Open AccessAccumulation and intracellular fate of tellurite in tellurite‐resistant Escherichia coli : A model for the mechanism of resistance
Author(s) -
LlyodJones Gareth,
Osborn A.Mark,
Ritchie Donald A,
Strike Peter,
Hobman Jon L,
Brown Nigel L,
Rouch Duncan A
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1994.tb06812.x
Subject(s) - escherichia coli , plasmid , sequence homology , mechanism (biology) , tellurium , intracellular , homology (biology) , homology modeling , chemistry , biology , biophysics , biochemistry , peptide sequence , dna , gene , inorganic chemistry , enzyme , philosophy , epistemology
The tellurite accumulation properties of three Escherichia coli strains containing different tellurium‐resistance determinants of Gram‐negative origin, from plasmids pMER610, pHH1508a and RK2, were compared. In all three cases membrane‐associated tellurium crystallization was observed, and neither reduced uptake nor increased export contributed to the resistance. Specific membrane‐proximal reduction is proposed as the mechanism of resistance to tellurite coded by all three determinants, despite their lack of sequence homology.