Isolation of a minD-like gene in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus AL585, and phylogenetic characterization of related proteins in the three domains of life.
The region upstream of the dinF-like gene of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus strain AL585 has been cloned and sequenced. This region contains an open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a polypeptide with a high similarity to MinD proteins and their Mrp paralogues. Transcripts of the dinF-like and the minD-like genes were detected by RT-PCR, indicating that they are both expressed in vivo. The MinD and MinD-like proteins belong to a broad family of ATPases involved in chromosome and plasmid partitioning. MinD-like proteins can be defined by specific amino-acid sequence signatures. A systematic search for proteins sharing these signatures in current databases and newly sequenced genomes show that MinD-like proteins are present in all archaeal genomes sequenced so far, often in several copies. Phylogenetic analysis identifies two groups of MinD-like proteins which are also characterized by more conserved amino-acid motifs. A first group, which includes the Escherichia coli MinD and the Pyrococcus AL585 MinDL protein, contains only procaryotic proteins. This group can be further divided into a subgroup of archaeal proteins and two subgroups of bacterial proteins. A second group includes proteins more related to the E. coli Mrp protein and contains representants of the three domains of life. The conservation of MinD-like proteins in the three domains of life suggests that these proteins play a central role in cellular metabolism.
Gérard
E
E
Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, URA 2225, Bât. 409, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France.
Labedan
B
B
Forterre
P
P
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D019766:Genes, Archaeal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D019711:Pyrococcus / Q000235:genetics*; D019642:RNA, Archaeal / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C093501:DinF-like protein, Pyrococcus sp.; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D019642:RNA, Archaeal; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C072069:MinD protein, E coli