Proteins involved in DNA transport
| Project/Area Number |
16570137
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Biophysics
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| Research Institution | Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences |
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Principal Investigator |
TAMAKOSHI Masatada Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, School of Life Science, Associate professor, 生命科学部, 助教授 (10277254)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2006)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000)
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| Keywords | DNA transport / twitching / Natural transformation / Thermus thermophilus / bacteriophage / 高度好熱菌 / 線毛 / 自然形質転換 / twitching motility / タンパク質 / 遺伝子 / 微生物 / ファージ |
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| Research Abstract |
DNA transport in bacteria includes DNA uptake in natural transformation, DNA injection in phage infection, DNA packaging in phage maturation, and DNA transfer in conjugation. In this study, function of genes and proteins for DNA transport was investigated. It has been proposed that pilus retraction plays an essential role in DNA uptake in gram negative bacteria. To investigate the function of pil genes involved in power supply for pilus extension and retraction, the pi/Q, pi/F, pi/T1 and pi/T2 mutant Thermus thermophilus strains were constructed by directed mutagenesis. As a result, the pi/Q and pilF strains, which lack an outer membrane, secretin, and a putative nucleotide-binding protein for pilus extension, respectively, were consistently deficient in DNA uptake in natural transformation. However, both the pi/T1 and pi/T2 strains, which deficient in pilus retraction remained competent, which is different from other species, suggesting that T thermophilus uptakes DNA in a different manner. On the other hand, to gain deeper insight into DNA injection and packaging in phage life cycle, the whole genomic sequence of two thermophilic bacteriophages infectious to T thermophilus including a newly isolated one in this study was analyzed. Homology search analysis with the deduced amino acid sequences failed to identify a set of genes required for the DNA injection and DNA packaging, suggesting the phages infect to the host thermophile in a different fashion or the phages encode structurally different proteins for the DNA transports. Although genetic analysis was mainly done in this study, biochemical analysis will be needed to further understand the mechanisms of DNA transporting systems in bacteria.
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Report
(4 results)
Research Products
(3 results)
