title: Identification, cloning, and nucleotide sequencing of the ornithine decarboxylase antizyme gene of Escherichia coli.
abstract: The ornithine decarboxylase antizyme gene of Escherichia coli was identified by immunological screening of an E. coli genomic library. A 6.4-kilobase fragment containing the antizyme gene was subcloned and sequenced. The open reading frame encoding the antizyme was identified on the basis of its ability to direct the synthesis of immunoreactive antizyme. Antizyme shares significant homology with bacterial transcriptional activators of the two-component regulatory system family; these systems consist of a "sensor" kinase and a transcriptional regulator. The open reading frame next to antizyme is homologous to sensor kinases. Antizyme overproduction inhibits the activities of both ornithine and arginine decarboxylases without affecting their protein levels. Extracts from E. coli bearing an antizyme gene-containing plasmid exhibit increased antizyme activity. These data strongly suggest that (i) the cloned gene encodes the ornithine decarboxylase antizyme and (ii) antizyme is a bifunctional protein serving as both an inhibitor of polyamine biosynthesis as well as a transcriptional regulator of an as yet unknown set of genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Canellakis
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Paterakis
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Panagiotidis
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kyriakidis
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D011506:Proteins; C031017:ornithine decarboxylase antizyme