The C-terminal part of the surface-associated protein MopE of the methanotroph Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) is secreted into the growth medium.

A protein with an apparent molecular mass of 46 kDa was detected as the major polypeptide in the culture medium of the biotechnologically important methanotrophic bacterium Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath). The protein cross-reacted with polyclonal antibodies raised against the outer-membrane-associated protein MopE. The antiserum was used to identify a positive clone from a lambda gt11 library. The nucleotide sequence determined for the clone demonstrated that MopE and the secreted protein are encoded by the same gene, and that the secreted protein represents an N-terminally truncated form of MopE. By using monospecific antibodies against MopE in immunogold electron microscopy, the protein was localized at the cell surface and cell periphery. The mopE gene was expressed in Escherichia coli. The MopE protein synthesized was found in the periplasmic space of E. coli. No protein with sequence similarity over the entire length of MopE was detected in the databases, but some sequence similarity to the copper-repressible CorA protein of the methanotroph Methylomicrobium albus (Berson and Lidstrom 1997) was observed for the C-terminal region of MopE.

Methanotrophic diversity in an agricultural soil as evaluated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles of pmoA, mxaF and 16S rDNA sequences.

Molecular methods were used to characterize the diversity of a methanotrophic population in an agricultural soil. For this purpose we have used DGGE analysis of functional and phylogenetic markers. Functional markers utilised comprised the pmoA-gene coding for the alpha-subunit of the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) present in all known methanotrophs and the mxaF-gene coding for the alpha-subunit of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) present in all gram-negative methylotrophs. In addition, we have used 16S rDNA as a phylogenetic marker. DGGE patterns of an enrichment culture, and sequencing of major DGGE bands obtained with the bacterial specific primers showed that the community structure was dominated by methanotrophic populations related to Methylobacter sp. and Methylomicrobium sp. The PCR products amplified with the functional primer sets were related to both type I and type II methanotrophs. We also designed a new pmoA-targeting primer set which could be used in a nested protocol to amplify PCR-products from DNA extracted directly from the soil.

Molecular analysis of an outer membrane protein, MopB, of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) and structural comparisons with proteins of the OmpA family.

The gene encoding a major outer membrane protein (MopB) of the methanotroph Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) was cloned and sequenced. The cloned DNA contained an open reading frame of 1044 bp coding for a 348-amino-acid polypeptide with a 21-amino-acid leader peptide. Comparative sequence analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence revealed that the C-terminal part of MopB possessed sequences that are conserved in the OmpA family of proteins. The N-terminal half of the protein had no significant sequence similarity to other proteins in the databases, but the predicted secondary structure showed stretches of amphipathic beta-strands typical of transmembrane segments of outer membrane proteins. A region with four cysteines similar to the cysteine-encompassing region of the OprF of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found toward the C-terminal part of MopB. Results from whole-cell labeling with the fluorescent thiol-reacting reagent 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein indicated a surface-exposed location for these cysteines. A probe consisting of the 3'-end of the mopB gene hybridized to the type I methanotroph Methylomonas methanica S in Southern blots containing DNA from nine methanotrophic strains representing six different genera.

Outer membrane proteins of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Membranes obtained from whole-cell lysates of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) were separated by Triton X-100 extraction. The resulting insoluble fraction was enriched in outer membranes as assessed by electron microscopy and by the content of beta-hydroxy palmitic acid and particulate methane monooxygenase. Major proteins with molecular masses of approximately 27, 40, 46, 59, and 66 kDa were detected by SDS-PAGE of the Triton-X-100-insoluble membranes. MopA, MopB, MopC, MopD, and MopE (Methylococcus outer membrane protein) are proposed to designate these proteins. Several of the Mop proteins exhibited heat-modifiable properties in SDS-PAGE and were influenced by the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol in the sample buffer. The 46- and 59-kDa bands migrated as a single high-molecular-mass 95-kDa oligomer under mild denaturing conditions. When reconstituted into black lipid membranes, this oligomer was shown to serve as a channel with an estimated single-channel conductance of 1.4 nS in 1 M KCl.

Cloning of the fomA gene, encoding the major outer membrane porin of Fusobacterium nucleatum ATCC10953.

The major outer membrane protein, FomA, of the Gram-negative human oral pathogen Fusobacterium nucleatum functions as a porin and is assumed to act as a receptor protein in coaggregation with other oral pathogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus sanguis and Porphyromonas gingivalis. We describe here the cloning of fomA from F. nucleatum in E. coli. Using pGEM3Zf(+), three recombinant plasmids were carrying parts of the fomA gene, but none of these contained regions upstream of the coding sequence. From these plasmids a clone was constructed which contained the whole fomA gene. The ATCC 10953 fomA gene was cloned under the phosphate limitation-inducible phoE promoter, using a vector derived from pACYC184. The protein was found to be incorporated into the outer membrane of the host in an apparently normal manner, as judged by heat-modifiability, trypsin-accessibility, and accessibility to antibodies to the protein in a whole cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The cloned FomA was found to exhibit pore-forming activity.