# | Rank | Similarity | Title + Abs. | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 370 | 0 | 0.9925 | A new series of yeast shuttle vectors for the recovery and identification of multiple plasmids from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The availability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains with multiple auxotrophic markers allows the stable introduction and selection of more than one yeast shuttle vector containing marker genes that complement the auxotrophic markers. In certain experimental situations there is a need to recover more than one shuttle vector from yeast. To facilitate the recovery and identification of multiple plasmids from S. cerevisiae, we have constructed a series of plasmids based on the pRS series of yeast shuttle vectors. Bacterial antibiotic resistance genes to chloramphenicol, kanamycin and zeocin have been combined with the yeast centromere sequence (CEN6), the autonomously replicating sequence (ARSH4) and one of the four yeast selectable marker genes (HIS3, TRP1, LEU2 or URA3) from the pRS series of vectors. The 12 plasmids produced differ in antibiotic resistance and yeast marker gene within the backbone of the multipurpose plasmid pBluescript II. The newly constructed vectors show similar mitotic stability to the original pRS vectors. In combination with the ampicillin-resistant pRS series of yeast shuttle vectors, these plasmids now allow the recovery and identification in bacteria of up to four different vectors from S. cerevisiae. | 2007 | 17597491 |
| 348 | 1 | 0.9924 | Conjugative DNA transfer in Streptomyces by TraB: is one protein enough? Antibiotic-producing soil bacteria of the genus Streptomyces form a huge natural reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes for the dissemination within the soil community. Streptomyces plasmids encode a unique conjugative DNA transfer system clearly distinguished from classical conjugation involving a single-stranded DNA molecule and a type IV protein secretion system. Only a single plasmid-encoded protein, TraB, is sufficient to translocate a double-stranded DNA molecule into the recipient in Streptomyces matings. TraB is a hexameric pore-forming ATPase that resembles the chromosome segregator protein FtsK and translocates DNA by recognizing specific 8-bp repeats present in the plasmid clt locus. Mobilization of chromosomal genes does not require integration of the plasmid, because TraB also recognizes clt-like sequences distributed all over the chromosome. | 2012 | 23082971 |
| 562 | 2 | 0.9924 | Macrolones target bacterial ribosomes and DNA gyrase and can evade resistance mechanisms. Growing resistance toward ribosome-targeting macrolide antibiotics has limited their clinical utility and urged the search for superior compounds. Macrolones are synthetic macrolide derivatives with a quinolone side chain, structurally similar to DNA topoisomerase-targeting fluoroquinolones. While macrolones show enhanced activity, their modes of action have remained unknown. Here, we present the first structures of ribosome-bound macrolones, showing that the macrolide part occupies the macrolide-binding site in the ribosomal exit tunnel, whereas the quinolone moiety establishes new interactions with the tunnel. Macrolones efficiently inhibit both the ribosome and DNA topoisomerase in vitro. However, in the cell, they target either the ribosome or DNA gyrase or concurrently both of them. In contrast to macrolide or fluoroquinolone antibiotics alone, dual-targeting macrolones are less prone to select resistant bacteria carrying target-site mutations or to activate inducible macrolide resistance genes. Furthermore, because some macrolones engage Erm-modified ribosomes, they retain activity even against strains with constitutive erm resistance genes. | 2024 | 39039256 |
| 283 | 3 | 0.9924 | Inactivation of expression of several genes in a variety of bacterial species by EGS technology. The expression of gene products in bacteria can be inhibited by the use of RNA external guide sequences (EGSs) that hybridize to a target mRNA. Endogenous RNase P cleaves the mRNA in the complex, making it inactive. EGSs participate in this biochemical reaction as the data presented here show. They promote mRNA cleavage at the expected site and sometimes at other secondary sites. Higher-order structure must affect these reactions if the cleavage does not occur at the defined site, which has been determined by techniques based on their ability to find sites that are accessible to the EGS oligonucleotides. Sites defined by a random EGS technique occur as expected. Oligonucleotides made up primarily of defined or random nucleotides are extremely useful in inhibiting expression of the gyrA and rnpA genes from several different bacteria or the cat gene that determines resistance to chloramphenicol in Escherichia coli. An EGS made up of a peptide-phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligonucleotide (PPMO) does not cleave at the same site as an unmodified RNA EGS for reasons that are only partly understood. However, PPMO-EGSs are useful in inhibiting the expression of targeted genes from Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms during ordinary growth in broth and may provide a basis for broad-spectrum antibiotics. | 2009 | 19416872 |
| 331 | 4 | 0.9924 | MmpS4 promotes glycopeptidolipids biosynthesis and export in Mycobacterium smegmatis. The MmpS family (mycobacterial membrane protein small) includes over 100 small membrane proteins specific to the genus Mycobacterium that have not yet been studied experimentally. The genes encoding MmpS proteins are often associated with mmpL genes, which are homologous to the RND (resistance nodulation cell division) genes of Gram-negative bacteria that encode proteins functioning as multidrug efflux system. We showed by molecular genetics and biochemical analysis that MmpS4 in Mycobacterium smegmatis is required for the production and export of large amounts of cell surface glycolipids, but is dispensable for biosynthesis per se. A new specific and sensitive method utilizing single-chain antibodies against the surface-exposed glycolipids was developed to confirm that MmpS4 was dispensable for transport to the surface. Orthologous complementation demonstrated that the MmpS4 proteins are exchangeable, thus not specific to a defined lipid species. MmpS4 function requires the formation of a protein complex at the pole of the bacillus, which requires the extracytosolic C-terminal domain of MmpS4. We suggest that MmpS proteins facilitate lipid biosynthesis by acting as a scaffold for coupled biosynthesis and transport machinery. | 2010 | 21062372 |
| 349 | 5 | 0.9923 | Mini-Tn5 transposon derivatives for insertion mutagenesis, promoter probing, and chromosomal insertion of cloned DNA in gram-negative eubacteria. A collection of Tn5-derived minitransposons has been constructed that simplifies substantially the generation of insertion mutants, in vivo fusions with reporter genes, and the introduction of foreign DNA fragments into the chromosome of a variety of gram-negative bacteria, including the enteric bacteria and typical soil bacteria like Pseudomonas species. The minitransposons consist of genes specifying resistance to kanamycin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin-spectinomycin, and tetracycline as selection markers and a unique NotI cloning site flanked by 19-base-pair terminal repeat sequences of Tn5. Further derivatives also contain lacZ, phoA, luxAB, or xylE genes devoid of their native promoters located next to the terminal repeats in an orientation that affords the generation of gene-operon fusions. The transposons are located on a R6K-based suicide delivery plasmid that provides the IS50R transposase tnp gene in cis but external to the mobile element and whose conjugal transfer to recipients is mediated by RP4 mobilization functions in the donor. | 1990 | 2172217 |
| 368 | 6 | 0.9923 | Construction and complementation of in-frame deletions of the essential Escherichia coli thymidylate kinase gene. This work reports the construction of Escherichia coli in-frame deletion strains of tmk, which encodes thymidylate kinase, Tmk. The tmk gene is located at the third position of a putative five-gene operon at 24.9 min on the E. coli chromosome, which comprises the genes pabC, yceG, tmk, holB, and ycfH. To avoid potential polar effects on downstream genes of the operon, as well as recombination with plasmid-encoded tmk, the tmk gene was replaced by the kanamycin resistance gene kka1, encoding amino glycoside 3'-phosphotransferase kanamycin kinase. The kanamycin resistance gene is expressed under the control of the natural promoter(s) of the putative operon. The E. coli tmk gene is essential under any conditions tested. To show functional complementation in bacteria, the E. coli tmk gene was replaced by thymidylate kinases of bacteriophage T4 gp1, E. coli tmk, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cdc8, or the Homo sapiens homologue, dTYMK. Growth of these transgenic E. coli strains is completely dependent on thymidylate kinase activities of various origin expressed from plasmids. The substitution constructs show no polar effects on the downstream genes holB and ycfH with respect to cell viability. The presented transgenic bacteria could be of interest for testing of thymidylate kinase-specific phosphorylation of nucleoside analogues that are used in therapies against cancer and infectious diseases. | 2006 | 16461678 |
| 564 | 7 | 0.9922 | Mycobacterium tuberculosis possesses an unusual tmRNA rescue system. Trans-translation is a key process in bacteria which recycles stalled ribosomes and tags incomplete nascent proteins for degradation. This ensures the availability of ribosomes for protein synthesis and prevents the accumulation of dysfunctional proteins. The tmRNA, ssrA, is responsible for both recovering stalled ribosomes and encodes the degradation tag; ssrA associates and functions with accessory proteins such as SmpB. Although ssrA and smpB are ubiquitous in bacteria, they are not essential for the viability of many species. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome has homologues of both ssrA and smpB. We demonstrated that ssrA is essential in M. tuberculosis, since the chromosomal copy of the gene could only be deleted in the presence of a functional copy integrated elsewhere. However, we were able to delete the proteolytic tagging function by constructing strains carrying a mutant allele (ssrADD). This demonstrates that ribosome rescue by ssrA is the essential function in M. tuberculosis, SmpB was not required for aerobic growth, since we were able to construct a deletion strain. However, the smpBΔ strain was more sensitive to antibiotics targeting the ribosome. Strains with deletion of smpB or mutations in ssrA did not show increased sensitivity (or resistance) to pyrazinamide suggesting that this antibiotic does not directly target these components of the tmRNA tagging system. | 2014 | 24145139 |
| 390 | 8 | 0.9922 | A new simple method for introducing an unmarked mutation into a large gene of non-competent Gram-negative bacteria by FLP/FRT recombination. BACKGROUND: For the disruption of a target gene in molecular microbiology, unmarked mutagenesis is preferable to marked mutagenesis because the former method raises no concern about the polar effect and leaves no selection marker. In contrast to naturally competent bacteria, there is no useful method for introducing an unmarked mutation into a large gene of non-competent bacteria. Nevertheless, large genes encoding huge proteins exist in diverse bacteria and are interesting and important for physiology and potential applications. Here we present a new method for introducing an unmarked mutation into such large genes of non-competent Gram-negative bacteria. RESULTS: Two gene replacement plasmids, pJQFRT and pKFRT/FLP, were constructed to apply the FLP/FRT recombination system to introduce an unmarked mutation into a large gene of non-competent Gram-negative bacteria. In our methodology, pJQFRT and pKFRT/FLP are integrated into the upstream and the downstream regions of a target gene, respectively, through homologous recombination. The resultant mutant has antibiotic resistance markers, the sacB counter-selection marker, flp recombinase under the control of the tetR regulator, and identical FRT sites sandwiching the target gene and the markers on its chromosome. By inducing the expression of flp recombinase, the target gene is completely deleted together with the other genes derived from the integrated plasmids, resulting in the generation of an unmarked mutation. By this method, we constructed an unmarked mutant of ataA, which encodes the huge trimeric autotransporter adhesin (3,630 aa), in a non-competent Gram-negative bacterium, Acinetobacter sp. Tol 5. The unmarked ataA mutant showed the same growth rate as wild type Tol 5, but lost the adhesive properties of Tol 5, similar to the transposon-inserted mutant of ataA that we generated previously. CONCLUSIONS: The feasibility of our methodology was evidenced by the construction of an unmarked ataA mutant in the Tol 5 strain. Since FLP/FRT recombination can excise a long region of DNA exceeding 100 kb, our method has the potential to selectively disrupt much larger genes or longer regions of gene clusters than ataA. Our methodology allows the straightforward and efficient introduction of an unmarked mutation into a large gene or gene cluster of non-enterobacterial Gram-negative bacteria. | 2013 | 23594401 |
| 369 | 9 | 0.9922 | A gene fusion system using the aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase gene of the kanamycin-resistance transposon Tn903: use in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase type I (APHI)-coding gene of the bacterial transposon Tn903 confers resistance to kanamycin on bacteria and resistance to geneticin (G418) on many eukaryotes. We developed an APHI fusion system that can be used in the study of gene expression in these organisms, particularly in yeasts. The first 19 codons of the KmR (APHI) gene can be deleted, and replaced by other genes in a continuous reading frame, without loss of APH activity. Examples of vector constructions are given which are adapted to the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis transformation system. Their derivatives containing the 2 mu origin of replication can also be used in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. | 1988 | 2853096 |
| 9985 | 10 | 0.9921 | Identification of the First Gene Transfer Agent (GTA) Small Terminase in Rhodobacter capsulatus and Its Role in GTA Production and Packaging of DNA. Genetic exchange mediated by viruses of bacteria (bacteriophages) is the primary driver of rapid bacterial evolution. The priority of viruses is usually to propagate themselves. Most bacteriophages use the small terminase protein to identify their own genome and direct its inclusion into phage capsids. Gene transfer agents (GTAs) are descended from bacteriophages, but they instead package fragments of the entire bacterial genome without preference for their own genes. GTAs do not selectively target specific DNA, and no GTA small terminases are known. Here, we identified the small terminase from the model Rhodobacter capsulatus GTA, which then allowed prediction of analogues in other species. We examined the role of the small terminase in GTA production and propose a structural basis for random DNA packaging.IMPORTANCE Random transfer of any and all genes between bacteria could be influential in the spread of virulence or antimicrobial resistance genes. Discovery of the true prevalence of GTAs in sequenced genomes is hampered by their apparent similarity to bacteriophages. Our data allowed the prediction of small terminases in diverse GTA producer species, and defining the characteristics of a "GTA-type" terminase could be an important step toward novel GTA identification. Importantly, the GTA small terminase shares many features with its phage counterpart. We propose that the GTA terminase complex could become a streamlined model system to answer fundamental questions about double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) packaging by viruses that have not been forthcoming to date. | 2019 | 31534034 |
| 389 | 11 | 0.9920 | Implantation of unmarked regulatory and metabolic modules in Gram-negative bacteria with specialised mini-transposon delivery vectors. Engineering of robust and safe microbial cell factories requires genetic tools somewhat different from those traditionally used for laboratory-adapted microorganisms. We took advantage of the properties of broad-host-range mini-Tn5 vectors and two regulated expression systems (LacI(Q)/P(trc) and XylS/Pm), together with FRT-flanked, excisable antibiotic resistance determinants, to generate a set of vectors for the delivery of gene(s) into the chromosome of Gram-negative bacteria. This arrangement of modular elements allows the cloning and subsequent markerless insertion of expression cargoes and leaves behind an antibiotic-sensitive host upon the action of the yeast Flp recombinase. We engineered a Pseudomonas putida KT2440 Pm::gfp strain that displayed strong fluorescence upon exposure to 3-methylbenzoate, a XylS effector, and allowed us to examine the performance of the Pm promoter at the single cell level. We also reconstructed a device for sugar transport and phosphorylation in Escherichia coli independent of the native phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system by the stable implantation of genes derived from the obligate anaerobe Zymomonas mobilis. In both cases, the information carried by the implanted genes was stably inherited in the absence of any selective pressure. Deliverable expression systems such as those described here will enhance the applicability of various Gram-negative bacteria in biocatalysis and environmental bioremediation. | 2013 | 22609234 |
| 8235 | 12 | 0.9920 | The bacterial defense system MADS interacts with CRISPR-Cas to limit phage infection and escape. The constant arms race between bacteria and their parasites has resulted in a large diversity of bacterial defenses, with many bacteria carrying multiple systems. Here, we report the discovery of a phylogenetically widespread defense system, coined methylation-associated defense system (MADS), which is distributed across gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. MADS interacts with a CRISPR-Cas system in its native host to provide robust and durable resistance against phages. While phages can acquire epigenetic-mediated resistance against MADS, co-existence of MADS and a CRISPR-Cas system limits escape emergence. MADS comprises eight genes with predicted nuclease, ATPase, kinase, and methyltransferase domains, most of which are essential for either self/non-self discrimination, DNA restriction, or both. The complex genetic architecture of MADS and MADS-like systems, relative to other prokaryotic defenses, points toward highly elaborate mechanisms of sensing infections, defense activation, and/or interference. | 2024 | 39094583 |
| 534 | 13 | 0.9920 | Plasmid shuttle vector with two insertionally inactivable markers for coryneform bacteria. A new shuttle vector pCEM500 replicating in Escherichia coli and in Brevibacterium flavum was constructed. It carries two antibiotic resistance determinants (Kmr/Gmr from plasmid pSa of Gram-negative bacteria and Smr/Spr from plasmid pCG4 of Corynebacterium glutamicum) which are efficiently expressed in both hosts and can be inactivated by insertion of DNA fragments into the unique restriction endonuclease sites located within them. This vector was found to be stably maintained in B. flavum and can be used for transfer of the cloned genes into this amino-acid-producing coryneform bacterium. | 1990 | 2148164 |
| 558 | 14 | 0.9919 | Thiamine pyrophosphate riboswitches are targets for the antimicrobial compound pyrithiamine. Thiamine metabolism genes are regulated in numerous bacteria by a riboswitch class that binds the coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP). We demonstrate that the antimicrobial action of the thiamine analog pyrithiamine (PT) is mediated by interaction with TPP riboswitches in bacteria and fungi. For example, pyrithiamine pyrophosphate (PTPP) binds the TPP riboswitch controlling the tenA operon in Bacillus subtilis. Expression of a TPP riboswitch-regulated reporter gene is reduced in transgenic B. subtilis or Escherichia coli when grown in the presence of thiamine or PT, while mutant riboswitches in these organisms are unresponsive to these ligands. Bacteria selected for PT resistance bear specific mutations that disrupt ligand binding to TPP riboswitches and derepress certain TPP metabolic genes. Our findings demonstrate that riboswitches can serve as antimicrobial drug targets and expand our understanding of thiamine metabolism in bacteria. | 2005 | 16356850 |
| 282 | 15 | 0.9919 | Phenotypic conversion of drug-resistant bacteria to drug sensitivity. Plasmids that contain synthetic genes coding for small oligoribonucleotides called external guide sequences (EGSs) have been introduced into strains of Escherichia coli harboring antibiotic resistance genes. The EGSs direct RNase P to cleave the mRNAs transcribed from these genes thereby converting the phenotype of drug-resistant cells to drug sensitivity. Increasing the EGS-to-target mRNA ratio by changing gene copy number or the number of EGSs complementary to different target sites enhances the efficiency of the conversion process. We demonstrate a general method for the efficient phenotypic conversion of drug-resistant bacterial cultures. | 1997 | 9238000 |
| 391 | 16 | 0.9919 | New derivatives of transposon Tn5 suitable for mobilization of replicons, generation of operon fusions and induction of genes in gram-negative bacteria. Three types of new variants of the broad-host-range transposon Tn5 are described. (i) Tn5-mob derivatives with the new selective resistance (R) markers GmR, SpR and TcR facilitate the efficient mobilization of replicons within a wide range of Gram-negative bacteria. (ii) Promoter probe transposons carry the promoterless reporter genes lacZ, nptII, or luc, and NmR, GmR or TcR as selective markers. These transposons can be used to generate transcriptional fusions upon insertion, thus facilitating accurate determinations of gene expression. (iii) Tn5-P-out derivatives carry the npt- or tac-promoter reading out from the transposon, and TcR, NmR or GmR genes. These variants allow the constitutive expression of downstream genes. The new Tn5 variants are available on mobilizable Escherichia coli vectors suitable as suicidal carriers for transposon mutagenesis of non-E. coli recipients and some on a phage lambda mutant to be used for transposon mutagenesis in E. coli. | 1989 | 2551782 |
| 763 | 17 | 0.9919 | Inducing conformational preference of the membrane protein transporter EmrE through conservative mutations. Transporters from bacteria to humans contain inverted repeat domains thought to arise evolutionarily from the fusion of smaller membrane protein genes. Association between these domains forms the functional unit that enables transporters to adopt distinct conformations necessary for function. The small multidrug resistance (SMR) family provides an ideal system to explore the role of mutations in altering conformational preference since transporters from this family consist of antiparallel dimers that resemble the inverted repeats present in larger transporters. Here, we show using NMR spectroscopy how a single conservative mutation introduced into an SMR dimer is sufficient to change the resting conformation and function in bacteria. These results underscore the dynamic energy landscape for transporters and demonstrate how conservative mutations can influence structure and function. | 2019 | 31637997 |
| 397 | 18 | 0.9919 | PCR-targeted Streptomyces gene replacement identifies a protein domain needed for biosynthesis of the sesquiterpene soil odor geosmin. Streptomycetes are high G+C Gram-positive, antibiotic-producing, mycelial soil bacteria. The 8.7-Mb Streptomyces coelicolor genome was previously sequenced by using an ordered library of Supercos-1 clones. Here, we describe an efficient procedure for creating precise gene replacements in the cosmid clones by using PCR targeting and lambda-Red-mediated recombination. The cloned Streptomyces genes are replaced with a cassette containing a selectable antibiotic resistance and oriT(RK2) for efficient transfer to Streptomyces by RP4-mediated intergeneric conjugation. Supercos-1 does not replicate in Streptomyces, but the clones readily undergo double-crossover recombination, thus creating gene replacements. The antibiotic resistance cassettes are flanked by yeast FLP recombinase target sequences for removal of the antibiotic resistance and oriT(RK2) to generate unmarked, nonpolar mutations. The technique has been used successfully by >20 researchers to mutate around 100 Streptomyces genes. As an example, we describe its application to the discovery of a gene involved in the production of geosmin, the ubiquitous odor of soil. The gene, Sco6073 (cyc2), codes for a protein with two sesquiterpene synthase domains, only one of which is required for geosmin biosynthesis, probably via a germacra-1 (10) E,5E-dien-11-ol intermediate generated by the sesquiterpene synthase from farnesyl pyrophosphate. | 2003 | 12563033 |
| 357 | 19 | 0.9919 | New antibiotic resistance cassettes suitable for genetic studies in Borrelia burgdorferi. In this report we describe two distinct approaches to develop new antibiotic resistance cassettes that allow for efficient selection of Borrelia burgdorferi transformants. The first approach utilizes fusions of borrelial flagellar promoters to antibiotic resistance markers from other bacteria. The AACC1 gene, which encodes a gentamicin acetyltransferase, conferred a high level of gentamicin resistance in B. Burfdorferi when expressed from these promoters. No cross-resistance occurred between this cassette and the kanamycin resistance cassette, which was previously developed in an analogous fashion. A second and different approach was taken to develop an efficient selectable marker that confers resistance to the antibiotic coumermycin A1. A synthetic gene was designed from the GYRB301 allele of the coumermycin-resistant B. Burgdorferi strain B31-NGR by altering the coding sequence at the wobble position. The resulting gene, GYRB(SYN), encodes a protein identical to the product of GYRB301, but the genes share only 66% nucleotide identity. The nucleotide sequence of GYRB(SYN)is sufficiently divergent from the endogenous B. Burgdorferi GYRB gene to prevent recombination between them. The cassettes described in this paper improve our repertoire of genetic tools in B. Burgdorferi. These studies also provide insight into parameters governing recombination and gene expression in B. Burgdorferi. | 2003 | 14593251 |