title: Alkaline phosphatase secretion-negative mutant of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C.
abstract: An alkaline phosphatase secretion-blocked mutant of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C was isolated. This mutant had defects in the phoP and phoR regions of the chromosome. The selection procedure was based on the rationale that N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine can induce mutations of closely linked multiple genes. The malate gene and the phoP and phoR genes are located at the 260-min position in the Bacillus subtilis chromosome; hence, the malate gene could be used as a marker for the mutation of the phoP and phoR regions of the chromosome. In a two-step selection procedure, strains defective in malate utilization were first selected with the cephalosporin C procedure. Second, these malate-defective strains were further screened in a dye medium to select strains with defects in alkaline phosphatase secretion. One stable mutant (B. licheniformis 749/cNM 105) had a total secretion block for alkaline phosphatase and had the following additional characteristics: (i) the amount of alkaline phosphatase synthesized was comparable to that in the wild type; (ii) the alkaline phosphatase was membrane bound; (iii) the mutant strain alkaline phosphatase, in contrast to that of the wild type, could not be extracted with MgCl2, although the amounts of protein extracted from each strain were comparable; (iv) the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel pattern of MgCl2-extracted proteins from the mutant strain was different from that of the wild-type proteins; (v) the mutant, unlike the wild type, could not use malate as a sole source of carbon; and (vi) the outside surface of the wall of the mutant cells contained an additional electron-dense layer that was not present on the wild-type cell wall surface.
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001407:Bacillus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000201:enzymology; D000939:Epitopes / Q000032:analysis; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D009154:Mutation
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase