title: The highly conserved TldD and TldE proteins of Escherichia coli are involved in microcin B17 processing and in CcdA degradation.
abstract: Microcin B17 (MccB17) is a peptide antibiotic produced by Escherichia coli strains carrying the pMccB17 plasmid. MccB17 is synthesized as a precursor containing an amino-terminal leader peptide that is cleaved during maturation. Maturation requires the product of the chromosomal tldE (pmbA) gene. Mature microcin is exported across the cytoplasmic membrane by a dedicated ABC transporter. In sensitive cells, MccB17 targets the essential topoisomerase II DNA gyrase. Independently, tldE as well as tldD mutants were isolated as being resistant to CcdB, another natural poison of gyrase encoded by the ccd poison-antidote system of plasmid F. This led to the idea that TldD and TldE could regulate gyrase function. We present in vivo evidence supporting the hypothesis that TldD and TldE have proteolytic activity. We show that in bacterial mutants devoid of either TldD or TldE activity, the MccB17 precursor accumulates and is not exported. Similarly, in the ccd system, we found that TldD and TldE are involved in CcdA and CcdA41 antidote degradation rather than being involved in the CcdB resistance mechanism. Interestingly, sequence database comparisons revealed that these two proteins have homologues in eubacteria and archaebacteria, suggesting a broader physiological role.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique des Procaryotes, Institut de Biologie et de Médecine Moléculaires, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium.
authors.forename: Noureddine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Allali
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Afif
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Couturier
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Melderen
mesh_terms: D000931:Antidotes / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000931:Antidotes; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001430:Bacteriocins; C068355:CcdA protein, Bacteria; C068356:CcdB protein, Plasmid F; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D011498:Protein Precursors; C098431:TldD protein, E coli; C020411:microcin