Elongation factor Tu is methylated in response to nutrient deprivation in Escherichia coli.
It has been shown previously that starvation of a mid-logarithmic-phase culture of Escherichia coli B/r for an essential nutrient results in the methylation of a membrane-associated protein (P-43) (C. C. Young and R. W. Bernlohr, J. Bacteriol. 172:5147-5153, 1990). In this communication, the purification of P-43 and sequence analysis of cyanogen bromide-generated peptide fragments identified P-43 as elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). This was confirmed by the ability of anti-EF-Tu antibody to precipitate P-43. We propose that the nutrient-dependent methylation of EF-Tu may be involved in the regulation of growth, possibly as a principal component of an unidentified signal transduction pathway in bacteria.
Young
C C
CC
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802.
Bernlohr
R W
RW
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D008745:Methylation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010444:Peptide Elongation Factor Tu / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry
D010455:Peptides; D010444:Peptide Elongation Factor Tu