Partial nucleotide sequence of the pts operon in Salmonella typhimurium: comparative analyses in five bacterial genera.

The nucleotide sequence of a Salmonella typhimurium DNA segment of 549 base pairs which encompasses the operator-promoter of the pts operon, the entirety of the ptsH gene, encoding HPr of the phosphotransferase system (PTS), the first 29 nucleotides of the ptsI gene, encoding Enzyme I of the PTS, and the intercistronic region between the ptsH and ptsI genes was determined and compared with the corresponding sequence from Escherichia coli (De Reuse et al., 1985). The two sequences showed 91% overall identity, with some regions showing sequence conservation and others exhibiting relative divergence. Two open reading frames were identified in both species: one encoded HPr on the 'sense' strand (255 nucleotides; 12 nucleotide differences, no amino acid differences); the other, on the anti-sense strand, consisted of 291 nucleotides (13 nucleotide differences, 13 amino acid differences). While HPr bears a net negative charge, the putative protein encoded by the open reading frame on the anti-sense strand is strongly basic. Computer analyses of HPr proteins from five different bacterial genera revealed four regions which show strong sequence identity and therefore are presumed to be critical for maintenance of biological activity. Two of these regions were specific to Gram-positive bacteria. Proposed functions for each of these regions are discussed. Relative evolutionary distances between the HPr proteins were also computed.