Mannitol Permease Research Articles

Structure/function relationships in the Escherichia coli mannitol permease: identification of regions important for membrane insertion, substrate binding and oligomerization

The Escherichia coli mannitol permease (EII Mtl) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system is a 68-kDa membrane protein that carries out thatconcomitant transport and phosphorylation of D-mannitol. Previous studies indicated that there are ca. 6 membrane-spanning helices within the N-terminal half of the protein, while the hydrophilic C-terminal half was shown to be exposed in the cytoplasm. In the present study, an analysis of C-terminally truncated EII Mtl mutants showed that proteins from which only the cytoplasmic domain has been deleted were present in the membrane at ⩾ 50 % the amount of the intact protein. However, deletion proteins smaller than ca. 34 kDa were present in the membrane at only about 20 % the amount of the intact protein. We also constructed a plasmid that encodes the first 43 amino acid residues of EII Mtl fused to residues 378 to 637 (the C-terminal domain). The corresponding protein was associated with the cytoplasmic membrane. These results show that the first 43 amino acid residues of the N terminus are sufficient for membrane localization, although the region comprising the last 2 membrane-spanning helices appears to be important for maximum stability and/or efficient membrane insertion of the complete N-terminal domain. Further studies of these deletion proteins showed that binding of mannitol to the permease occurs even if the entire cytoplasmic domain is absent, but is abolished if the last putative membrane-spanning region is removed. Finally, regions of the protein within the membrane-bound domain were identified that influence the oligomerization state of the protein. These results further define domains of this multifunctional transport protein that are important for membrane insertion, stability, substrate binding and oligomerization.

Membrane topology analysis of Escherichia coli mannitol permease by using a nested-deletion method to create mtlA-phoA fusions.

The Escherichia coli mannitol permease catalyzes the concomitant transport and phosphorylation of D-mannitol. This 68-kDa protein consists of a membrane-bound, N-terminal domain involved in mannitol binding and translocation and a C-terminal, cytoplasmic domain responsible for mannitol phosphorylation. Secondary-structure prediction methods suggest that the N-terminal half of the permease spans the membrane approximately seven times in alpha-helical segments, but these data cannot conclusively predict the structure. We have used gene fusions between mtlA (encoding the permease) and 'phoA (encoding alkaline phosphatase lacking its signal sequence) to further investigate the topology of the mannitol permease. Initially, fusions were constructed by using a lambda TnphoA vector and in vitro cloning of 'phoA into naturally occurring restriction sites in mtlA. However, the former method gave severe problems with insertion "hot-spots" in our vector systems, and the latter method was limited by the number of useful restriction sites. Therefore, we developed a nested-deletion method for creating mtlA-phoA fusions. 'phoA was first cloned downstream from the part of mtlA encoding the membrane-bound half of the permease. This construct was then treated with the appropriate restriction enzymes and with exonuclease III to create random fusions. An analysis of greater than 40 different fusion clones constructed by these methods provides strong evidence for six membrane-spanning regions in the mannitol permease with three relatively short periplasmic loops and two large cytoplasmic loops in the membrane-bound half of the protein.

Insertion of the mannitol permease into the membrane of Escherichia coli. Possible involvement of an N-terminal amphiphilic sequence.

The in vivo membrane assembly of the mannitol permease, the mannitol Enzyme II (IImtl) of the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system, has been studied employing molecular genetic approaches. Removal of the N-terminal amphiphilic leader of the permease and replacement with a short hydrophobic sequence resulted in an inactive protein unable to transport mannitol into the cell or catalyze either phosphoenol-pyruvate-dependent or mannitol 1-phosphate-dependent mannitol phosphorylation in vitro. The altered protein (68 kDa) was quantitatively cleaved by an endogenous protease to a membrane-associated 39-kDa fragment and a soluble 28-kDa fragment as revealed by Western blot analyses. Overproduction of the wild-type plasmid-encoded protein also led to cleavage, but repression of the synthesis of the plasmid-encoded enzyme by inclusion of glucose in the growth medium prevented cleavage. Several mtlA-phoA gene fusions encoding fused proteins with N-terminal regions derived from the mannitol permease and C-terminal regions derived from the mature portion of alkaline phosphatase were constructed. In the first fusion protein, F13, the N-terminal 13-aminoacyl residue amphiphilic leader sequence of the mannitol permease replaced the hydrophobic leader sequence of alkaline phosphatase. The resultant fusion protein was inefficiently translocated across the cytoplasmic membrane and became peripherally associated with both the inner and outer membranes, presumably via the noncleavable N-terminal amphiphilic sequence. The second fusion protein, F53, in which the N-terminal 53 residues of the mannitol permease were fused to alkaline phosphatase, was efficiently translocated across the cytoplasmic membrane and was largely found anchored to the inner membrane with the catalytic domain of alkaline phosphatase facing the periplasm. This 53-aminoacyl residue sequence included the amphiphilic leader sequence and a single hydrophobic, potentially transmembrane, segment. Analyses of other MtlA-PhoA fusion proteins led to the suggestion that internal amphiphilic segments may function to facilitate initiation of polypeptide trans-membrane translocation. The dependence of IImtl insertion on the N-terminal amphiphilic leader sequence was substantiated employing site-specific mutagenesis. The N-terminal sequence of the native permease is Met-Ser-Ser-Asp-Ile-Lys-Ile-Lys-Val-Gln-Ser-Phe-Gly.... The following point mutants were isolated, sequenced, and examined regarding the effects of the mutations on insertion of IImtl into the membrane: 1) S3P; 2) D4P; 3) D4L; 4) D4R; 5) D4H; 6) I5N; 7) K6P; and 8) K8P.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Regulated high-level expression of the mannitol permease of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar phosphotransferase system in Escherichia coli.

The structural gene (mtlA) of the Escherichia coli phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent mannitol-transport protein (EIImtl) and its upstream promoter region (Pmtl) were subcloned approximately 150 base pairs downstream of a lambda PR promoter on a multicopy mutagenesis/expression vector and used to transform a mutant (MtlA-) E. coli strain. Induction at 42 degrees C led to 50 to 100-fold overproduction of EIImtl (5-10 mg/g of cell wet weight) relative to mannitol-induced levels in a wild-type (Mtl+) strain. Most of the overproduced protein was sequestered as an inactive form in inclusion bodies and cytoplasmic membranous structures. The protein could be extracted in an active form by rupturing the cells with lysozyme and sonication or with a passage through a French pressure cell and incubating the inclusion bodies and membranous structures with detergent (Lubrol PX or deoxycholate) in the presence of Q or S Sepharose ion-exchange resin for several hours. This procedure resulted in a 20- to 25-fold overproduction of active EIImtl compared with mannitol-induced wild-type levels.

Molecular cloning of the C-terminal domain of Escherichia coli D-mannitol permease: expression, phosphorylation, and complementation with C-terminal permease deletion proteins

We have subcloned a portion of the Escherichia coli mtlA gene encoding the hydrophilic, C-terminal domain of the mannitol-specific enzyme II (mannitol permease; molecular mass, 68 kilodaltons [kDa]) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent carbohydrate phosphotransferase system. This mtlA fragment, encoding residues 379 to 637 (residue 637 = C terminus), was cloned in frame into the expression vector pCQV2 immediately downstream from the lambda pr promoter of the vector, which also encodes a temperature-sensitive lambda repressor. E. coli cells carrying a chromosomal deletion in mtlA (strain LGS322) and harboring this recombinant plasmid, pDW1, expressed a 28-kDa protein cross-reacting with antipermease antibody when grown at 42 degrees C but not when grown at 32 degrees C. This protein was relatively stable and could be phosphorylated in vitro by the general phospho-carrier protein of the phosphotransferase system, phospho-HPr. Thus, this fragment of the permease, when expressed in the absence of the hydrophobic, membrane-bound N-terminal domain, can apparently fold into a conformation resembling that of the C-terminal domain of the intact permease. When transformed into LGS322 cells harboring plasmid pGJ9-delta 137, which encodes a C-terminally truncated and inactive permease (residues 1 to ca. 480; molecular mass, 51 kDa), pDW1 conferred a mannitol-positive phenotype to this strain when grown at 42 degrees C but not when grown at 32 degrees C. This strain also exhibited phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent mannitol phosphorylation activity only when grown at the higher temperature. In contrast, pDW1 could not complement a plasmid encoding the complementary N-terminal part of the permease (residues 1 to 377). The pathway of phosphorylation of mannitol by the combined protein products of pGJ9-delta 137 and pDPW1 was also investigated by using N-ethylmaleimide to inactivate the second phosphorylation sites of these permease fragments (proposed to be Cys-384). These results are discussed with respect to the domain structure of the permease and its mechanism of transport and phosphorylation.

Hydrophilic C-terminal domain of the Escherichia coli mannitol permease: phosphorylation, functional independence, and evidence for intersubunit phosphotransfer.

The mannitol-specific enzyme II (mannitol permease) of the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system (PTS) catalyzes the concomitant transport and phosphorylation of D-mannitol. Previous studies have shown that the mannitol permease (637 amino acid residues) consists of 2 structural domains of roughly equal size: an N-terminal, hydrophobic, membrane-bound domain and a C-terminal, hydrophilic, cytoplasmic domain. The C-terminal domain can be released from the membrane by mild proteolysis of everted membrane vesicles [Stephan, M.M., & Jacobson, G.R. (1986) Biochemistry 25, 8230-8234]. In this report, we show that phosphorylation of the intact permease by [32P]HPr (a general phosphocarrier protein of the PTS) followed by tryptic separation of the two domains resulted in labeling of only the C-terminal domain. Phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain occurred even in the complete absence of the N-terminal domain, showing that the former contains most, if not all, of the critical residues comprising the interaction site for phospho-HPr. The phosphorylated C-terminal domain, however, could not transfer its phospho group to mannitol, suggesting that the N-terminal domain is necessary for mannitol binding and/or phosphotransfer from the enzyme to the sugar. The elution profile of the C-terminal domain after molecular sieve chromatography showed that the isolated domain is monomeric, unlike the native permease which is likely a dimer in the membrane. Experiments employing a deletion mutation of the mtlA gene, which encodes a protein lacking the first phosphorylation site in the C-terminal domain (His-554) but retaining the second phosphorylation site (Cys-384), demonstrated that a phospho group could be transferred from phospho-HPr to Cys-384 of the deletion protein, and then to mannitol, only in the presence of the full-length permease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Structural and functional domains of the mannitol-specific enzyme II of theE. coliphosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system

Keywords: Bacterial sugar transport; Membrane protein structure; Sugar phosphorylation; Protein domains; Phosphotransfer reactions; Mannitol permease

Structural and functional domains of the mannitol-specific enzyme II of the E. coli phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system

Keywords: Bacterial sugar transport; Membrane protein structure; Sugar phosphorylation; Protein domains; Phosphotransfer reactions; Mannitol permease

Deletion mutants of the Escherichia coli K-12 mannitol permease: dissection of transport-phosphorylation, phospho-exchange, and mannitol-binding activities

We have constructed a series of deletion mutations of the cloned Escherichia coli K-12 mtlA gene, which encodes the mannitol-specific enzyme II of the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent carbohydrate phosphotransferase system. This membrane-bound permease consists of 637 amino acid residues and is responsible for the concomitant transport and phosphorylation of D-mannitol in E. coli. Deletions into the 3' end of mtlA were constructed by exonuclease III digestion. Restriction mapping of the resultant plasmids identified several classes of deletions that lacked approximately 5% to more than 75% of the gene. Immunoblotting experiments revealed that many of these plasmids expressed proteins within the size range predicted by the restriction analyses, and all of these proteins were membrane localized, which demonstrated that none of the C-terminal half of the permease is required for membrane insertion. Functional analyses of the deletion proteins, expressed in an E. coli strain deleted for the chromosomal copy of mtlA, showed that all but one of the strains containing confirmed deletions were inactive in transport and PEP-dependent phosphorylation of mannitol, but deletions removing up to at least 117 amino acid residues from the C terminus of the permease were still active in catalyzing phospho exchange between mannitol 1-phosphate and mannitol. A deletion protein that lacked 240 residues from the C terminus of the permease was inactive in phospho exchange but still bound mannitol with high affinity. These experiments localize sites important for transport and PEP-dependent phosphorylation to the extreme C terminus of the mannitol permease, sites important for phospho exchange to between residues 377 and 519, and sites necessary for mannitol binding to the N-terminal 60% of the molecule. The results are discussed with respect to the fact that the mannitol permease consists of structurally independent N- and C-terminal domains.

Evidence for two distinct conformations of the Escherichia coli mannitol permease that are important for its transport and phosphorylation functions.

Column chromatography of the Escherichia coli mannitol permease (mannitol-specific enzyme II of the phosphotransferase system) in the presence of deoxycholate has revealed that the active permease can exist in at least two association states with apparent molecular weights consistent with a monomer and a dimer. The monomeric conformation is favored by the presence of mannitol and by the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP)-dependent phosphorylation of the protein. The dimer is stabilized by inorganic phosphate (Pi), which also stimulates phospho-exchange between mannitol and mannitol 1-phosphate (a partial reaction in the overall PEP-dependent phosphorylation of mannitol). Kinetic analysis of the phospho-exchange reaction revealed that Pi stimulates phospho-exchange by increasing the Vmax of the reaction. A kinetic model for mannitol permease function is presented involving both conformations of the permease. The monomer (or a less-stable conformation of the dimer) is hypothesized to be involved in the initial mannitol-binding and PEP-dependent phosphorylation steps, while the stably associated dimer is suggested to participate in later steps involving direct phosphotransfer between the permease, mannitol and mannitol 1-phosphate.

Membrane incorporation and induction of secondary structure of synthetic peptides corresponding to the N-terminal signal sequences of the glucitol and mannitol permeases of Escherichia coli

The 22-residue synthetic signal peptide of the glucitol permease (Enzyme IIgut of the bacterial phosphotransferase system; gut22), which in the intact protein is believed to function in envelope targeting, was found to insert into phospholipid monolayers of various phospholipid compositions up to high limiting pressures (36-41 milliNewton/m). The partition coefficient, derived from monolayer area expansion experiments, was greatest for the negatively charged gut22 when partitioning into monolayers of the zwitterionic lipid 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidylcholine (about 1.1 X 10(5] as compared with that obtained with a mixture of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidylcholine and the negatively charged lipids 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin. Gut22 contains a titratable histidyl residue (pKa = 6.8), and its protonation decreased the relative monolayer area increase 3-fold. Circular dichroism spectra showed that gut22 formed an amphiphilic alpha-helix when incorporated into lipid membranes (estimated percent helix = 65%). Fluorescence measurements indicated that tryptophan 11 is in a more hydrophobic environment in the presence of lipid than in its absence, with the environment being more hydrophobic at pH 5 than at pH 8. The more hydrophilic 15-residue signal peptide of the mannitol permease (mtl15) also incorporated into monolayers and detergent micelles (although to a lesser extent) with induction of secondary structure. Based on these results and a parallel with mitochondrial targeting in eucaryotes, we suggest that the induction of N-terminal amphiphilic structures and their association with a hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface are important for envelope targeting and the initiation of the membrane insertion of bacterial phosphoenol-pyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system permeases.

Genetic analyses of the mannitol permease of Escherichia coli: isolation and characterization of a transport-deficient mutant which retains phosphorylation activity.

Three positive selection procedures were developed for the isolation of plasmid-encoded mutants which were defective in the mannitol enzyme II (IIMtl) of the phosphotransferase system (mtlA mutants). The mutants were characterized with respect to the following properties: (i) fermentation, (ii) transport, (iii) phosphoenolpyruvate(PEP)-dependent phosphorylation, and (iv) mannitol-1-phosphate-dependent transphosphorylation of mannitol. Cell lysis in response to indole acrylic acid, which causes the lethal overexpression of the plasmid-encoded mtlA gene, was also scored. No correlation was noted between residual IIMtl activity in the mutants and sensitivity to the toxic effect of indole acrylic acid. Plasmid-encoded mutants were isolated with (i) total or partial loss of all activities assayed, (ii) nearly normal rates of transphosphorylation but reduced rates of PEP-dependent phosphorylation, (iii) nearly normal rates of PEP-dependent phosphorylation but reduced rates of transphosphorylation, and (iv) total loss of transport activity but substantial retention of both phosphorylation activities in vitro. A mutant of this fourth class was extensively characterized. The mutant IIMtl was shown to be more thermolabile than the wild-type enzyme, it exhibited altered kinetic behavior, and it was shown to arise by a single nucleotide substitution (G-895----A) in the mtlA gene, causing a single amino acyl substitution (Gly-253----Glu) in the permease. The results show that a single amino acyl substitution can abolish transport function without abolishing phosphorylation activity. This work serves to identify a site which is crucial to the transport function of the enzyme.

Bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system: association state of membrane-bound mannitol-specific enzyme II demonstrated by inactivation.

The quaternary structure of the membrane-bound mannitol permease (EIIMtl) of the bacterial phosphotransferase system in Escherichia coli has been investigated in the membrane by using the radiation inactivation method. The experiments reveal two distinct but interconvertible forms of the permease. The first state is a dimer, and the second state consists of a less active higher molecular weight complex involving the dimer. The equilibrium between these two forms in the membrane can be shifted by changing the pH. At pH 8.1 the dimer is the dominant form. Decreasing the pH results in increased binding of a regulatory protein to the dimer, thus increasing the amount of the higher molecular weight form involving the dimer. Cross-linking EIIMtl in situ, followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting, resulted in the formation of two cross-linked forms. One is the dimer, and the other has a higher molecular weight. Two-dimensional electrophoresis using a reversible cross-linker revealed no other protein except EIIMtl in these complexes.

Membrane disposition of the Escherichia coli mannitol permease: identification of membrane-bound and cytoplasmic domains.

Two proteolytic fragments of the Escherichia coli mannitol permease (EIImtl) have been identified on autoradiograms of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and mapped with respect to the membrane. EIImtl was selectively radiolabeled with either [35S]methionine or a mixture of 14C-labeled amino acids in E. coli minicells harboring a plasmid containing the mannitol operon. The intact permease (Mr 65,000) in everted vesicles derived from labeled minicells was cleaved by mild trypsinolysis into two smaller fragments (Mr 34,000 and 29,000). The 34,000-dalton fragment remained in the membrane and was insensitive to further proteolysis by trypsin. This fragment was identified as the N-terminal half of the protein by comparing the amount of the original [35S]methionine label that it retained with the known differential distribution of methionine in the two halves of EIImtl. The 29,000-dalton fragment, which was released into the soluble fraction and was sensitive to further trypsinolysis, therefore corresponds to the C-terminal half of the mannitol permease. Both fragments were shown to be antigenically related to EIImtl by immunoblotting with anti-EIImtl antibody. The 34,000-dalton fragment was further shown to form an oligomer under conditions which allow the intact enzyme to dimerize, suggesting that this domain plays an important role in EIImtl subunit interactions. These results support a model in which EIImtl consists of two domains of approximately equal size: a membrane-bound, N-terminal domain with a tendency to self-associate, and a cytoplasmic C-terminal domain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Subunit interactions of the Escherichia coli mannitol permease: correlation with enzymic activities.

A fraction of the phosphorylated form of the Escherichia coli mannitol permease (enzyme IIMtl) of the sugar phosphotransferase system can be extracted from the membrane in a dimeric form [Roossien, F.F., & Robillard, G.T. (1984) Biochemistry 23, 5682-5685]. Using E. coli minicells in which this protein can be specifically labeled with [35S]methionine, we show in this paper that part of the unphosphorylated form of enzyme IIMtl can also be extracted from the membrane as a dimer. We further demonstrate that both phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of the permease and conditions promoting turnover of the enzyme decrease the amount of extractable dimer. Thus, the dimer of these forms of the enzyme appears to be less stable than that of the unmodified form, at least in detergent solution. In contrast, inorganic phosphate, which activates the permease-catalyzed phospho exchange between mannitol 1-phosphate and mannitol ("transphosphorylation"), stabilizes the dimer. These results support the hypothesis that the mannitol permease dimer is more active in transphosphorylation than the monomer. Treatment of minicell membranes with oxidizing agents produced heat-stable, high molecular weight aggregates of the permease on dodecyl sulfate gels, but no heat-stable dimer could be detected. The nonionic detergent Lubrol PX decreased the amount of dimer extractable at 30 degrees C with a concomitant increase in the monomeric form. These results suggest that the dimer depends predominantly on hydrophobic interactions for its stability and is not covalently cross-linked in that form by oxidizing agents.

Substrate and phospholipid specificity of the purified mannitol permease of Escherichia coli.

D-Mannitol is transported and phosphorylated by a specific enzyme II of the phosphotransferase system of Escherichia coli. This protein was purified previously in detergent solution and has been partially characterized. As one approach in understanding the structure and mechanism of this enzyme/permease, we have tested a number of sugar alcohols and their derivatives as substrates and/or inhibitors of this protein. Our results show that the mannitol permease is highly, but not absolutely, specific for D-mannitol. Compounds accepted by the enzyme include those with substitutions in the C-2(= C-5) position of the carbon backbone of the natural substrate as well as D-mannonic acid, one heptitol and one pentitol. All of these compounds were both inhibitors and substrates for the mannitol permease except for D-mannoheptitol, which was an inhibitor but was not phosphorylated by the enzyme. No compound examined, however, exhibited an affinity for the enzyme as high as that for its natural substrate. We have also investigated the phospholipid requirements of the mannitol permease using phospholipids purified from E coli. The purified protein was significantly activated by phosphatidylethanolamine, but little activation was observed with phosphatidylglycerol or cardiolipin. These observations partially delineate requirements for interaction of sugar alcohols and phospholipids with the mannitol permease. They suggest approaches for the design of specific active site probes for the protein, and strategies for stabilizing the enzyme's activity in vitro.