title: In vivo acetylation of CheY, a response regulator in chemotaxis of Escherichia coli.
abstract: CheY, the excitatory response regulator in the chemotaxis system of Escherichia coli, can be modulated by two covalent modifications: phosphorylation and acetylation. Both modifications have been detected in vitro only. The role of CheY acetylation is still obscure, although it is known to be involved in chemotaxis and to occur in vitro by two mechanisms--acetyl-CoA synthetase-catalyzed transfer of acetyl groups from acetate to CheY and autocatalyzed transfer from AcCoA. Here, we succeeded in detecting CheY acetylation in vivo by three means--Western blotting with a specific anti-acetyl-lysine antibody, mass spectrometry, and radiolabeling with [(14)C]acetate in the presence of protein-synthesis inhibitor. Unexpectedly, the level and rate of CheY acetylation in vivo were much higher than that in vitro. Thus, before any treatment, 9-13% of the lysine residues were found acetylated, depending on the growth phase, meaning that, on average, essentially every CheY molecule was acetylated in vivo. This high level was mainly the outcome of autoacetylation. Addition of acetate caused an incremental increase in the acetylation level, in which acetyl-CoA synthetase was involved too. These findings may have far-reaching implications for the structure-function relationship of CheY.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: Jianshe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Rina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barak
authors.forename: Orna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Liarzi
authors.forename: Alla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shainskaya
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eisenbach
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000107:Acetylation; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002633:Chemotaxis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000072236:Methyl-Accepting Chemotaxis Proteins; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D000072236:Methyl-Accepting Chemotaxis Proteins; C000607606:cheY protein, E coli