ISSN:
1365-2958
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa exports a number of hydrolytic enzymes and toxins using the type II or general secretion pathway, found in a variety of Gram-negative bacteria and requiring the functions of at least 12 gene products (XcpP–Z and PilD/XcpA in P. aeruginosa). A number of these gene products are homologues of components of the type IV pilus biogenesis system, including four proteins, XcpT–W, which are highly similar to the pilin subunit in their size, localization and post-translational modifications. These proteins, in addition to the pilin subunit, are cleaved and methylated by the PilD/XcpA prepilin peptidase, but their interactions with other components of the export apparatus are unclear. Using a medium developed for the selection of export-proficient P. aeruginosa strains, we have isolated temperature-sensitive mutations in the xcpT gene and extragenic suppressors for one of the mutants. These suppressors fall into two classes, one that maps outside of the xcpP–Z gene cluster and may define additional cellular functions that are required for export, and a second that maps to the xcpR gene product and indicates a potential protein–protein interaction connecting two different cellular compartments and required for the assembly or function of the export apparatus.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2958.1998.00679.x
