Characterization of the operon encoding the YpkA Ser/Thr protein kinase and the YopJ protein of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.
The Ser/Thr protein kinase YpkA, encoded by the virulence plasmid pIB1, is an indispensable virulence determinant of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis [E. E. Galyov, S. Håkansson, A. Forsberg, and H. Wolf-Watz, Nature (London) 361:730-732, 1993]. In this study, the organization of the ypkA-containing operon and the in vitro regulation of this transcriptional unit were characterized. The operon contains two structural genes, ypkA and yopJ, and is regulated by temperature and the extracellular concentration of Ca2+, as are the yop genes. The two proteins were secreted without posttranslational processing, showing that YpkA and YopJ belong to the Yop family. Mutational analysis revealed that, in contrast to all other Yop proteins so far studied, the YopJ protein was dispensable for virulence of Y. pseudotuberculosis.
Galyov
E E
EE
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Umeå, Sweden.
Håkansson
S
S
Wolf-Watz
H
H
D000818:Animals; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009876:Operon / Q000235:genetics*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics; D015011:Yersinia pseudotuberculosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C079893:ypkA protein, Yersinia; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases