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Functional analysis of the gas vesicle gene cluster of the halophilic archaeon Haloferax mediterranei defines the vac‐region boundary and suggests a regulatory role for the gvpD gene or its product
Author(s) -
Englert Christoph,
Wanner Gerhard,
Pfeifer Felicitas
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01789.x
Subject(s) - biology , halophile , archaea , gene , halobacteriaceae , gene cluster , haloferax volcanii , genetics , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , halobacterium salinarum
Summary A series of deletions introduced into the gvp gene cluster of Haloferax mediterranel , comprising 14 genes involved in gas vesicle synthesis (mc‐vac‐region), was investigated by transformation experiments. Gas vesicle production and the expression of the gvpA gene encoding the major gas vesicle protein, GvpA, was monitored in each Haloferax volcanii transformant. Whereas transformants containing the entire mc‐vac‐region produced gas vesicies (Vac + ), various deletions in the region 5′ to gvpA (encompassing gvpD‐gvpM ) or 3′ to gvpA (containing gvpC, gvpN and gvpO ) revealed Vac − transformants. All these transformants expressed gvpA and contained the 8 kDa GvpA protein as shown by Western analysis. However, transformants containing the gvpA gene by itself indicated a lower level of GvpA than observed with each of the other transformants. None of these transformants containing deletion constructs assembled the GvpA protein into gas vesicles. In contrast, transformants containing a construct carrying a 918 bp deletion internal to gvpD exhibited a tremendous gas vesicle overproduction, suggesting a regulatory role for the gvpD gene or Its product. This is the first assignment of a functional role for one of the 13 halobacterial gvp genes found in addition to gvpA that are involved in the synthesis of this unique structure.