title: Making heads or tails of the HU proteins in the planctomycete Gemmata obscuriglobus.
abstract: Gemmata obscuriglobus has a highly condensed nucleoid which is implicated in its resistance to radiation. However, the mechanisms by which such compaction is achieved, and the proteins responsible, are still unknown. Here we have examined the genome of G. obscuriglobus for the presence of proteins homologous to those that have been associated with nucleoid condensation. We found two different proteins homologous to the bacterial nucleoid-associated protein HU, one with an N-terminal and one with a C-terminal extension relative to the amino acid sequence of the HU found in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis revealed that one of these HU homologues represents a novel type with a high number of prolines in its C-terminal extension, whereas the other one has motifs similar to the N terminus of the HU homologue from the radio-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. The occurrence of two such HU homologue proteins with these two different terminal extensions in one organism appears to be unique among the Bacteria.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Evgeny
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sagulenko
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Fuerst
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D061328:Planctomycetales / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C040330:histone-like protein HU, bacteria