This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nakahigashi, K Articles by Inokuchi, H Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nakahigashi, K Articles by Inokuchi, H

research-article

Isolation and characterization of a light-sensitive mutant of Escherichia coli K-12 with a mutation in a gene that is required for the biosynthesis of ubiquinone.

Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Japan.

ABSTRACT

Cells with a novel mutation that is lethal when the cells are exposed to visible light were isolated from Escherichia coli K-12. The mutation was mapped at 63 min on the linkage map of the E. coli chromosome, and the gene, designated visB, was cloned and sequenced. From its map position and the evidence that the gene product VisB exhibits homology with flavin monooxygenase of Pseudomonas fluorescens, the visB gene was deduced to be identical to the ubiH gene, which is a gene required for the biosynthesis of ubiquinone and is thought to be similar to the gene for flavin monooxygenase. The photosensitive phenotype appears to be due to the accumulation of the substrate for the reaction catalyzed by the visB (ubiH) gene product because other mutations that block earlier steps in the biosynthesis of ubiquinone can reverse the photosensitivity. The accumulated intermediates may produce active species of oxygen in the mutant bacteria upon illumination by visible light, and these active oxygen species may cause the death of the cells by a mechanism similar to that associated with mutations in visA (hemH).

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Arias-Barrau, E., Sandoval, A., Naharro, G., Olivera, E. R., Luengo, J. M. (2005). A Two-component Hydroxylase Involved in the Assimilation of 3-Hydroxyphenyl Acetate in Pseudomonas putida. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 26435-26447 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gin, P., Hsu, A. Y., Rothman, S. C., Jonassen, T., Lee, P. T., Tzagoloff, A., Clarke, C. F. (2003). The Saccharomyces cerevisiae COQ6 Gene Encodes a Mitochondrial Flavin-dependent Monooxygenase Required for Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis. J. Biol. Chem. 278: 25308-25316 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Sheehan, B. J., Bosse, J. T., Beddek, A. J., Rycroft, A. N., Kroll, J. S., Langford, P. R. (2003). Identification of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Genes Important for Survival during Infection in Its Natural Host. Infect. Immun. 71: 3960-3970 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• D'Argenio, D. A., Calfee, M. W., Rainey, P. B., Pesci, E. C. (2002). Autolysis and Autoaggregation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Colony Morphology Mutants. J. Bacteriol. 184: 6481-6489 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Diaz, E., Ferrandez, A., Prieto, M. A., Garcia, J. L. (2001). Biodegradation of Aromatic Compounds by Escherichia coli. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 65: 523-569 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Almiron, M., Martinez, M., Sanjuan, N., Ugalde, R. A. (2001). Ferrochelatase Is Present in Brucella abortus and Is Critical for Its Intracellular Survival and Virulence. Infect. Immun. 69: 6225-6230 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Poon, W. W., Davis, D. E., Ha, H. T., Jonassen, T., Rather, P. N., Clarke, C. F. (2000). Identification of Escherichia coli ubiB, a Gene Required for the First Monooxygenase Step in Ubiquinone Biosynthesis. J. Bacteriol. 182: 5139-5146 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Poon, W. W., Barkovich, R. J., Hsu, A. Y., Frankel, A., Lee, P. T., Shepherd, J. N., Myles, D. C., Clarke, C. F. (1999). Yeast and Rat Coq3 and Escherichia coli UbiG Polypeptides Catalyze Both O-Methyltransferase Steps in Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis. J. Biol. Chem. 274: 21665-21672 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Berlyn, M. K. B. (1998). Linkage Map of Escherichia coli K-12, Edition 10: The Traditional Map. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 62: 814-984 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Soballe, B, Poole, R. (1998). Requirement for ubiquinone downstream of cytochrome(s) b in the oxygen- terminated respiratory chains of Escherichia coli K-12 revealed using a null mutant allele of ubiCA. Microbiology 144: 361-373 [Abstract]