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Functional conservation of the polysaccharide biosynthetic protein WbpM and its homologues in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other medically significant bacteria.

ABSTRACT: WbpM is a highly conserved protein involved in synthesis of the O antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Homologues of this protein have been identified in a large number of bacteria, and they can be divided into two subfamilies: subfamily 1, including WbpM, contains large proteins ( approximately 600 amino acids), while subfamily 2, typified by HP0840 (FlaA1) of Helicobacter pylori, contains smaller proteins ( approximately 350 amino acids) homologous to the C termini of proteins in subfamily 1. Analysis of knockout mutants of wbpM in P. aeruginosa serotypes O3, O10, O15, and O17 showed that although all 20 serotypes of P. aeruginosa possess wbpM, it is not universally required for O-antigen biosynthesis. Homologous genes from Bordetella pertussis (wlbL), Staphylococcus aureus (cap8D), and H. pylori (flaA1) complemented a P. aeruginosa O5 wbpM mutant to various degrees. These conserved proteins may represent interesting targets for the design of inhibitors of bacterial exopolysaccharide biosynthesis.

SUBMITTER: Burrows LL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC97225 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Functional conservation of the polysaccharide biosynthetic protein WbpM and its homologues in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other medically significant bacteria.

Burrows L L LL Urbanic R V RV Lam J S JS

Infection and immunity 20000201 2

WbpM is a highly conserved protein involved in synthesis of the O antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Homologues of this protein have been identified in a large number of bacteria, and they can be divided into two subfamilies: subfamily 1, including WbpM, contains large proteins ( approximately 600 amino acids), while subfamily 2, typified by HP0840 (FlaA1) of Helicobacter pylori, contains smaller proteins ( approximately 350 amino acids) homologous to the C termini of proteins in subfamily 1. A ...[more]

PMID: 10639466

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Project description:Pyocyanin is a biologically active phenazine produced by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is thought to endow P. aeruginosa with a competitive growth advantage in colonized tissue and is also thought to be a virulence factor in diseases such as cystic fibrosis and AIDS where patients are commonly infected by pathogenic Pseudomonads due to their immunocompromised state. Pyocyanin is also a chemically interesting compound due to its unusual oxidation-reduction activity. Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, the precursor to the bioactive phenazines, is synthesized from chorismic acid by enzymes encoded in a seven-gene cistron in P. aeruginosa and in other Pseudomonads. Phenzine-1-carboxylic acid is believed to be converted to pyocyanin by the sequential actions of the putative S-adenosylmethionine-dependent N-methyltransferase PhzM and the putative flavin-dependent hydroxylase PhzS. Here we report the 1.8 A crystal structure of PhzM determined by single anomalous dispersion. Unlike many methyltransferases, PhzM is a dimer in solution. The 36 kDa PhzM polypeptide folds into three domains. The C-terminal domain exhibits the alpha/beta-hydrolase fold typical of small molecule methyltransferases. Two smaller N-terminal domains form much of the dimer interface. Structural alignments with known methyltransferases show that PhzM is most similar to the plant O-methyltransferases that are characterized by an unusual intertwined dimer interface. The structure of PhzM contains no ligands, and the active site is open and solvent-exposed when compared to structures of similar enzymes. In vitro experiments using purified PhzM alone demonstrate that it has little or no ability to methylate phenzine-1-carboxylic acid. However, when the putative hydroxylase PhzS is included, pyocyanin is readily produced. This observation suggests that a mechanism has evolved in P. aeruginosa that ensures efficient production of pyocyanin via the prevention of the formation and release of an unstable and potentially deleterious intermediate.

Dataset Information

Functional conservation of the polysaccharide biosynthetic protein WbpM and its homologues in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other medically significant bacteria.

Publications

Functional conservation of the polysaccharide biosynthetic protein WbpM and its homologues in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other medically significant bacteria.

Similar Datasets

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