Mutation studies of the gene encoding YuiC, a stationary phase survival protein in Bacillus subtilis

Aims@#YuiC is a stationary phase survival (Sps) protein from the Firmicute Bacillus subtilis that possesses muralytic activity to cleave bacterial cell-wall peptidoglycan. It has a small lytic transglycosylase (MltA) fold analogous to the resuscitation promoting factors (Rpfs) of Actinobacteria which have a hybrid of a mini lysozyme and soluble lytic transglycosylase (Slt35/70) fold. The present study aimed at identifying key residues of YuiC/Sps that are catalytically active and studying the effect of B. subtilis cell growth upon sps/yuiC deletion. @*Methodology and results@#Four forms of mutated yuiC were created through Site-directed, Ligase-Independent Mutagenesis Polymerase Chain Reaction (SLIM PCR) that include the substitutions of D129A, D151A, D162A and K102A. These individual mutated yuiC genes were cloned and expressed in the Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) expression system and subsequently purified to homogeneity using affinity, cation exchange and size exclusion chromatography. The D129A variant was shown to be insoluble, indicating its role in maintaining the right protein folding of YuiC. The remaining three variants resulted in soluble proteins but were inactive on zymograms indicating that they may be responsible for catalysis. B. subtilis cells harbouring individual sps genes (yuiC, yabE, yocH and yorM) knocked out showed stationary phase defects and altered colony morphologies compared to the wild type. @*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#This study has identified the key residues involved in catalysis of YuiC, which are the D151, D162 and K102. These are conserved in Sps domains. The catalytic mechanism of YuiC is similar to the mechanism reported for Neisseria gonorrhoeae MltA. sps/yuiC knock outs have implied that each sps/yuiC has a significant role on B. subtilis late growth stage. The B. subtilis YuiC/Sps model has given an insight into Sps functions in the final growth stage of the Firmicutes, which members include etiologic agents of anthrax, botulism and listeriosis. Inhibition of Sps protein may inactivate pathogen replication and facilitate entrance into a non-contagious dormant sporulation stage.

The draft genome of Mycobacterium aurum, a potential model organism for investigating drugs against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae

Mycobacterium aurum [M. aurum] is an environmental mycobacteria that has previously been used in studies of anti-mycobacterial drugs due to its fast growth rate and low pathogenicity. The M. aurum genome has been sequenced and assembled into 46 contigs, with a total length of 6.02 Mb containing 5684 annotated protein-coding genes. A phylogenetic analysis using whole genome alignments positioned M. aurum close to Mycobacterium vaccae and Mycobacterium vanbaalenii, within a clade related to fast-growing mycobacteria. Large-scale genomic rearrangements were identified by comparing the M. aurum genome to those of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae. M. aurum orthologous genes implicated in resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs in M. tuberculosis were observed. The sequence identity at the DNA level varied from 68.6% for pncA [pyrazinamide drug-related] to 96.2% for rrs [streptomycin, capreomycin]. We observed two homologous genes encoding the catalase-peroxidase enzyme [katG] that is associated with resistance to isoniazid. Similarly, two embB homologues were identified in the M. aurum genome. In addition to describing for the first time the genome of M. aurum, this work provides a resource to aid the use of M. aurum in studies to develop improved drugs for the pathogenic mycobacteria M. tuberculosis and M. leprae

Identification of arylamine N-acetyltransferase inhibitors as an approach towards novel anti-tuberculars

New anti-tubercular drugs and drug targets are urgently needed to reduce the time for treatment and also to identify agents that will be effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis persisting intracellularly. Mycobacteria have a unique cell wall. Deletion of the gene for arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) decreases mycobacterial cell wall lipids, particularly the distinctive mycolates, and also increases antibiotic susceptibility and killing within macrophage of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. The nat gene and its associated gene cluster are almost identical in sequence in M. bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis. The gene cluster is essential for intracellular survival of mycobacteria. We have therefore used pure NAT protein for high-throughput screening to identify several classes of small molecules that inhibit NAT activity. Here, we characterize one class of such molecules-triazoles-in relation to its effects on the target enzyme and on both M. bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis. The most potent triazole mimics the effects of deletion of the nat gene on growth, lipid disruption and intracellular survival. We also present the structure-activity relationship between NAT inhibition and effects on mycobacterial growth, and use ligand-protein analysis to give further insight into the structure-activity relationships. We conclude that screening a chemical library with NAT protein yields compounds that have high potential as anti-tubercular agents and that the inhibitors will allow further exploration of the biochemical pathway in which NAT is involved.

Essential residues for the enzyme activity of ATP-dependent MurE ligase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The emergence of total drug-resistant tuberculosis (TDRTB) has made the discovery of new therapies for tuberculosis urgent. The cytoplasmic enzymes of peptidoglycan biosynthesis have generated renewed interest as attractive targets for the development of new anti-mycobacterials. One of the cytoplasmic enzymes, uridine diphosphate (UDP)-MurNAc-tripeptide ligase (MurE), catalyses the addition of meso-diaminopimelic acid (m-DAP) into peptidoglycan in Mycobacterium tuberculosis coupled to the hydrolysis of ATP. Mutants of M. tuberculosis MurE were generated by replacing K157, E220, D392, R451 with alanine and N449 with aspartate, and truncating the first 24 amino acid residues at the N-terminus of the enzyme. Analysis of the specific activity of these proteins suggested that apart from the 24 N-terminal residues, the other mutated residues are essential for catalysis. Variations in K(m) values for one or more substrates were observed for all mutants, except the N-terminal truncation mutant, indicating that these residues are involved in binding substrates and form part of the active site structure. These mutant proteins were also tested for their specificity for a wide range of substrates. Interestingly, the mutations K157A, E220A and D392A showed hydrolysis of ATP uncoupled from catalysis. The ATP hydrolysis rate was enhanced by at least partial occupation of the uridine nucleotide dipeptide binding site. This study provides an insight into the residues essential for the catalytic activity and substrate binding of the ATP-dependent MurE ligase. Since ATP-dependent MurE ligase is a novel drug target, the understanding of its function may lead to development of novel inhibitors against resistant forms of M. tuberculosis.