Structural basis for prokaryotic calcium-mediated regulation by a Streptomyces coelicolor calcium binding protein

The important and diverse regulatory roles of Ca(2+) in eukaryotes are conveyed by the EF-hand containing calmodulin superfamily. However, the calcium-regulatory proteins in prokaryotes are still poorly understood. In this study, we report the three-dimensional structure of the calcium-binding protein from Streptomyces coelicolor, named CabD, which shares low sequence homology with other known helix-loop-helix EF-hand proteins. The CabD structure should provide insights into the biological role of the prokaryotic calcium-binding proteins. The unusual structural features of CabD compared with prokaryotic EF-hand proteins and eukaryotic sarcoplasmic calcium-binding proteins, including the bending conformation of the first C-terminal α-helix, unpaired ligand-binding EF-hands and the lack of the extreme C-terminal loop region, suggest it may have a distinct and significant function in calcium-mediated bacterial physiological processes, and provide a structural basis for potential calcium-mediated regulatory roles in prokaryotes.

Proviral Genomic Variation of EIAV Envelop gp 90 Gene Observed in Experimentally Infected Horse / 中国兽医学报

The present experiment was designed to observe the genetic variation of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) envelop gp 90 gene in infected horse. One horse was infected experimentally with P337-V70 strain and showed no clinical signs after being infected at twice with the same virus strain. Seventeen proviral sequences covering principal neutralizing domain (PND) of EIAV gp 90 gene were obtained from the buffy coat and liver of the horse through PCR amplification and cloning. Comparative analysis of the sequences revealed that some sequences contained the nucleotide insertions in the PND region. The insertions might be generated by direct repeat and strand displacement of sequence segment in their PND gene, showing different lenghts.