« Previous AbstractIdentification and characterization of a determinant (eep) on the Enterococcus faecalis chromosome that is involved in production of the peptide sex pheromone cAD1    Next AbstractFunctional analysis of the 3' control region of the potato wound-inducible proteinase inhibitor II gene »

J Bacteriol

Title:		Identification of the cAD1 sex pheromone precursor in Enterococcus faecalis
Author(s):		An FY; Clewell DB;
Address:		"Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, School of Dentistry, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA"
Journal Title:		J Bacteriol
Year:		2002
Volume:		184
Issue:		7
Page Number:		1880 - 1887
DOI:		10.1128/JB.184.7.1880-1887.2002
ISSN/ISBN:		0021-9193 (Print) 1098-5530 (Electronic) 0021-9193 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The Enterococcus faecalis virulence plasmid pAD1 encodes a mating response induced by exposure to an octapeptide sex pheromone, cAD1, secreted by plasmid-free enterococci. The determinant for the pheromone in E. faecalis FA2-2, designated cad, was found to encode a 309-amino-acid lipoprotein precursor with the last 8 residues of its 22-amino acid signal sequence representing the cAD1 moiety. The lipoprotein moiety contained two 77-amino-acid repeats (70% identity) separated by 45 residues. The nonisogenic E. faecalis strain V583 determinant encodes a homologous precursor protein, but it differs at two amino acid positions, both of which are located within the pheromone peptide moiety (positions 2 and 8). Construction of a variant of strain FA2-2 containing the differences present in V583 resulted in cells that did not produce detectable cAD1. The mutant appeared normal under laboratory growth conditions, and while significantly reduced in recipient potential, when carrying pAD1 it exhibited a normal mating response. A mutant of FA2-2 with a truncated lipoprotein moiety appeared normal with respect to recipient potential and, when carrying plasmid DNA, donor potential. A gene encoding a protein designated Eep, believed to be a zinc metalloprotease, had been previously identified as required for pheromone biosynthesis and was believed to be involved in the processing of a pheromone precursor. Our new observation that the pAD1-encoded inhibitor peptide, iAD1, whose precursor is itself a signal sequence, is also dependent on Eep is consistent with the likelihood that such processing occurs at the amino terminus of the cAD1 moiety"
Keywords:		"Amino Acid Sequence Base Sequence DNA, Bacterial/analysis Enterococcus faecalis/chemistry/*genetics Molecular Sequence Data Mutation Oligopeptides/genetics/*isolation & purification Peptides/chemical synthesis/chemistry/metabolism Protein Precursors/genet;"
Notes:		"MedlineAn, Florence Y Clewell, Don B eng AI40963/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ GM33956/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. 2002/03/13 J Bacteriol. 2002 Apr; 184(7):1880-7. doi: 10.1128/JB.184.7.1880-1887.2002"