title: Molecular cloning and analysis of a region of the Bartonella bacilliformis genome encoding NlpD, L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase and YajC homologs.
abstract: The NlpD/LppB homolog of the human pathogen, Bartonella bacilliformis, is an immunogenic 43-kDa protein that is encoded by a 1206-bp open reading frame (ORF-401). The regions flanking the nlpD/lppB gene of B. bacilliformis were sequenced to determine if it is located within the rpoS operon, as it is in most bacteria. We report that the B. bacilliformis nlpD/lppB gene is located immediately downstream of pcm, a gene encoding a 25-kDa protein, L-isoaspartyl protein carboxyl methyltransferase, that is a component of the rpoS operon in other bacteria. However, the genomic organization downstream of the B. bacilliformis nlpD/lppB gene appears to be distinct. In other bacteria, the third gene in the operon is rpoS, a gene that codes for an alternative sigma factor of RNA polymerase. In B. bacilliformis, an open reading frame encoding a protein homologous to the immunodominant YajC protein is located directly downstream of the nlpD/lppB gene. We show that Bartonella henselae, a close relative of B. bacilliformis, also shares this unusual organizational feature. Thus, the genomic organization of the nlpD/lppB genes of B. bacilliformis, and B. henselae appears to be unique among all bacteria for which the sequence of this region has been reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. ipadamalayam@reddyus.com
authors.forename: Indira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Padmalayam
authors.forename: Warren
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fiskus
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Massung
authors.forename: Barbara R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Baumstark
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001473:Bartonella / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005091:Exons; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D007438:Introns; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D026601:Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008074:Lipoproteins; C086389:NlpD protein, bacteria; C116101:YajC protein, Brucella; D026601:Protein D-Aspartate-L-Isoaspartate Methyltransferase