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

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, May 2001, p. 3065-3075, Vol. 183, No. 10
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.10.3065-3075.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The CcrM DNA Methyltransferase of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Is Essential, and Its Activity Is Cell Cycle Regulated

Lyn Sue Kahng1,2 and Lucy Shapiro1,*

Department of Developmental Biology1 and Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine,2 Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

Received 21 December 2000/Accepted 2 March 2001

DNA methylation is now recognized as a regulator of multiple bacterial cellular processes. CcrM is a DNA adenine methyltransferase found in the alpha subdivision of the proteobacteria. Like the Dam enzyme, which is found primarily in Escherichia coli and other gamma proteobacteria, it does not appear to be part of a DNA restriction-modification system. The CcrM homolog of Agrobacterium tumefaciens was found to be essential for viability. Overexpression of CcrM is associated with significant abnormalities of cell morphology and DNA ploidy. Mapping of the transcriptional start site revealed a conserved binding motif for the global response regulator CtrA at the -35 position; this motif was footprinted by purified Caulobacter crescentus CtrA protein in its phosphorylated state. We have succeeded in isolating synchronized populations of Agrobacterium cells and analyzing their progression through the cell cycle. We demonstrate that DNA replication and cell division can be followed in an orderly manner and that flagellin expression is cyclic, consistent with our observation that motility varies during the cell cycle. Using these synchronized populations, we show that CcrM methylation of the chromosome is restricted to the late S phase of the cell cycle. Thus, within the alpha subdivision, there is a conserved cell cycle dependence and regulatory mechanism controlling ccrM expression.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305. Phone: (650) 725-7678. Fax: (650) 725-7739. E-mail: shapiro{at}cmgm.stanford.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, May 2001, p. 3065-3075, Vol. 183, No. 10
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.10.3065-3075.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Slater, S. C., Goldman, B. S., Goodner, B., Setubal, J. C., Farrand, S. K., Nester, E. W., Burr, T. J., Banta, L., Dickerman, A. W., Paulsen, I., Otten, L., Suen, G., Welch, R., Almeida, N. F., Arnold, F., Burton, O. T., Du, Z., Ewing, A., Godsy, E., Heisel, S., Houmiel, K. L., Jhaveri, J., Lu, J., Miller, N. M., Norton, S., Chen, Q., Phoolcharoen, W., Ohlin, V., Ondrusek, D., Pride, N., Stricklin, S. L., Sun, J., Wheeler, C., Wilson, L., Zhu, H., Wood, D. W. (2009). Genome Sequences of Three Agrobacterium Biovars Help Elucidate the Evolution of Multichromosome Genomes in Bacteria. J. Bacteriol. 191: 2501-2511 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Saint-Dic, D., Kehrl, J., Frushour, B., Kahng, L. S. (2008). Excess SeqA Leads to Replication Arrest and a Cell Division Defect in Vibrio cholerae. J. Bacteriol. 190: 5870-5878 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Skoglund, A., Bjorkholm, B., Nilsson, C., Andersson, A. F., Jernberg, C., Schirwitz, K., Enroth, C., Krabbe, M., Engstrand, L. (2007). Functional Analysis of the M.HpyAIV DNA Methyltransferase of Helicobacter pylori. J. Bacteriol. 189: 8914-8921 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Collier, J., McAdams, H. H., Shapiro, L. (2007). A DNA methylation ratchet governs progression through a bacterial cell cycle. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 17111-17116 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Casadesus, J., Low, D. (2006). Epigenetic Gene Regulation in the Bacterial World. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 70: 830-856 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Su, S., Stephens, B. B., Alexandre, G., Farrand, S. K. (2006). Lon protease of the {alpha}-proteobacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens is required for normal growth, cellular morphology and full virulence.. Microbiology 152: 1197-1207 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Summer, E. J., Gonzalez, C. F., Bomer, M., Carlile, T., Embry, A., Kucherka, A. M., Lee, J., Mebane, L., Morrison, W. C., Mark, L., King, M. D., LiPuma, J. J., Vidaver, A. K., Young, R. (2006). Divergence and Mosaicism among Virulent Soil Phages of the Burkholderia cepacia Complex. J. Bacteriol. 188: 255-268 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chen, S. L., Shapiro, L. (2003). Identification of Long Intergenic Repeat Sequences Associated with DNA Methylation Sites in Caulobacter crescentus and Other {alpha}-Proteobacteria. J. Bacteriol. 185: 4997-5002 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kahng, L. S., Shapiro, L. (2003). Polar Localization of Replicon Origins in the Multipartite Genomes of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Sinorhizobium meliloti. J. Bacteriol. 185: 3384-3391 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brassinga, A. K. C., Siam, R., McSween, W., Winkler, H., Wood, D., Marczynski, G. T. (2002). Conserved Response Regulator CtrA and IHF Binding Sites in the {alpha}-Proteobacteria Caulobacter crescentus and Rickettsia prowazekii Chromosomal Replication Origins. J. Bacteriol. 184: 5789-5799 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Newby, Z. E. R., Lau, E. Y., Bruice, T. C. (2002). A theoretical examination of the factors controlling the catalytic efficiency of the DNA-(adenine-N6)-methyltransferase from Thermus aquaticus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99: 7922-7927 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Goodner, B., Hinkle, G., Gattung, S., Miller, N., Blanchard, M., Qurollo, B., Goldman, B. S., Cao, Y., Askenazi, M., Halling, C., Mullin, L., Houmiel, K., Gordon, J., Vaudin, M., Iartchouk, O., Epp, A., Liu, F., Wollam, C., Allinger, M., Doughty, D., Scott, C., Lappas, C., Markelz, B., Flanagan, C., Crowell, C., Gurson, J., Lomo, C., Sear, C., Strub, G., Cielo, C., Slater, S. (2001). Genome Sequence of the Plant Pathogen and Biotechnology Agent Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58. Science 294: 2323-2328 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Low, D. A., Weyand, N. J., Mahan, M. J. (2001). Roles of DNA Adenine Methylation in Regulating Bacterial Gene Expression and Virulence. Infect. Immun. 69: 7197-7204 [Full Text]  
  • Julio, S. M., Heithoff, D. M., Provenzano, D., Klose, K. E., Sinsheimer, R. L., Low, D. A., Mahan, M. J. (2001). DNA Adenine Methylase Is Essential for Viability and Plays a Role in the Pathogenesis of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Vibrio cholerae. Infect. Immun. 69: 7610-7615 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dueger, E. L., House, J. K., Heithoff, D. M., Mahan, M. J. (2001). Salmonella DNA Adenine Methylase Mutants Elicit Protective Immune Responses to Homologous and Heterologous Serovars in Chickens. Infect. Immun. 69: 7950-7954 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»