• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.190-194
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• 2002

Expression of Bacillus subtilis glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) in Escherichia coli is lethal for the host, probably because this enzyme misaminoacylates ${tRNA_l}^{Gln}$ with glutamate in vivo. In order to overexpress B. subtilis GluRS, encoded by the gltX gene, in E. coli, this gene was amplified from B. subtilis 168 chromosomal DNA using PCR method and the entire coding region was cloned into a pET11a expression vector so that it was expressed under the control or the T7 Promoter. The resulting recombinant pEBER plasmid was transformed into E. coli Novablue (DE3) bearing the T7 RNA polymerase gene for expression. After IPTG treatment, the overproduced enzyme was purified using ammonium sulfate fractionation, Source Q anion exchange chromatography, Superdex-200 gel filtration, and Mono Q anion exchange chromatography. The purified enzyme yielded 18-fold increase in specific activity over the crude cell extract and its molecular weight was approximately 55 kDa on SDS-PAGE.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.111-116
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• 2004

It is known that Bacillus subtilis glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) mischarges E. coli $tRNA_{1}$$^{Gln}$ with glutamate in vitro. It has also been established that the expression of B. subtilis GluRS in Escherichia coli results in the death of the host cell. To ascertain whether E. coli growth inhibition caused by B. subtilis GluRS synthesis is a consequence of Glu-$tRNA_{1}$$^{Gln}$ formation, we constructed an in vivo test system, in which B. subtilis GluRS gene expression is controlled by IPTG. Such a system permits the investigation of factors affecting E. coli growth. Expression of E. coli glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS) also amelio-rated growth inhibition, presumably by competitively preventing $tRNA_{1}$$^{Gln}$ misacylation. However, when amounts of up to 10 mM L-glutamine, the cognate amino acid for acylation of $tRNA_{1}$$^{Gln}$, were added to the growth medium, cell growth was unaffected. Overexpression of the B. subtilis gatCAB gene encoding Glu-$tRNA^{Gln}$ amidotransferase (Glu-AdT) rescued cells from toxic effects caused by the formation of the mis-charging GluRS. This result indicates that B. subtilis Glu-AdT recognizes the mischarged E. coli Glu-$tRNA_{1}$$^{Gln}$, and converts it to the cognate Gln-$tRNA_{1}$$^{Gln}$ species. B. subtilis GluRS-dependent Glu-$tRNA_{1}$$^{Gln}$ formation may cause growth inhibition in the transformed E. coli strain, possibly due to abnormal protein synthesis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.703-708
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• 2006

During infection, the common respiratory tract pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae encounters several environmental conditions, such as upper respiratory tract, lung tissue, and blood stream, etc. In this study, we examined the effects of blood on S. pneumoniae protein expression using a combination of highly sensitive 2-dimensional electrophoresis (DE) and MALDI-TOF MS and/or LC/ESI-MS/MS. A comparison of expression profiles between the growth in THY medium and THY supplemented with blood allowed us to identify 7 spots, which increased or decreased two times or more compared with the control group: tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase, lactate oxidase, glutamyl-aminopeptidase, L-lactate dehydrogenase, cysteine synthase, ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase, and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase. This global approach can provide a better understanding of S. pneumoniae adaptation to its human host and a clue for its pathogenicity.