title: Identification of the gonococcal glmU gene encoding the enzyme N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate uridyltransferase involved in the synthesis of UDP-GlcNAc.
abstract: In searching for the gonococcal sialyltransferase gene(s), we cloned a 3.8-kb DNA fragment from gonococcus strain MS11 that hybridized with the oligonucleotide JU07, which was derived from the conserved C terminus of the sialyl motif present in mammalian sialyltransferases. Sequencing of the fragment revealed four putative open reading frames (ORFs), one of which (ORF-1) contained a partial sialyl motif including the amino acid sequence VGSKT, which is highly conserved among sialyltransferases. The gene was flanked by two inverted repeats containing the neisserial DNA uptake sequence and was preceded by a putative sigma 54 promoter. Database searches, however, revealed a high degree of homology between ORF-1 and the N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GlmU) of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis and not with any known sialyltransferase. This homology was further established by the successful complementation of an orf-1 mutation by the E. coli glmU gene. Enzyme assays demonstrated that ORF-1 did not possess sialyltransferase activity but mimicked GlmU function catalyzing the conversion of N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate into UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, which is a key metabolite in the syntheses of lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan, and sialic acids.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, Abteilung Infektionsbiologie, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ullrich
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: van Putten
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D014537:Uridine Diphosphate N-Acetylglucosamine / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012794:Sialic Acids; D014537:Uridine Diphosphate N-Acetylglucosamine; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases; C023226:UDPacetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid