• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.829-835
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• 2000

The ptsH and ptsI genes of Lactococus lactis subsp. lactis ATCC 7962 (L. lactis 7962), encoding the general proteins of phosphotransferase system (PTS) components, HPr and enzyme I, respectively, were cloned and characterized. A 1.3 kb PCR product was obtained using a primer set that was hybridized to the internal region of the L. lactis 7962 pts HI genes and then subcloned into a low-copy number vector, pACYC184. The 5' upstream and 3' downstream region from the 1.3 kb fragment were subsequently clone using the chromosome walking method. The complete ptsHI operon was constructed and the nucleotide sequences determined. Two ORFs corresponding to HPr (88 amino acids) and enzyme I (575 amino acids) were located. The ptsHI genes of L. lactis 7962 showed a very high homology (84-90%) with those genes from other Gram-positive bacteria. A primer extension analysis showed that the transcription started at either one of two adjacent bases upstream of the start codon. Using a Northern analysis, two transcripts were detected; the first, a 0.3 kb transcript corresponding to ptsH and the second, a 2 kb transcript corresponding to ptsH and ptsI. The transcription level of ptsH was higher than that of ptsI. The concentration of the ptsH transcript in cells grown on glucose was similar to that in cells grown on lactose, yet higher than that in cells grown on galactose. The ptsI transcript was scarcely detected in cell grown on lactose or galactose. The ptsI transcript was scarcely detected in cells grown on lactose or galactose. The results of a sequence analysis and Northern blot confirmed that the ptsH and ptsI genes of L. lactis 7962 were arranged in an operon like other known ptsHI genes and the expression of the ptsHI genes was regulated at the transcriptional level in response to the carbon source.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.988-992
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• 2006

The ptsHI operon from Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. mesenteroides SY1 (L. mesenteroides SY1), a strain isolated from kimchi, was cloned and characterized. The ptsH open reading frame (ORF) was 273 bp in size, which can encode a protein of 90 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 9,212 Da. The pfsI ORF was 1,719 bp in size, which was capable of encoding a protein of 572 amino acids with a molecular mass of 62,549 Da. ptsH and pfsI genes were transcribed as a single transcript of 2.0 kb in size regardless of carbon sources, supporting the operon structure. Although the deduced amino acid sequences of the HPr and EI were highly homologous with those of other Gram-positive bacteria, an additional amino acid (glutamine at the $3^{rd}$ amino acid) was present in HPr from L. mesenteroides SY1. Phosphorylation sites of HPr included the histidine residue ($16^{th}$) and serine residue ($47^{th}$). Mutant HPrs, in which each phosphorylation site was mutated into alanine, were obtained, and phosphorylation with HPr and mutated HPrs showed that HPr was phosphorylated at the serine residue ($47^{th}$) by HPr kinaseiphosphorylase (HPr K/P).