Activation of the Cpx phosphorelay signal transduction system in acidic phospholipid-deficient pgsA mutant cells of Escherichia coli

Aya Itou; Kouji Matsumoto; Hiroshi Hara

doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.04.003

Activation of the Cpx phosphorelay signal transduction system in acidic phospholipid-deficient pgsA mutant cells of Escherichia coli

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 May 4;421(2):296-300. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.04.003. Epub 2012 Apr 7.

Authors

Aya Itou¹, Kouji Matsumoto, Hiroshi Hara

Affiliation

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-ohkubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama-ken 338-8570, Japan.

PMID: 22503979
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.04.003

Abstract

The pgsA gene encodes the enzyme for the committed step in the synthesis of acidic phospholipids in Escherichia coli, and the pssA gene does the same for zwitterionic phospholipid. It has been reported that the Rcs and Cpx phosphorelay signal transduction systems are activated in pgsA- and pssA-defective mutants, respectively. In this study, we show that the Cpx system is activated also in a pgsA mutant, whereas the Rcs system was not activated in a pssA mutant. Lack of phosphatidylglycerol in pgsA mutants causes inadequate modification of lipoproteins, resulting in poor localization to the outer membrane. The outer membrane lipoprotein RcsF is necessary for the response of the Rcs system to various stimuli, and Rcs activation in pgsA mutants involves inner membrane mislocalization of this lipoprotein. The outer membrane lipoprotein NlpE, however, while necessary for the surface adhesion-induced Cpx response, was not involved in Cpx activation in the pgsA mutant.

MeSH terms

Bacterial Proteins / agonists
Bacterial Proteins / genetics
Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
Escherichia coli / enzymology*
Escherichia coli / genetics
Escherichia coli Proteins / agonists
Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics
Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism*
Glycosyltransferases / genetics
Glycosyltransferases / metabolism
Membrane Proteins / agonists
Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
Multienzyme Complexes / metabolism
Mutation
Phospholipids / biosynthesis*
Phospholipids / genetics
Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / metabolism
Protein Kinases / metabolism
Signal Transduction
Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups) / genetics*

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
CpxP protein, E coli
Escherichia coli Proteins
Membrane Proteins
Multienzyme Complexes
Phospholipids
rcsC protein, E coli
rcsF protein, E coli
CpxR protein, Bacteria
Glycosyltransferases
PssA protein, Rhizobium leguminosarum
Protein Kinases
Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups)
CDP-diacylglycerol-glycerol-3-phosphate 3-phosphatidyltransferase
Phosphoprotein Phosphatases