Oligomerization of the Phosphatase CheZ Upon Interaction with the Phosphorylated Form of CheY

Earlier studies have suggested that CheZ, the phosphatase of the signaling protein CheY in bacterial chemotaxis, may be in an oligomeric state both when bound to phosphorylated CheY (CheYP) (Blat, Y., and Eisenbach, M.(1994) Biochemistry 33, 902-906) or free (Stock, A., and Stock, J. B.(1987) J. Bacteriol. 169, 3301-3311). The purpose of the current study was to determine the oligomeric state of free CheZ and to investigate whether it changes upon binding to CheYP. By using either one of two different sets of cross-linking agents, free CheZ was found to be a dimer. The formation of the dimer was specific, as it was prevented by SDS which does not interfere with cross-linking mediated by random collisions. The dimeric form of CheZ was confirmed by sedimentation analysis, a cross-linking-free technique. In the presence of CheYP (but not in the presence of non-phosphorylated CheY), a high molecular size cross-linked complex (90-200 kDa) was formed, in which the CheZ:CheY ratio was 2:1. The size of the oligomeric complex was estimated by fluorescence depolarization to be 4-5-fold larger than the dimer, suggesting that its size is in the order of 200 kDa. These results indicate that CheZ oligomerizes upon interaction with CheYP. This phosphorylation-dependent oligomerization may be a mechanism for regulating CheZ activity.

[1]  G. Weber,et al.  Rotational Brownian motion and polarization of the fluorescence of solutions. , 1953, Advances in protein chemistry.

[2]  J. S. Parkinson,et al.  Complementation analysis and deletion mapping of Escherichia coli mutants defective in chemotaxis , 1978, Journal of bacteriology.

[3]  J. S. Parkinson,et al.  Interactions between chemotaxis genes and flagellar genes in Escherichia coli , 1983, Journal of bacteriology.

[4]  J. Stock,et al.  Reconstitution of the bacterial chemotaxis signal transduction system from purified components. , 1991, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[5]  E. Stadtman [39] Preparation and assay of acetyl phosphate , 1957 .

[6]  M. Simon,et al.  The dynamics of protein phosphorylation in bacterial chemotaxis , 1990, Cell.

[7]  M. Eisenbach,et al.  Mutants with Defective Phosphatase Activity Show No Phosphorylation-dependent Oligomerization of CheZ , 1996, The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

[8]  M Welch,et al.  Phosphorylation-dependent binding of a signal molecule to the flagellar switch of bacteria. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[9]  M. M. Bradford A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. , 1976, Analytical biochemistry.

[10]  M. Simon,et al.  Conserved aspartate residues and phosphorylation in signal transduction by the chemotaxis protein CheY. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[11]  P. Kiley,et al.  The activity of the Escherichia coli transcription factor FNR is regulated by a change in oligomeric state. , 1993, Genes & development.

[12]  M. Simon,et al.  Protein phosphorylation is involved in bacterial chemotaxis. , 1987, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[13]  J. S. Parkinson,et al.  Overlapping genes at the cheA locus of Escherichia coli. , 1980, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[14]  R. Weis,et al.  Oligomerization of the cytoplasmic fragment from the aspartate receptor of Escherichia coli. , 1992, Biochemistry.

[15]  C. Cantor,et al.  Biophysical Chemistry: Part II: Techniques for the Study of Biological Structure and Function , 1980 .

[16]  G R Stark,et al.  Use of dimethyl suberimidate, a cross-linking reagent, in studying the subunit structure of oligomeric proteins. , 1970, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[17]  H. Berg,et al.  Chemotactic signaling in filamentous cells of Escherichia coli , 1985, Journal of bacteriology.

[18]  P. Matsumura,et al.  Overexpression and sequence of the Escherichia coli cheY gene and biochemical activities of the CheY protein , 1984, Journal of bacteriology.

[19]  D. Koshland,et al.  Isolation, characterization and complementation of Salmonella typhimurium chemotaxis mutants. , 1975, Journal of molecular biology.

[20]  M. Eisenbach,et al.  Phosphorylation-dependent binding of the chemotaxis signal molecule CheY to its phosphatase, CheZ. , 1994, Biochemistry.

[21]  M. Eisenbach,et al.  Sensing and Response in Microorganisms , 1986 .

[22]  B. Ames,et al.  A method for determining the sedimentation behavior of enzymes: application to protein mixtures. , 1961, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[23]  M. Simon,et al.  Nucleotide sequence corresponding to five chemotaxis genes in Escherichia coli , 1986, Journal of bacteriology.

[24]  R M Macnab,et al.  Normal-to-curly flagellar transitions and their role in bacterial tumbling. Stabilization of an alternative quaternary structure by mechanical force. , 1977, Journal of molecular biology.

[25]  H. Berg,et al.  Reconstitution of signaling in bacterial chemotaxis , 1987, Journal of bacteriology.

[26]  R. Macnab,et al.  Pausing, switching and speed fluctuation of the bacterial flagellar motor and their relation to motility and chemotaxis. , 1990, Journal of molecular biology.

[27]  J. Calvin Giddings,et al.  Statistical theory for the equilibrium distribution of rigid molecules in inert porous networks. Exclusion chromatography , 1968 .

[28]  J. Stock,et al.  Bacterial chemotaxis and the molecular logic of intracellular signal transduction networks. , 1991, Annual review of biophysics and biophysical chemistry.

[29]  J. Adler Chemotaxis in Bacteria , 1966, Science.

[30]  J. Stock,et al.  Purification and characterization of the CheZ protein of bacterial chemotaxis , 1987, Journal of bacteriology.

[31]  Kenji Oosawa,et al.  Phosphorylation of three proteins in the signaling pathway of bacterial chemotaxis , 1988, Cell.

[32]  M. Simon,et al.  Signal transduction pathways involving protein phosphorylation in prokaryotes. , 1991, Annual review of biochemistry.

[33]  R. Macnab,et al.  Genetic evidence for a switching and energy-transducing complex in the flagellar motor of Salmonella typhimurium , 1986, Journal of bacteriology.

[34]  O. Amster-Choder,et al.  Modulation of the dimerization of a transcriptional antiterminator protein by phosphorylation. , 1992, Science.

[35]  R. Weis,et al.  Escherichia coli aspartate receptor. Oligomerization of the cytoplasmic fragment. , 1992, Biophysical journal.

[36]  J. Adler,et al.  Bacterial cell envelopes with functional flagella. , 1981, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[37]  J. Westwood,et al.  Activation of Drosophila heat shock factor: conformational change associated with a monomer-to-trimer transition , 1993, Molecular and cellular biology.

[38]  J. Stock,et al.  Phosphorylation of bacterial response regulator proteins by low molecular weight phospho-donors. , 1992, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[39]  M. Simon,et al.  Transmembrane signal transduction in bacterial chemotaxis involves ligand-dependent activation of phosphate group transfer. , 1989, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[40]  M. Eisenbach,et al.  Correlation between phosphorylation of the chemotaxis protein CheY and its activity at the flagellar motor. , 1992, Biochemistry.

[41]  J. S. Parkinson,et al.  Isolation and behavior of Escherichia coli deletion mutants lacking chemotaxis functions , 1982, Journal of bacteriology.

[42]  R. W. Wright,et al.  Enhancement by N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide of water-soluble carbodiimide-mediated coupling reactions. , 1986, Analytical biochemistry.

[43]  P. Matsumura,et al.  Restoration of flagellar clockwise rotation in bacterial envelopes by insertion of the chemotaxis protein CheY. , 1986, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[44]  J. Stock,et al.  Sensory transduction in bacterial chemotaxis involves phosphotransfer between Che proteins. , 1988, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[45]  M. Eisenbach,et al.  Direction of flagellar rotation in bacterial cell envelopes , 1984, Journal of bacteriology.

[46]  J. Stock,et al.  Divalent metal ion binding to the CheY protein and its significance to phosphotransfer in bacterial chemotaxis. , 1990, Biochemistry.

[47]  H. Berg,et al.  Bacterial motility and signal transduction , 1993, Cell.

[48]  D. Koshland,et al.  The role of a signaling protein in bacterial sensing: behavioral effects of increased gene expression. , 1984, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[49]  F. H. Carpenter,et al.  Intermolecular cross-linking of monomeric proteins and cross-linking of oligomeric proteins as a probe of quaternary structure. Application to leucine aminopeptidase (bovine lens). , 1972, The Journal of biological chemistry.