title: Expression of OmpATb is dependent on small membrane proteins in Mycobacterium bovis BCG.
abstract: Small membrane proteins emerge as a novel class of regulatory molecules in bacteria. Experiments carried out in Mycobacterium bovis BCG indicate that the ompATb gene (Rv0899), encoding a major outer membrane protein, is organized in operon with Rv0900 and Rv0901, encoding two small proteins with a predicted transmembrane domain. Fractioning experiment confirmed the association of Rv0901 with the membrane fraction. To investigate the role of Rv0900 and Rv0901 in M. bovis BCG, we have constructed a strain deleted for the whole operon as well as complemented strains carrying a deletion of Rv0900 or a frameshift mutation in either Rv0900 or Rv0901. Importantly, mutations in Rv0900 and/or Rv0901 strongly altered OmpATb expression, demonstrating that Rv0900 and Rv0901 play a regulatory role, which appears to occur at a post-transcriptional level.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Dynamique des Interactions Membranaires Normales et Pathologiques, Universités de Montpellier II et I, CNRS, UMR 5235, case 107, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Veyron-Churlet
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brust
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kremer
authors.forename: Anne-Béatrice
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Blanc-Potard
mesh_terms: D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D016368:Frameshift Mutation; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009876:Operon; D010641:Phenotype; D018272:Porins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C113302:OmpATb protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D018272:Porins