title: Conserved cytoplasmic motifs that distinguish sub-groups of the polyprenol phosphate:N-acetylhexosamine-1-phosphate transferase family.
abstract: WecA, MraY and WbcO are conserved members of the polyprenol phosphate:N-acetylhexosamine-1-phosphate transferase family involved in the assembly of bacterial cell walls, and catalyze reactions involving a membrane-associated polyprenol phosphate acceptor substrate and a cytoplasmically located UDP-D-amino sugar donor. MraY, WbcO and WecA purportedly utilize different UDP-sugars, although the molecular basis of this specificity is largely unknown. However, domain variations involved in specificity are predicted to occur on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane, adjacent to conserved domains involved in the mechanistic activity, and with access to the cytoplasmically located sugar nucleotides. Conserved C-terminal domains have been identified that satisfy these criteria. Topological analyses indicate that they form the highly basic, fifth cytoplasmic loop between transmembrane regions IX and X. Four diverse loops are apparent, for MraY, WecA, WbcO and RgpG, that uniquely characterize these sub-groups of the transferase family, and a correlation is evident with the known or implied UDP-sugar specificity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA. matt_anderson@merck.com
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Eveland
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003600:Cytosol; D016208:Databases, Factual; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014166:Transferases; D017855:Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups) / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism; D014539:Uridine Diphosphate Sugars / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D014539:Uridine Diphosphate Sugars; D014166:Transferases; D017855:Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups); C083617:wecA protein, E coli; C079803:mraY protein, Bacteria