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Journal of Bacteriology, March 2001, p. 1734-1739, Vol. 183, No. 5
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.5.1734-1739.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Identification of Essential Charged Residues in
Transmembrane Segments of the Multidrug Transporter MexB of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Lan
Guan
and
Taiji
Nakae*
Department of Molecular Life Science, Tokai
University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan
Received 20 October 2000/Accepted 13 December 2000
The MexABM efflux pump exports structurally diverse xenobiotics,
utilizing the proton electrochemical gradient to confer drug resistance
on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The MexB subunit traverses the
inner membrane 12 times and has two, two, and one charged residues in
putative transmembrane segments 2 (TMS-2), TMS-4, and TMS-10,
respectively. All five residues were mutated, and MexB function was
evaluated by determining the MICs of antibiotics and fluorescent dye
efflux. Replacement of Lys342 with Ala, Arg, or Glu and Glu346 with
Ala, Gln, or Asp in TMS-2 did not have a discernible effect. Ala, Asn,
or Lys substitution for Asp407 in TMS-4, which is well conserved, led
to loss of activity. Moreover, a mutant with Glu in place of Asp407
exhibited only marginal function, suggesting that the length of the
side chain at this position is important. The only replacements for
Asp408 in TMS-4 or Lys939 in TMS-10 that exhibited significant function
were Glu and Arg, respectively, suggesting that the native charge at
these positions is required. In addition, double neutral mutants or
mutants in which the charged residues Asp407 and Lys939 or Asp408 and
Lys939 were interchanged completely lost function. An
Asp408
Glu/Lys939
Arg mutant retained significant activity, while
an Asp407
Glu/Lys939
Arg mutant exhibited only marginal function.
An Asp407
Glu/Asp408
Glu double mutant also lost activity, but
significant function was restored by replacing Lys939 with Arg
(Asp407
Glu/Asp408
Glu/Lys939
Arg). Taken as a whole, the
findings indicate that Asp407, Asp408, and Lys939 are functionally
important and raise the possibility that Asp407, Asp408, and Lys939 may
form a charge network between TMS-4 and TMS-10 that is important for
proton translocation and/or energy coupling.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Molecular Life Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. Phone: 81-463-93-5436. Fax: 81-463-93-5437. E-mail: nakae{at}is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.

Present address: HHMI/UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1662.
Journal of Bacteriology, March 2001, p. 1734-1739, Vol. 183, No. 5
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.5.1734-1739.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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