Functional expression of arginine kinase improves recovery from pH stress of Escherichia coli.
Acid stress in Escherichia coli involves a complex resource- and energy-consuming response mechanism. By overexpression of arginine kinase from Limulus polyphemus in E. coli, we improved the recovery from a transient pH stress. While wild type E. coli resumed growth after a transient pH reduction to pH 3 for 1 h with a rate that was 25% lower than before the stress, the arginine kinase expressing strain continued to grow as rapidly as before. This effect is presumably caused by the physiological function of arginine kinase as a short term energy buffer in the form of phosphoarginine, but a pH-buffering effect cannot be excluded.
Canonaco
Fabrizio
F
Institute of Biotechnology, ETH Zürich, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Schlattner
Uwe
U
Wallimann
Theo
T
Sauer
Uwe
U
D000818:Animals; D001122:Arginine Kinase / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006737:Horseshoe Crabs / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000139:chemically induced
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D001122:Arginine Kinase