title: Cloning and sequence analysis of zooA, a Streptococcus zooepidemicus gene encoding a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance having a domain structure similar to that of lysostaphin.
abstract: The nucleotide sequence has been determined for zooA, a gene encoding the bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance zoocin A in Streptococcus zooepidemicus strain 4881. The zooA gene product corresponds to the 285-amino acid (aa) zoocin A pre-peptide from which a leader sequence is cleaved to form the 262-aa biologically active molecule of estimated molecular mass 27,877 Da. Expression of zooA in a Gram-negative host was shown by the extracellular release from Escherichia coli, containing cloned zooA, of a biologically active peptide having an identical range of anti-bacterial activity to that of zoocin A, purified from S. zooepidemicus strain 4881. Data base searches revealed sequences having homologies with known muralytic proteins produced by both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and indicate a 'mix and match' blending of domain-type structures, the C-terminal putative receptor-recognition region of the molecule being joined by a threonine-proline-rich linker to an N-terminal putative catalytic region having homology with several known endopeptidases, including lysostaphin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Simmonds
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Tagg
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000737:chemistry*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008248:Lysostaphin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D018502:Streptococcus equi / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001430:Bacteriocins; D010455:Peptides; C106076:ZooA protein, Streptococcus equi; D008248:Lysostaphin