Journal of Microbiology

Review

Bacterial Sialic Acid Catabolism at the Host–Microbe Interface: Jaeeun Kim , Byoung Sik Kim; J. Microbiol. 2023;61(4):369-377. Published online March 27, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-023-00035-7

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Abstract: Sialic acids consist of nine-carbon keto sugars that are commonly found at the terminal end of mucins. This positional feature of sialic acids contributes to host cell interactions but is also exploited by some pathogenic bacteria in evasion of host immune system. Moreover, many commensals and pathogens use sialic acids as an alternative energy source to survive within the mucus-covered host environments, such as the intestine, vagina, and oral cavity. Among the various biological events mediated by sialic acids, this review will focus on the processes necessary for the catabolic utilization of sialic acid in bacteria. First of all, transportation of sialic acid should be preceded before its catabolism. There are four types of transporters that are used for sialic acid uptake; the major facilitator superfamily (MFS), the tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic C4-dicarboxilate (TRAP) multicomponent transport system, the ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter, and the sodium solute symporter (SSS). After being moved by these transporters, sialic acid is degraded into an intermediate of glycolysis through the well-conserved catabolic pathway. The genes encoding the catabolic enzymes and transporters are clustered into an operon(s), and their expression is tightly controlled by specific transcriptional regulators. In addition to these mechanisms, we will cover some researches about sialic acid utilization by oral pathogens.

Journal Article

Structural insights into the psychrophilic germinal protease PaGPR and its autoinhibitory loop: Chang Woo Lee , Saeyoung Lee , Chang-Sook Jeong , Jisub Hwang , Jeong Ho Chang , In-Geol Choi , T. Doohun Kim , HaJeung Park , Hye-Yeon Kim , Jun Hyuck Lee; J. Microbiol. 2020;58(9):772-779. Published online September 1, 2020; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-020-0292-0

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Abstract: In spore forming microbes, germination protease (GPR) plays a key role in the initiation of the germination process. A critical step during germination is the degradation of small acidsoluble proteins (SASPs), which protect spore DNA from external stresses (UV, heat, low temperature, etc.). Inactive zymogen GPR can be activated by autoprocessing of the N-terminal pro-sequence domain. Activated GPR initiates the degradation of SASPs; however, the detailed mechanisms underlying the activation, catalysis, regulation, and substrate recognition of GPR remain elusive. In this study, we determined the crystal structure of GPR from Paenisporosarcina sp. TG-20 (PaGPR) in its inactive form at a resolution of 2.5 Å. Structural analysis showed that the active site of PaGPR is sterically occluded by an inhibitory loop region (residues 202–216). The N-terminal region interacts directly with the self-inhibitory loop region, suggesting that the removal of the N-terminal pro-sequence induces conformational changes, which lead to the release of the self-inhibitory loop region from the active site. In addition, comparative sequence and structural analyses revealed that PaGPR contains two highly conserved Asp residues (D123 and D182) in the active site, similar to the putative aspartic acid protease GPR from Bacillus megaterium. The catalytic domain structure of PaGPR also shares similarities with the sequentially non-homologous proteins HycI and HybD. HycI and HybD are metalloproteases that also contain two Asp (or Glu) residues in their active site, playing a role in metal binding. In summary, our
results
provide useful insights into the activation process of PaGPR and its active conformation.

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