Interaction between relaxase MbeA and accessory protein MbeC of the conjugally mobilizable plasmid ColE1

Athanasia Varsaki; Heather K Lamb; Olga Eleftheriadou; Elpiniki Vandera; Paul Thompson; Gabriel Moncalián; Fernando de la Cruz; Alastair R Hawkins; Constantin Drainas

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2012.01.060

Interaction between relaxase MbeA and accessory protein MbeC of the conjugally mobilizable plasmid ColE1

FEBS Lett. 2012 Mar 23;586(6):675-9. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.01.060. Epub 2012 Feb 14.

Authors

Athanasia Varsaki¹, Heather K Lamb, Olga Eleftheriadou, Elpiniki Vandera, Paul Thompson, Gabriel Moncalián, Fernando de la Cruz, Alastair R Hawkins, Constantin Drainas

Affiliation

¹ Sector of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece. [email protected]

PMID: 22449962
DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.01.060

Abstract

MbeA and MbeC are two key proteins in plasmid ColE1 conjugal mobilization. Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to detect and quantify an interaction between MbeA and MbeC. As a result of this interaction, the affinity of MbeA for single stranded DNA increased. The interaction was confirmed in vivo using a bacterial two-hybrid system, which revealed that MbeA-MbeC complexes are formed through the amino-terminal region of MbeA and the carboxy-terminal region of MbeC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of direct interactions between conjugative proteins encoded by a mobilizable plasmid.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacterial Proteins / genetics
Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
Base Sequence
Conjugation, Genetic
DNA, Single-Stranded / metabolism
Endodeoxyribonucleases / genetics
Endodeoxyribonucleases / metabolism*
Escherichia coli / genetics
Escherichia coli / metabolism
Molecular Sequence Data
Plasmids / genetics
Plasmids / metabolism*
Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
DNA, Single-Stranded
ROM protein, Bacteria
Endodeoxyribonucleases