title: Development of a homologous expression system for and systematic site-directed mutagenesis analysis of thurincin H, a bacteriocin produced by Bacillus thuringiensis SF361.
abstract: Thurincin H is an antimicrobial peptide produced by Bacillus thuringiensis SF361. With a helical back bone, the 31 amino acids of thurincin H form a hairpin structure maintained by four pairs of very unique sulfur-to-α-carbon thioether bonds. The production of thurincin H depends on a putative gene cluster containing 10 open reading frames. The gene cluster includes three tandem structural genes (thnA1, thnA2, and thnA3) encoding three identical 40-amino-acid thurincin H prepeptides and seven other genes putatively responsible for prepeptide processing, regulation, modification, exportation, and self-immunity. A homologous thurincin H expression system was developed by transforming a thurincin H-deficient host with a novel expression vector, pGW133. The host, designated B. thuringiensis SF361 ΔthnA1 ΔthnA2 ΔthnA3, was constructed by deletion of the three tandem structural genes from the chromosome of the natural thurincin H producer. The thurincin H expression vector pGW133 was constructed by cloning the thurincin H native promoter, thnA1, and a Cry protein terminator into the Escherichia coli-B. thuringiensis shuttle vector pHT315. Thirty-three different pGW133 variants, each containing a different point mutation in the thnA1 gene, were generated and separately transformed into B. thuringiensis SF361 ΔthnA1 ΔthnA2 ΔthnA3. Those site-directed mutants contained either a single radical or conservative amino acid substitution on the thioether linkage-forming positions or a radical substitution on all other nonalanine amino acids. The bacteriocin activities of B. thuringiensis SF361 ΔthnA1 ΔthnA2 ΔthnA3 carrying different pGW133 variants against three different indicator strains were subsequently compared.
authors.forename: Gaoyan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Manns
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Churey
authors.forename: Randy W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Worobo
mesh_terms: D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D015870:Gene Expression; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001430:Bacteriocins; C568940:thurincin H