MlpA, a lipoprotein required for normal development of Myxococcus xanthus.
The mlpA gene encoding a 236-residue polypeptide has been identified immediately downstream of the oar gene of Myxococcus xanthus (M. Martinez-Canamero, J. Munoz-Dorado, E. Farez-Vidal, M. Inouye, and S. Inouye, J. Bacteriol. 175:4756-4763, 1993). The amino-terminal 21 residues of MlpA encode a typical prokaryotic signal sequence with a putative lipoprotein cleavage site. When expressed in Escherichia coli in the presence of [2-3H]glycerol, 3H-labeled MlpA had a molecular mass of 33 kDa and was found to be associated with the membrane fraction. Globomycin, an inhibitor of signal peptidase II, caused a shift in the mobility of E. coli-expressed MlpA to 35 kDa. Subsequently, a mlpA disruption strain (oar+) was constructed and found to have delayed fruiting body formation (by approximately 36 h), with significantly larger fruiting bodies being produced compared with those of the wild-type strain. Nevertheless, spore yields for the two strains were identical after 120 h of development. These data indicate that MlpA, the lipoprotein identified in M. xanthus, is required for normal fruiting body formation.
Hanlon
W A
WA
Department of Biochemistry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
Martinez-Canamero
M
M
Inouye
M
M
Inouye
S
S
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D016941:Myxococcus xanthus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008074:Lipoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010455:Peptides; C097147:mlpA protein, Myxococcus xanthus; C017339:globomycin