title: A histidine protein kinase homolog from the endosymbiont of the hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila.
abstract: The uncultivated bacterial endosymbionts of the hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila play a central role in providing their host with fixed carbon. While this intimate association between host and symbiont indicates tight integration and coordination of function via cellular communication mechanisms, no such systems have been identified. To elucidate potential signal transduction pathways in symbionts that may mediate symbiont-host communication, we cloned and characterized a gene encoding a histidine protein kinase homolog isolated from a symbiont fosmid library. The gene, designated rssA (for Riftia symbiont signal kinase), resembles known sensor kinases and encodes a protein capable of phosphorylating response regulators in Escherichia coli. A second open reading frame, rssB (for Riftia symbiont signal regulator), encodes a protein similar to known response regulators. These results suggest that the symbionts utilize a phosphotransfer signal transduction mechanism to communicate external signals that may mediate recognition of or survival within the host. The specific signals eliciting a response by the signal transduction proteins of the symbiont remain to be elucidated.
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093-0202, USA.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Felbeck
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001483:Base Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D000071677:Histidine Kinase; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011494:Protein Kinases; D000071677:Histidine Kinase