion and translation in Escherichia coli?

An amber mutation in the secA gene of Escherichia coli causes a pleiotropic decrease in the synthesis of secreted proteins, including maltose-binding protein (MBP) and alkaline phosphatase. Reversal of the inhibition of MBP synthesis in secA(Am) strains by signal sequence mutations in the malE gene has been reported. These results suggest a coupling between secretion and translation which involves an interaction between the signal sequence of nascent polypeptides and a cellular secretion machinery. Further analysis reported here indicated that signal sequence mutations of MBP or alkaline phosphatase did not selectively overcome the inhibition of MBP or alkaline phosphatase synthesis in secA(Am) strains. Rather, at a given time in parallel experiments there was substantial variability among closely isogenic secA(Am) strains in the magnitude of the synthesis block; this variability could account for the earlier results. Further experiments suggested that the inhibition of MBP synthesis in secA(Am) strains was caused by depletion of cyclic AMP, leading to decreased transcription of the malE gene. However, the secretion defects in secA(Am) strains were not affected by cyclic AMP levels. Therefore, we conclude that the reduction in MBP synthesis was a secondary consequence of the primary export defect in the secA(Am) strains.

Protein translocation across and integration into membranes

This review concentrates mainly on the translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and cytoplasmic membrane in bacteria. It will start with a short historical review and will pinpoint the crucial questions in the field. Special emphasis will be given to the present knowledge on the molecular details of the first steps, i.e., on the function of the signal recognition particle and its receptor. The knowledge on the signal peptidase and the ribosome receptor(s) will also be summarized. The various models for the translocation of proteins across and the integration of proteins into membranes will be critically discussed. In particular, the function of signal, stop-transfer, and insertion sequences will be dealt with and molecular differences discussed. The cotranslational mode of membrane transfer will be compared with the post-translational transport found for mitochondria and chloroplasts. This review will conclude with open questions and an outlook.

Binding of pea cytochrome f to the inner membrane of Escherichia coli requires the bacterial secA gene product

Various sequences from the 5' end of the pea chloroplast gene for cytochrome f have been fused in the correct reading frame with lacZ, and the cellular location of the hybrid polypeptides in Escherichia coli has been examined. Hybrid polypeptides containing N-terminal parts of cytochrome f are located in the cytoplasmic membrane of E. coli. Membrane localization is most efficient when the intact signal sequence of cytochrome f is present at the N-terminal end of the fusion proteins. Fusion within the signal sequence, so that the processing site is absent, reduces the efficiency of membrane binding. Membrane insertion of fusion proteins containing signal sequences is prevented in a temperature-sensitive secA strain at the nonpermissive temperature and the hybrid proteins accumulate in the cytoplasm. This indicates that specific recognition of the chloroplast signal sequence occurs in the bacterial secretory pathway.

Ribosome-SRP-signal sequence interactions. The relay helix hypothesis

The role of the signal sequence in protein export is reviewed, and some difficulties inherent in the conventional picture of how it interacts with other components of the export machinery are pointed out. An alternative model is suggested, which seems to account better for some of the critical experimental findings made so far.

Lethal mutations in the structural gene of an outer membrane protein (OmpA) of Escherichia coli K12

The gene ompA encodes a major outer membrane protein of Escherichia coli. Localized mutagenesis of the part of the gene corresponding to the 21-residue signal sequence and the first 45 residues of the protein resulted in alterations which caused cell lysis when expressed. DNA sequence analyses revealed that in one mutant type the last CO2H-terminal residue of the signal sequence, alanine, was replaced by valine. The proteolytic removal of the signal peptide was much delayed and most of the unprocessed precursor protein was fractioned with the outer membrane. However, this precursor was completely soluble in sodium lauryl sarcosinate which does not solubilize the OmpA protein or fragments thereof present in the outer membrane. Synthesis of the mutant protein did not inhibit processing of the OmpA or OmpF proteins. In the other mutant type, multiple mutational alterations had occurred leading to four amino acid substitutions in the signal sequence and two affecting the first two residues of the mature protein. A reduced rate of processing could not be clearly demonstrated. Membrane fractionation suggested that small amounts of this precursor were associated with the plasma membrane but synthesis of this mutant protein also did not inhibit processing of the wild-type OmpA or OmpF proteins. Several lines of evidence left no doubt that the mature mutant protein is stably incorporated into the outer membrane. It is suggested that the presence, in the outer membrane, of the mutant precursor protein in the former case, or of the mutant protein in the latter case perturbs the membrane architecture enough to cause cell death.

Evidence for specificity at an early step in protein export in Escherichia coli

We previously described mutations in a gene, secB, which have pleiotropic effects on protein export in Escherichia coli. In this paper, we report the isolation of mutants in which the activity of the secB gene was eliminated. Null mutations in secB affected only a subset of exported proteins. Strains carrying these mutations, although unable to grow on L broth plates, were still viable on minimal media. These secB mutations reversed a block in the translation of an exported protein that was caused by the elimination of another component of the secretion machinery, SecA protein. These results suggest that the secB product acts at an early step in the export process and is involved in the export of only a subset of cell envelope proteins.

Defective secretion of maltose- and ribose-binding proteins caused by a truncated periplasmic protein in Escherichia coli

The secretion in Escherichia coli of a C-terminally truncated periplasmic enzyme from Salmonella typhimurium, the glpQ-encoded glycerolphosphate phosphodiesterase, was studied. Plasmid pRH100, carrying the truncated glpQ gene, directs the synthesis of a 30,000-molecular-weight (30 K) protein that is processed to a mature 27.5 K protein. (The mature wild-type protein is a 38 K protein.) The truncated protein is not released into the periplasm but remains membrane associated, although it becomes protease sensitive after conversion of cells to spheroplasts. The presence of pRH100 strongly reduces the amount of some other proteins in the periplasm, including the maltose- and ribose-binding proteins. The reduction does not occur at the level of transcription or early translation, as shown by lacZ fusions to the gene coding for the structural gene of the maltose-binding protein. Outer membrane proteins are not affected. A hydroxylamine-induced mutation in the sequence of glpQ corresponding to the mature polypeptide overcomes the inhibitory effect of pRH100. The mutated gene no longer directs the synthesis of the 30/27.5 K protein but directs that of a new 19 K protein which is not membrane bound. We propose that sorting signals in the mature GIpQ protein are necessary for effective translocation to the periplasm and that the C-terminal third of the protein is essential for release into the periplasm.

Blockage of tropoelastin secretion by monensin represses tropoelastin synthesis at a pretranslational level in rat smooth muscle cells

The blockage of protein secretion in the R22 cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cell strain with monensin repressed tropoelastin gene expression at the mRNA level by ca. 50-fold as measured by biosynthetic pulse-labeling, in vitro translation, and hybridization with a tropoelastin genomic DNA probe. These results suggest that tropoelastin gene expression is autoregulated, and they represent the first reported effect of monensin on gene expression.

Escherichia coli 6S RNA is not essential for growth or protein secretion

The function of the stable 6S RNA of Escherichia coli is not known. Recently, it was proposed that the 6S RNA is a component of a bacterial signal recognition particle required for protein secretion. To test this proposal, we isolated a mutant that lacks the 6S RNA. Studies of the mutant show that the 6S RNA is not essential for growth or for protein secretion. The gene for the 6S RNA (ssr) maps near serA at 63 min on the E. coli genetic map.

Enhanced secretion of glucosyltransferase by changes in potassium ion concentrations is accompanied by an altered pattern of membrane fatty acids in Streptococcus salivarius

Growth of Streptococcus salivarius ATCC 25975 in a Na+-based medium containing 1 to 50 mM K+ enhanced extracellular glucosyltransferase production by 3.7-fold over the level of enzyme found in a K+-based medium containing 184 mM K+. Enzyme synthesis and secretion were further enhanced in a nonlinear manner with respect to the concentration of K+ in the medium when cells were cultured from an inoculum grown in the presence of 1 mM K+. This concentration of K+ was the minimum required to maintain a near-maximum growth rate for S. salivarius in medium where K+ was limited. A maximum sevenfold stimulation of glucosyltransferase production occurred at 18 mM K+ under these conditions. Analysis of the total membrane lipids showed that the composition of octadecanoic acid increased with decreasing K+ concentration essentially at the expense of the octadecenoic acid moiety. Extracellular glucosyltransferase production was found to be directly related to the ratio of these two fatty acids. Similar confirmatory results over a greater range of enzyme production were obtained with nonproliferating cell suspensions.

prlA-mediated suppression of signal sequence mutations is modulated by the secA gene product of Escherichia coli K-12

We studied the dependence of prlA-mediated suppression of signal sequence mutations in maltose-binding protein on cellular SecA levels in Escherichia coli. Reduction of SecA levels within the cell had strong positive and negative effects on prlA-mediated suppression, depending on the particular signal sequence mutations involved. This finding suggests that prlA and secA gene products are both components of a common export system.

Identification of five new essential genes involved in the synthesis of a secreted protein in Escherichia coli

To define additional components of the export machinery of Escherichia coli, I have isolated extragenic suppressors of a mutant [secA(Ts)] that is temperature sensitive for growth and secretion at 37 degrees C. Suppressors that restored growth at 37 degrees C, but that rendered the cell cold sensitive for growth at 28 degrees C, were obtained. The suppressor mutations fall into at least seven loci, two of which (prlA and secC) have been previously implicated in protein secretion. The five remaining loci (ssaD, ssaE, ssaF, ssaG, and ssaH) have been mapped by P1 transduction and appear to define new genes in E. coli. All of the suppressor mutations allow both enhanced growth and protein secretion of the secA(Ts) mutant at 37 degrees C, but not 42 degrees C, indicating a continued requirement for SecA protein. Strains carrying solely the cold-sensitive mutations show reduced levels of certain periplasmic proteins when grown at low temperatures. In at least one case, that of maltose-binding protein, this defect is at the level of synthesis of the protein. Since mutants in any of seven genes as well as secA amber mutants halt or reduce the synthesis of an exported protein, it appears that E. coli may possess a general and complex mechanism for coupling protein synthesis and secretion.

Both linked and unlinked mutations can alter the intracellular site of synthesis of exported proteins of Escherichia coli

It previously has been demonstrated that synthesis of the periplasmic maltose-binding protein (MBP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) of Eschericha coli predominantly occurs on membrane-bound polysomes. In this study, signal sequence alterations that adversely affect export of MBP and AP, resulting in their cytoplasmic accumulation as unprocessed precursors, were investigated to determine whether they have an effect on the intracellular site of synthesis of these proteins. Our findings indicate that export-defective MBP and AP are not synthesized or are synthesized in greatly reduced levels on membrane-bound polysomes. In some instances, a concomitant increase in the amount of these proteins synthesized on free polysomes was clearly discerned. We also determined the site of synthesis of MBP and AP in strains harboring mutations thought to alter the cellular secretion machinery. It was found that the presence of a prlA suppressor allele partially restored synthesis of export-defective MBP on membrane-bound polysomes. On the other hand, the absence of a functional SecA protein resulted in the synthesis of wild-type MBP and AP predominantly on free polysomes.

Blockage of tropoelastin secretion by monensin represses tropoelastin synthesis at a pretranslational level in rat smooth muscle cells

The blockage of protein secretion in the R22 cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cell strain with monensin repressed tropoelastin gene expression at the mRNA level by ca. 50-fold as measured by biosynthetic pulse-labeling, in vitro translation, and hybridization with a tropoelastin genomic DNA probe. These results suggest that tropoelastin gene expression is autoregulated, and they represent the first reported effect of monensin on gene expression.

In vitro translocation of bacterial proteins across the plasma membrane of Escherichia coli

Precursors to two periplasmic proteins and one outer membrane protein were synthesized in a membrane-free extract from Escherichia coli programmed with plasmid DNA. In the presence of inverted plasma membrane vesicles from E. coli up to 25% of the precursor molecules were converted into their mature forms. Using externally added proteinase K as a probe, we found the processed proteins segregated within the membrane vesicles. By the same criteria, a small amount of each precursor also proved to be translocated, indicating that translocation and signal sequence cleavage are not necessarily coupled processes. Furthermore, we present conclusive evidence that the translocation step can occur post-translationally even as late as 60 min after the beginning of translation.

Analysis of the distribution of charged residues in the N-terminal region of signal sequences: implications for protein export in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

A statistical analysis of the distribution of charged residues in the N-terminal region of 39 prokaryotic and 134 eukaryotic signal sequences reveals a remarkable similarity between the two samples, both in terms of net charge and in terms of the position of charged residues within the N-terminal region, and suggests that the formyl group on Metf is not removed in prokaryotic signal sequences.

The product of gene secC is involved in the synthesis of exported proteins in E. coli

To obtain additional mutants in the secretory apparatus of E. coli we have isolated suppressors of a mutant (secAts) that is temperature-sensitive for secretion. One of these, secC, can suppress the secretion defect of secA and has a phenotype of its own. At 23 degrees C, the secC mutant is cold-sensitive for growth and blocks the synthesis of transported proteins. The synthesis of at least one secreted protein, maltose-binding protein (MBP), can be restored by mutations that alter the hydrophobic region of the signal sequence of MBP. The phenotype of the secC mutant suggests that the SecC protein may be a component of the secretory apparatus of E. coli; it also supports the notion that in procaryotes secretion and gene expression are coupled. The secC gene maps at 68.5 minutes on the E. coli chromosome.