Pfeifer F, Englert C
Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried, Germany.
J Bioenerg Biomembr. 1992 Dec;24(6):577-85. doi: 10.1007/BF00762350.
The proteinaceous gas vesicles produced by various microorganisms including halophilic Archaea are hollow, gas-filled structures with a hydrophobic inner and a hydrophilic outer surface. The structural components of gas vesicles and their biosynthesis are still under investigation; an 8-kDa polypeptide appears to be the major constituent of the gas-vesicle envelope. Genetic analysis of the halobacterial gas-vesicle synthesis revealed an unexpected complexity: about 14 genes organized in three transcription units are involved in gas-vesicle structure, assembly, and gene regulation. Here we describe the comparison of three different genomic regions encoding gas vesicles in Halobacterium salinarium (p-vac and c-vac regions) and Haloferax mediterranei (mc-vac region) and speculate on the function of the gene products involved in gas-vesicle synthesis.
包括嗜盐古菌在内的各种微生物产生的蛋白质性气体囊泡是中空的、充满气体的结构，其具有疏水的内部和亲水的外部表面。气体囊泡的结构成分及其生物合成仍在研究中；一种8 kDa的多肽似乎是气体囊泡包膜的主要成分。对嗜盐细菌气体囊泡合成的遗传分析揭示了意想不到的复杂性：三个转录单元中组织的约14个基因参与气体囊泡的结构、组装和基因调控。在这里，我们描述了盐生盐杆菌（p-vac和c-vac区域）和地中海嗜盐菌（mc-vac区域）中编码气体囊泡的三个不同基因组区域的比较，并推测了参与气体囊泡合成的基因产物的功能。
