title: The melA gene is essential for melanin biosynthesis in the marine bacterium Shewanella colwelliana.
abstract: The surface-adhering, Gram-negative marine bacterium Shewanella colwelliana synthesizes a red-brow melanin in the late stage of exponential growth in laboratory culture. Previous studies identified a single gene, melA, from S. colwelliana that could impart the ability to produce melanin to an E. coli host. However, these studies did not demonstrate a requirement for melA during melanization in S. colwelliana. In this paper, genetic analyses, using a broad host range conjugation system to generate specific lesions, reveal that melA null mutants fail to synthesize pigment. The wild-type melA gene provided in trans on a low copy number plasmid complemented these null mutations, as well as a spontaneous pigment variant, to wild-type melanin synthesis. Polyclonal antibodies, raised against a MelA-LacZ fusion protein, were used to confirm the presence of the melA gene product in wild-type S. colwelliana and verify its absence in the non-pigmented mutants. In addition, detection of the MelA protein over the course of growth in batch culture revealed a constant steady-state level of MelA protein, suggesting that the timing of melanization and the quantity of melanin synthesized is not controlled at the level of melA expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland, College Park.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Fuqua
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Weiner
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D008543:Melanins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D008543:Melanins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins