title: mraW, an essential gene at the dcw cluster of Escherichia coli codes for a cytoplasmic protein with methyltransferase activity.
abstract: Three new open reading frames, mraZ, mraW and mraR (also called ftsL), were revealed by DNA sequencing immediately upstream of gene pbpB in the dcw cluster of Escherichia coli. We have found that mraW and mraZ are active genes, coding for two proteins with relative molecular masses of 34 800 and 17 300, respectively. MraW is a cytoplasmic protein that under overproduction condition is also loosely bound to the membrane. Soluble MraW was purified up to 90% by a single high performance electrophoresis (HPEC) step from an extract of an overproducing strain. The protein exhibits a S-adenosyl-dependent methyltransferase activity on membrane-located substrates.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular 'Severo Ochoa' C.S.I.C.-U.A.M., Campus de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrión
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Merchante-Schubert
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dongarrá
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ayala
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019677:Artificial Gene Fusion; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D005810:Multigene Family; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008780:Methyltransferases