title: oriT-processing and regulatory roles of TrwA protein in plasmid R388 conjugation.
abstract: TrwA protein was purified from an overproducing Escherichia coli strain and characterized as a 53 kDa tetrameric DNA-binding protein. Gel shift assays showed that TrwA bound specifically to the oriT sequence of plasmid R388. DNAse I footprinting analysis defined two DNA regions within oriT (sites A and B) that were protected by TrwA. At low TrwA concentrations only region A was protected (K(D) = 4 x 10(-8) M) while region B required higher TrwA concentrations (K(D) = 4 x 10(-7) M). As a result of its binding to oriT, TrwA was found to perform two biochemical activities related to its role in R388 conjugation. First, TrwA binding to oriT resulted in transcriptional repression of the trwABC operon as indicated by its effect on the beta-galactosidase activity of transcriptional fusions in trwB and trwC, and by direct measurement of the trwA mRNA levels by hybridization. This result was further confirmed by the fact that TrwA overexpression resulted in lowered conjugation frequencies. Second, TrwA enhanced the relaxation activity of TrwC in vitro. This effect was correlated to a 10(5)-fold increase in the frequency of conjugation in vivo and was shown to be independent of the regulation of transcription. Thus, TrwA shows functional similarities to protein TraY of F-like plasmids, that could be correlated to a structural similarity in their DNA-binding motifs.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Molecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moncalián
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grandoso
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Llosa
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de la Cruz
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D019426:Integrases; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D045522:Recombinases; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D045522:Recombinases; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C119757:TrwA protein, E coli; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D019426:Integrases; C115006:integron integrase IntI1