title: Role of the CheW protein in bacterial chemotaxis: overexpression is equivalent to absence.
abstract: The cheW gene from Escherichia coli has been cloned an inducible promoter, and the effects of the overproduction of the CheW protein on chemotactic behavior and receptor covalent modification have been examined. Plasmids that contain the cheW gene behind a regulatable promoter complement a cheW mutation when the CheW protein is produced at low levels. However, when the CheW protein is greatly overproduced in either a wild-type strain or a cheW mutant, chemotaxis is greatly inhibited, cheW null mutant cells swim smoothly as if they were constantly responding to an attractant. Surprisingly, cells in which the CheW protein is overproduced also swim smoothly. The behavioral defect produced by overproduction of the CheW protein does not require the presence of the cheR, cheB, or cheZ gene. Receptor demethylation is also inhibited by overproduction of the CheW protein, as it is by a mutation in the cheW gene or a response to an attractant. In all respects, therefore, overproduction of the CheW protein has the same consequences as does a mutation in the cheW gene or a response to an attractant. A model involving two states of the CheW protein is proposed to explain its role in bacterial chemotaxis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley 94704.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mendez
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Koshland
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D002633:Chemotaxis; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007700:Kinetics; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010957:Plasmids; D015183:Restriction Mapping
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C489103:CheW protein, E coli; D002630:Chemotactic Factors; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C051236:CheW protein, Bacteria