Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1990 Dec;172(12):7188–7199. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.12.7188-7199.1990

Characterization of the type a flagellin gene from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAK.

P A Totten 1, S Lory 1
PMCID: PMC210844  PMID: 2123866

Abstract

Flagella in procaryotes are complex structures requiring the coordinate expression of over 50 genes, including flagellin, the major repeating structural protein. We have previously shown that a functional RpoN gene product is required for expression of flagellin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAK (P. A. Totten and S. Lory, J. Bacteriol. 172:389-396, 1990) and have now cloned, sequenced, and determined the transcriptional start site of the structural gene for this flagellin. The clones containing this gene produced a protein that reacted on Western immunoblots with polyclonal and four different monoclonal antibodies to purified flagella. However, this flagellin protein in Escherichia coli was slightly smaller (41 kDa) than flagellin protein produced in P. aeruginosa PAK (45 kDa), indicating degradation in E. coli or modification in P. aeruginosa. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of this gene with the amino acid sequences of other flagellins revealed a conservation in the N- and C-terminal domains, suggesting conservation of secretion or assembly signals between these organisms. The sequence 5' of the structural gene contained potential RpoN-specific promoters as well as a promoter sequence recognized by RpoF (sigma 28), the alternative sigma factor required for expression of flagellin genes in E. coli (and Bacillus subtilis). Deletion analysis of the promoter region as well as transcriptional start site mapping implicated the RpoF, and not the RpoN, consensus sequences as the functional promoter for the flagellin gene. Models for the involvement of both RpoN and RpoF in the expression of flagellin in P. aeruginosa are presented.

Full text

PDF
7188

Images in this article

7192Image
on p.7192
7194Image
on p.7194
7195Image
on p.7195
7197Image
on p.7197

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allison J. S., Dawson M., Drake D., Montie T. C. Electrophoretic separation and molecular weight characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa H-antigen flagellins. Infect Immun. 1985 Sep;49(3):770–774. doi: 10.1128/iai.49.3.770-774.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Arnosti D. N., Chamberlin M. J. Secondary sigma factor controls transcription of flagellar and chemotaxis genes in Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Feb;86(3):830–834. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.3.830. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Ausubel F. M. Regulation of nitrogen fixation genes. Cell. 1984 May;37(1):5–6. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(84)90294-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bartlett D. H., Frantz B. B., Matsumura P. Flagellar transcriptional activators FlbB and FlaI: gene sequences and 5' consensus sequences of operons under FlbB and FlaI control. J Bacteriol. 1988 Apr;170(4):1575–1581. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.4.1575-1581.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Drake D., Montie T. C. Flagella, motility and invasive virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Gen Microbiol. 1988 Jan;134(1):43–52. doi: 10.1099/00221287-134-1-43. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Figurski D. H., Helinski D. R. Replication of an origin-containing derivative of plasmid RK2 dependent on a plasmid function provided in trans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Apr;76(4):1648–1652. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.4.1648. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gross R., Aricò B., Rappuoli R. Families of bacterial signal-transducing proteins. Mol Microbiol. 1989 Nov;3(11):1661–1667. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1989.tb00152.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Helmann J. D., Chamberlin M. J. DNA sequence analysis suggests that expression of flagellar and chemotaxis genes in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium is controlled by an alternative sigma factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Sep;84(18):6422–6424. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.18.6422. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Helmann J. D., Márquez L. M., Chamberlin M. J. Cloning, sequencing, and disruption of the Bacillus subtilis sigma 28 gene. J Bacteriol. 1988 Apr;170(4):1568–1574. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.4.1568-1574.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hirschman J., Wong P. K., Sei K., Keener J., Kustu S. Products of nitrogen regulatory genes ntrA and ntrC of enteric bacteria activate glnA transcription in vitro: evidence that the ntrA product is a sigma factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Nov;82(22):7525–7529. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.22.7525. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Homma M., Fujita H., Yamaguchi S., Iino T. Regions of Salmonella typhimurium flagellin essential for its polymerization and excretion. J Bacteriol. 1987 Jan;169(1):291–296. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.1.291-296.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hunt T. P., Magasanik B. Transcription of glnA by purified Escherichia coli components: core RNA polymerase and the products of glnF, glnG, and glnL. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Dec;82(24):8453–8457. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.24.8453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Iino T. Genetics of structure and function of bacterial flagella. Annu Rev Genet. 1977;11:161–182. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.11.120177.001113. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ishimoto K. S., Lory S. Formation of pilin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa requires the alternative sigma factor (RpoN) of RNA polymerase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Mar;86(6):1954–1957. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.6.1954. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Joys T. M. The covalent structure of the phase-1 flagellar filament protein of Salmonella typhimurium and its comparison with other flagellins. J Biol Chem. 1985 Dec 15;260(29):15758–15761. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Joys T. M. The flagellar filament protein. Can J Microbiol. 1988 Apr;34(4):452–458. doi: 10.1139/m88-078. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kelly-Wintenberg K., Anderson T., Montie T. C. Phosphorylated tyrosine in the flagellum filament protein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Bacteriol. 1990 Sep;172(9):5135–5139. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.9.5135-5139.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kelly-Wintenberg K., Montie T. C. Cloning and expression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa flagellin in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1989 Nov;171(11):6357–6362. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.11.6357-6362.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kerridge D. Flagellar synthesis in Salmonella typhimurium: factors affecting the formation of the flagellar epsilon-N-methyllysine. J Gen Microbiol. 1966 Jan;42(1):71–82. doi: 10.1099/00221287-42-1-71. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Knauf V. C., Nester E. W. Wide host range cloning vectors: a cosmid clone bank of an Agrobacterium Ti plasmid. Plasmid. 1982 Jul;8(1):45–54. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(82)90040-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Komeda Y. Fusions of flagellar operons to lactose genes on a mu lac bacteriophage. J Bacteriol. 1982 Apr;150(1):16–26. doi: 10.1128/jb.150.1.16-26.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kustu S., Santero E., Keener J., Popham D., Weiss D. Expression of sigma 54 (ntrA)-dependent genes is probably united by a common mechanism. Microbiol Rev. 1989 Sep;53(3):367–376. doi: 10.1128/mr.53.3.367-376.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Kutsukake K., Ohya Y., Iino T. Transcriptional analysis of the flagellar regulon of Salmonella typhimurium. J Bacteriol. 1990 Feb;172(2):741–747. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.2.741-747.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Kuwajima G. Construction of a minimum-size functional flagellin of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1988 Jul;170(7):3305–3309. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.7.3305-3309.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Kuwajima G. Flagellin domain that affects H antigenicity of Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1988 Jan;170(1):485–488. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.1.485-488.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Kuwajima G., Kawagishi I., Homma M., Asaka J., Kondo E., Macnab R. M. Export of an N-terminal fragment of Escherichia coli flagellin by a flagellum-specific pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jul;86(13):4953–4957. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.13.4953. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Leong S. A., Ditta G. S., Helinski D. R. Heme biosynthesis in Rhizobium. Identification of a cloned gene coding for delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase from Rhizobium meliloti. J Biol Chem. 1982 Aug 10;257(15):8724–8730. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Logan S. M., Trust T. J., Guerry P. Evidence for posttranslational modification and gene duplication of Campylobacter flagellin. J Bacteriol. 1989 Jun;171(6):3031–3038. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.6.3031-3038.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Losick R., Pero J. Cascades of Sigma factors. Cell. 1981 Sep;25(3):582–584. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90164-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. McCarter L., Silverman M. Iron regulation of swarmer cell differentiation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. J Bacteriol. 1989 Feb;171(2):731–736. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.2.731-736.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Mirel D. B., Chamberlin M. J. The Bacillus subtilis flagellin gene (hag) is transcribed by the sigma 28 form of RNA polymerase. J Bacteriol. 1989 Jun;171(6):3095–3101. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.6.3095-3101.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Newton S. M., Jacob C. O., Stocker B. A. Immune response to cholera toxin epitope inserted in Salmonella flagellin. Science. 1989 Apr 7;244(4900):70–72. doi: 10.1126/science.2468182. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Ninfa A. J., Mullin D. A., Ramakrishnan G., Newton A. Escherichia coli sigma 54 RNA polymerase recognizes Caulobacter crescentus flbG and flaN flagellar gene promoters in vitro. J Bacteriol. 1989 Jan;171(1):383–391. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.1.383-391.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Nunn D., Bergman S., Lory S. Products of three accessory genes, pilB, pilC, and pilD, are required for biogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pili. J Bacteriol. 1990 Jun;172(6):2911–2919. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.6.2911-2919.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Ohnishi K., Kutsukake K., Suzuki H., Iino T. Gene fliA encodes an alternative sigma factor specific for flagellar operons in Salmonella typhimurium. Mol Gen Genet. 1990 Apr;221(2):139–147. doi: 10.1007/BF00261713. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Pleier E., Schmitt R. Identification and sequence analysis of two related flagellin genes in Rhizobium meliloti. J Bacteriol. 1989 Mar;171(3):1467–1475. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.3.1467-1475.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Prentki P., Krisch H. M. In vitro insertional mutagenesis with a selectable DNA fragment. Gene. 1984 Sep;29(3):303–313. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(84)90059-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Rubens C. E., Heggen L. M., Kuypers J. M. IS861, a group B streptococcal insertion sequence related to IS150 and IS3 of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1989 Oct;171(10):5531–5535. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.10.5531-5535.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Saiman L., Ishimoto K., Lory S., Prince A. The effect of piliation and exoproduct expression on the adherence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to respiratory epithelial monolayers. J Infect Dis. 1990 Mar;161(3):541–548. doi: 10.1093/infdis/161.3.541. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Shine J., Dalgarno L. The 3'-terminal sequence of Escherichia coli 16S ribosomal RNA: complementarity to nonsense triplets and ribosome binding sites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Apr;71(4):1342–1346. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.4.1342. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Strom M. S., Lory S. Cloning and expression of the pilin gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAK in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1986 Feb;165(2):367–372. doi: 10.1128/jb.165.2.367-372.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Thöny B., Hennecke H. The -24/-12 promoter comes of age. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 1989 Dec;5(4):341–357. doi: 10.1016/0168-6445(89)90028-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Tomich C. S., Kaytes P. S., Olsen M. K., Patel H. Use of lacZ expression to monitor transcription. Plasmid. 1988 Sep;20(2):167–170. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(88)90022-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Totten P. A., Lara J. C., Lory S. The rpoN gene product of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is required for expression of diverse genes, including the flagellin gene. J Bacteriol. 1990 Jan;172(1):389–396. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.1.389-396.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Wieland F., Paul G., Sumper M. Halobacterial flagellins are sulfated glycoproteins. J Biol Chem. 1985 Dec 5;260(28):15180–15185. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES