title: Postgenomic scan of metallo-beta-lactamase homologues in rhizobacteria: identification and characterization of BJP-1, a subclass B3 ortholog from Bradyrhizobium japonicum.
abstract: The diffusion of metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs) among clinically important human pathogens represents a therapeutic issue of increasing importance. However, the origin of these resistance determinants is largely unknown, although an important number of proteins belonging to the MBL superfamily have been identified in microbial genomes. In this work, we analyzed the distribution and function of genes encoding MBL-like proteins in the class Rhizobiales. Among 12 released complete genomes of members of the class Rhizobiales, a total of 57 open reading frames (ORFs) were found to have the MBL conserved motif and identity scores with MBLs ranging from 8 to 40%. On the basis of the best identity scores with known MBLs, four ORFs were cloned into Escherichia coli for heterologous expression. Among their products, one (blr6230) encoded by the Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 genome, named BJP-1, hydrolyzed beta-lactams when expressed in E. coli. BJP-1 enzyme is most closely related to the CAU-1 enzyme from Caulobacter vibrioides (40% amino acid sequence identity), a member of subclass B3 MBLs. A kinetic analysis revealed that BJP-1 efficiently hydrolyzed most beta-lactam substrates, except aztreonam, ticarcillin, and temocillin, with the highest catalytic efficiency measured with meropenem. Compared to other MBLs, BJP-1 was less sensitive to inactivation by chelating agents.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Molecolare, Laboratorio di Fisiologia e Biotecnologia dei Microrganismi, Università di Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoczko
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Frère
authors.forename: Gian Maria
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rossolini
authors.forename: Jean-Denis
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Docquier
mesh_terms: D016960:Agrobacterium tumefaciens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D020369:Bradyrhizobium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002614:Chelating Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D007700:Kinetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D012230:Rhizobiaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D016962:Sinorhizobium meliloti / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002614:Chelating Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C512120:BJP-1 metallo-beta-lactamase, Bradyrhizobium japonicum; D001618:beta-Lactamases