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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2002, p. 4792-4799, Vol. 184, No. 17
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.17.4792-4799.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Synthesizes Phosphatidylcholine by Use of the Phosphatidylcholine Synthase Pathway

Paula J. Wilderman,1 Adriana I. Vasil,1 Wesley E. Martin,2 Robert C. Murphy,2 and Michael L. Vasil1*

Department of Microbiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80262,1 Division of Cell Biology, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, Colorado 802062

Received 14 February 2002/ Accepted 11 June 2002

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a ubiquitous membrane lipid in eukaryotes but has been found in only a limited number of prokaryotes. Both eukaryotes and prokaryotes synthesize PC by methylating phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) by use of a phospholipid methyltransferase (Pmt). Eukaryotes can synthesize PC by the activation of choline to form choline phosphate and then CDP-choline. The CDP-choline then condenses with diacylglycerol (DAG) to form PC. In contrast, prokaryotes condense choline directly with CDP-DAG by use of the enzyme PC synthase (Pcs). PmtA was the first enzyme identified in prokaryotes that catalyzes the synthesis of PC, and Pcs in Sinorhizobium meliloti was characterized. The completed release of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 genomic sequence contains on open reading frame predicted to encode a protein that is highly homologous (35% identity, 54% similarity) to PmtA from Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Moreover, the P. aeruginosa PAO1 genome encodes a protein with significant homology (39% amino acid identity) to Pcs of S. meliloti. Both the pcs and pmtA homologues were cloned from PAO1, and homologous sequences were found in almost all of the P. aeruginosa strains examined. Although the pathway for synthesizing PC by use of Pcs is functional in P. aeruginosa, it does not appear that this organism uses the PmtA pathway for PC synthesis. We demonstrate that the PC synthesized by P. aeruginosa PAO1 localized to both the inner and outer membranes, where it is readily accessible to its periplasmic, PC-specific phospholipase D.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Campus Box B-175, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 4200 East Ninth Ave., Denver, CO 80262. Phone: (303) 315-8627. Fax: (303) 315-6785. E-mail: Mike.Vasil{at}UCHSC.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2002, p. 4792-4799, Vol. 184, No. 17
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.17.4792-4799.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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