Analise estrutural e funcional da lipoproteina de membrana externa omla de Xanthomonas citri / NMR resolution structure of the outer membrane lipoprotein omla from Xanthomonas citri

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2008

RESUMO

The XAC1516 gene from the citrus canker pathogen, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac), was selected for structural and functional studies in the context of the Fapesp Smolbnet program. XAC1516 codes for an outer membrane lipoprotein similar to members of the OmlA/SmpA (Outer membrane lipoprotein A/Small membrane protein A) family of small lipoproteins widely distributed across the ‘beta’ and ‘gama’ Proteobacteria. Although the role of numerous bacterial lipoproteins is known, the tridimensional (3D) structure of OmlA/SmpA members has never been reported and little is known about its biological function. However, it has been proposed a role of OmlA in the stability of the cellular envelope. Curiously, the omlA gene is located adjacently to the fur (ferric uptake regulator) gene, which codes for the most important transcriptional regulator of iron intracellular levels in Gram-negative bacteria. The tight intergenic spacement between omlA and fur suggests that they have superimposed promoters and that their function or regulation may be associated. In this work, we have investigated the function of the OmlA protein from Xac essentially through its 3D structure determination and dynamic analysis by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). We also investigated the possibility of a functional association between omlA and fur and the involvement of this locus in iron metabolism or cellular stress response. We found that in Xac OmlA expression is enhanced during citrus infection and that in this process omlA and fur are co-activated, thus suggesting their involvement in plantpathogen interaction. The locus, though, was not actived upon conditions associated to iron metabolism or Fur regulation already observed in other organisms. One-hybrid assay were performed in order to detect possible transcriptional factors implicated in omlA/fur expression or repression, but without success. Conformational and dynamical properties of OmlA were determined by NMR. The protein has unfolded N and C termini and a structurally well defined core interconnected by flexible loops and composed by three ‘beta’-strands and two small ‘alfa’-helices, which pack against each other forming a two-layer ‘alfa’/’beta’ scaffold. Curiously, this fold ressembles the domains of BLIP (‘beta’-lactamase inhibitory protein), a ‘beta’-lactamase inhibitor involved in protein-protein interaction. OmlA and ‘beta’-lactamase co-expression in vivo experiments did not indicate that OmlA has a ‘beta’-lactamase inhibitory activity. It is possible then that OmlA associates with another protein or proteins, but interacting partners were not detected through pulldown and coimmunoprecipitation assays. Nonetheless, the results suggests that OmlA may be implicated in some sort of protein-protein interaction associated to plant infection and its coactivation with fur may take part of a global response related to activation of important mechanisms for Xac surviving during its colonization in plant.

ASSUNTO(S)

lipoproteins nuclear magnetic resonance lipoproteinas ressonancia magnetica nuclear xanthomonas axopodis pv. citri xanthomonas axopodis pv. citri

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