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Journal of Bacteriology, March 2001, p. 1505-1510, Vol. 183, No. 5
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.5.1505-1510.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

A Eukaryotic-Type Protein Kinase, SpkA, Is Required for Normal Motility of the Unicellular Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803

Ayako Kamei, Takashi Yuasa, Kumi Orikawa, Xiao Xing Geng, and Masahiko Ikeuchi*

Department of Life Sciences (Biology), The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan

Received 9 August 2000/Accepted 30 November 2000

The genome of the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 comprises many open reading frames (ORFs) which putatively encode eukaryotic-type protein kinase and protein phosphatase. Based on gene disruption analysis, a region of the hypothetical ORF sll1575, which retained a part of the protein kinase motif, was found to be required for normal motility in the original isolate of strain PCC 6803. Sequence determination revealed that in this strain sll1575 was part of a gene (designated spkA) which harbored an entire eukaryotic-type Ser/Thr protein kinase motif. Strain ATCC 27184 and a glucose-tolerant strain derived from the same isolate as the PCC strain had a frameshift mutation dividing spkA into ORFs sll1574 and sll1575. The structural integrity of spkA agreed well with the motility phenotype, determined by colony morphology on agar plates. The spkA gene was expressed in Escherichia coli as a His-tagged protein, which was purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography. With [gamma -32P]ATP, SpkA was autophosphorylated and transferred the phosphate group to casein, myelin basic protein, and histone. SpkA also phosphorylated several proteins in the membrane fraction of Synechocystis cells. These results suggest that SpkA is a eukaryotic-type Ser/Thr protein kinase and regulates cellular motility via phosphorylation of the membrane proteins in Synechocystis.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Life Sciences (Biology), The University of Tokyo, Komaba 3-8-1, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan. Phone: 81-3-5454-6641. Fax: 81-3-5454-4337. E-mail: mikeuchi{at}ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp.

Journal of Bacteriology, March 2001, p. 1505-1510, Vol. 183, No. 5
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.5.1505-1510.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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