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Journal of Bacteriology, September 1999, p. 5242-5249, Vol. 181, No. 17
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

16S rRNA Is Bound to Era of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Timothy I. Meier, Robert B. Peery, S. Richard Jaskunas, and Genshi Zhao*

Infectious Diseases Research, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana 46285-0438

Received 21 May 1999/Accepted 18 June 1999

Era is an essential membrane-associated GTPase that is present in bacteria and mycoplasmas. Era appears to play an important role in the regulation of the bacterial cell cycle. In this study, we expressed the native and glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion forms of Streptococcus pneumoniae Era in Escherichia coli and purified both proteins to homogeneity. We showed that RNA was copurified with the GST-Era protein of S. pneumoniae during affinity purification and remained associated with the protein after removal of the GST tag by thrombin cleavage. The thrombin-treated and untreated GST-Era proteins could bind and hydrolyze GTP and exhibited similar kinetic properties (dissociation constant [kD], Km, and Vmax). However, the native Era protein purified by using different chromatographic columns had a much lower GTPase activity than did GST-Era, although it had a similar kD. In addition, RNA was not associated with the protein. Purified GST-Era protein was shown to be present as high (600-kDa)- and low (120-kDa)-molecular-mass forms. The high-molecular-mass form of GST-Era was associated with RNA and exhibited a very high GTPase activity. Approximately 40% of purified GST-Era protein was associated with RNA, and removal of the RNA resulted in a significant reduction in GTPase activity. The RNA associated with GST-Era was shown to be predominantly 16S rRNA. The native Era protein isolated directly from S. pneumoniae was also present as a high-molecular-mass species (600 kDa) complexed with RNA. Together, our results suggest that 16S rRNA is associated with Era and might stimulate its GTPase activity.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Lilly Research Laboratories, Infectious Diseases Research, Drop Code 0438, Lilly Corporate Center, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN 46285-0438. Phone: (317) 276-2040. Fax: (317) 276-1743. E-mail: Zhao_Genshi{at}Lilly.com.

Journal of Bacteriology, September 1999, p. 5242-5249, Vol. 181, No. 17
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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