title: Protein W, a spore-specific protein in Myxococcus xanthus, formation of a large electron-dense particle in a spore.
abstract: The gene for the major spore-specific protein, termed protein W, was cloned, and it was found that protein W is composed of 426 amino acid residues including 31% charged (133 residues) and 39% hydrophobic (166 residues) amino acids. In the protein, a motif consisting of five amino acid residues [(V/L/I)-R-E-R-(V/L/I)] is repeated 28 times, and another motif [M-M-(P/G)-Q-G] five times. Protein W is synthesized during a very late stage of development, forming a single, large electron-dense particle (200-400 nm in diameter) inside a spore. X-ray microanalysis of the particle revealed that it contains a high amount of phosphate in addition to calcium and magnesium. It is proposed that protein W consisting of highly charged repetitive sequences is a polyphosphate storage protein to store energy in spores. The disruption of the gene for protein W resulted in delayed fruiting body formation and a lower spore yield.
authors.affiliation: The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Kobe-Gakuin University, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Otani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kozuka
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Umezawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inouye
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016941:Myxococcus xanthus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C116488:protein W, Myxococcus