title: Regulation of archaella expression by the FHA and von Willebrand domain-containing proteins ArnA and ArnB in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.
abstract: The ability of microorganisms to sense and respond to sudden changes in their environment is often based on regulatory systems comprising reversible protein phosphorylation. The archaellum (former: archaeal flagellum) is used for motility in Archaea and therefore functionally analogous to the bacterial flagellum. In contrast with archaellum-mediated movement in certain members of the Euryarchaeota, this process, including its regulation, remains poorly studied in crenarchaeal organisms like Sulfolobus species. Recently, it was shown in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius that tryptone limiting conditions led to the induction of archaella expression and assembly. Here we have identified two proteins, the FHA domain-containing protein ArnA and the vWA domain-containing protein ArnB that are involved in regulating archaella expression in S. acidocaldarius. Both proteins are phosphorylated by protein kinases in vitro and interact strongly in vivo. Phenotypic analyses revealed that these two proteins are repressors of archaella expression. These results represent the first step in understanding the networks that underlie regulation of cellular motility in Crenarchaeota and emphasize the importance of protein phosphorylation in the regulation of cellular processes in the Archaea.
authors: Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Molecular Biology of Archaea, Karl-von-Frisch-Strasse 10, 35043 Marburg, Germany.
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Reimann
authors: Kerstin
authors: K
authors: Lassak
authors: Sunia
authors: S
authors: Khadouma
authors: Thijs J G
authors: TJ
authors: Ettema
authors: Nuan
authors: N
authors: Yang
authors: Arnold J M
authors: AJ
authors: Driessen
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Klingl
authors: Sonja-Verena
authors: SV
authors: Albers
mesh_terms: D019843:Archaeal Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005407:Flagella / Q000502:physiology; D019848:Gene Expression Regulation, Archaeal; D008124:Locomotion; D010766:Phosphorylation; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016945:Sulfolobus acidocaldarius / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019843:Archaeal Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins