Xu Y, Murray B E, Weinstock G M
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Infect Immun. 1998 Sep;66(9):4313-23. doi: 10.1128/IAI.66.9.4313-4323.1998.
Our previous work identified a cosmid clone containing a 43-kb insert from Enterococcus faecalis OG1RF that produced a nonprotein antigen in Escherichia coli. In the present work, we studied this clone in detail. Periodate treatment of lysates of the clone confirmed that the antigen was carbohydrate in nature. Analysis of DNA sequences and transposon insertion mutants suggested that the insert contained a multicistronic gene cluster. Database comparison showed that the cluster contained genes similar to genes involved in the biosynthesis of dTDP-rhamnose, glycosyltransferases, and ABC transporters involved in the export of sugar polymers from both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms. Insertions in several genes within the cluster abolished the immunoreactivity of the clone. This is the first report on a gene cluster of E. faecalis involved in the biosynthesis of an antigenic polysaccharide.
我们之前的工作鉴定出一个黏粒克隆,其含有来自粪肠球菌OG1RF的一个43 kb插入片段,该片段在大肠杆菌中产生一种非蛋白质抗原。在本研究中,我们对该克隆进行了详细研究。对该克隆裂解物进行高碘酸盐处理证实该抗原本质上是碳水化合物。DNA序列分析和转座子插入突变体表明该插入片段包含一个多顺反子基因簇。数据库比较显示该基因簇包含与参与dTDP-鼠李糖生物合成的基因、糖基转移酶以及参与从革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性生物体输出糖聚合物的ABC转运蛋白相似的基因。该基因簇中几个基因的插入消除了该克隆的免疫反应性。这是关于粪肠球菌中参与抗原性多糖生物合成的基因簇的首次报道。