title: PilZ domain is part of the bacterial c-di-GMP binding protein.
abstract: Recent studies identified c-di-GMP as a universal bacterial secondary messenger regulating biofilm formation, motility, production of extracellular polysaccharide and multicellular behavior in diverse bacteria. However, except for cellulose synthase, no protein has been shown to bind c-di-GMP and the targets for c-di-GMP action remain unknown. Here we report identification of the PilZ ("pills") domain (Pfam domain PF07238) in the sequences of bacterial cellulose synthases, alginate biosynthesis protein Alg44, proteins of enterobacterial YcgR and firmicute YpfA families, and other proteins encoded in bacterial genomes and present evidence indicating that this domain is (part of) the long-sought c-di-GMP-binding protein. Association of the PilZ domain with a variety of other domains, including likely components of bacterial multidrug secretion system, could provide clues to multiple functions of the c-di-GMP in bacterial pathogenesis and cell development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Sciences, Tel-Hai Academic College Tel-Hai, Israel.
authors.forename: Dorit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amikam
authors.forename: Michael Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Galperin
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009068:Movement; D010802:Phylogeny; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011506:Proteins; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000378:metabolism; D015290:Second Messenger Systems
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011506:Proteins; C415947:YcgR protein, E coli; C022994:cyclic GMP-binding protein; C062025:bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid; D005964:Glucosyltransferases; C478648:cellulose synthase; D006152:Cyclic GMP