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Journal of Bacteriology, April 2001, p. 2490-2496, Vol. 183, No. 8
Department of Physiology, Johns Hopkins
Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
Received 25 October 2000/Accepted 16 January 2001
The topology of OxlT, the oxalate:formate exchange protein of
Oxalobacter formigenes, was established by site-directed
fluorescence labeling, a simple strategy that generates topological
information in the context of the intact protein. Accessibility of
cysteine to the fluorescent thiol-directed probe Oregon green maleimide (OGM) was examined for a panel of 34 single-cysteine variants, each
generated in a His9-tagged cysteine-less host. The reaction with OGM was readily scored by examining the fluorescence profile after
sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of material
purified by Ni2+-linked affinity chromatography. A position
was assigned an external location if its single-cysteine derivative
reacted with OGM added to intact cells; a position was designated
internal if OGM labeling required cell lysis. We also showed that
labeling of external, but not internal, positions was blocked by prior
exposure of cells to the impermeable and nonfluorescent thiol-specific
agent ethyltrimethylammonium methanethiosulfonate. Of the 34 positions
examined in this way, 29 were assigned unambiguously to either an
internal or external location; 5 positions could not be assigned, since
the target cysteine failed to react with OGM. There was no evidence of
false-positive assignment. Our findings document a simple and rapid
method for establishing the topology of a membrane protein and show
that OxlT has 12 transmembrane segments, confirming inferences from hydropathy analysis.
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.8.2490-2496.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Topology of OxlT, the Oxalate Transporter of Oxalobacter
formigenes, Determined by Site-Directed Fluorescence
Labeling
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dept. of
Physiology. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St.,
Baltimore, MD 21205-2185. Phone: (410) 955-8325. Fax: (410) 955-4438. E-mail: pmaloney{at}jhmi.edu.
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