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Characterization of the nurA (DR_0836) and herA (DR_0837) genes from Deinococcus radiodurans (549.3)
Author(s) -
Mueller Charles,
Levi Jonathan,
Julin Douglas
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.549.3
Subject(s) - deinococcus radiodurans , hera , biology , gene , operon , genetics , genome , dna , homologous recombination , translocase , deinococcus , escherichia coli , chromosomal translocation , physics , quantum mechanics , quantum chromodynamics
HerA proteins are members of the FtsK/HerA superfamily of ATP‐dependent DNA translocases. FtsK is a bacterial protein that translocates double‐stranded DNA during cell division. The herA gene is found in an operon with the gene for its nuclease partner NurA. In archaea, herA and nurA are essential genes that encode enzymes capable of processing a variety of DNA substrates. Evidence obtained from studying these enzymes in vitro in P. furiosus and in vivo in S. acidocaldarius indicates that they have a critical role in homologous recombination in archaea. Recent in vitro work in S. solfataricus has demonstrated a dsDNA translocase activity for the NurA/HerA complex, an activity associated with FtsK from E. coli. This result and the phylogenetic relationship between FtsK and HerA suggest HerA has a similar role in archaea as FtsK in bacteria. Homologs of herA and nurA are found in a few bacterial genomes. In most cases, these bacteria lack a ftsK homolog. The functions of NurA and HerA in bacteria are not known. We chose to investigate the roles of NurA and HerA in Deinococcus radiodurans, typically studied for its extreme resistance to double‐strand DNA breaks. The D. radiodurans genome has homologs of nurA and herA in an operon, and it also has a ftsK gene. We made strains with deletions of either herA or nurA and characterized their basic growth properties and sensitivity to DNA damaging agents. Our results indicate that neither gene is essential in D. radiodurans, and deletion of the genes do not cause significant sensitivity to DNA damaging agents. The herA deletion strain displayed a distinct phenotype consisting of slower growth and larger cell types, which may indicate an FtsK‐like function for HerA in D. radiodurans. The HerA protein has been expressed and purified from E. coli and basic characterization is underway. Grant Funding Source : None