Genetic analysis identifies a function for the queC (ybaX) gene product at an initial step in the queuosine biosynthetic pathway in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Queuosine (Q), one of the most complex modifications occurring at the wobble position of tRNAs with GUN anticodons, is implicated in a number of biological activities, including accuracy of decoding, virulence, and cellular differentiation. Despite these important implications, its biosynthetic pathway has remained unresolved. Earlier, we observed that a naturally occurring strain of Escherichia coli B105 lacked Q modification in the tRNAs. In the present study, we developed a genetic screen to map the defect in E. coli B105 to a single gene, queC (renamed from ybaX), predicted to code for a 231-amino-acid-long protein with a pI of 5.6. As analyzed by mobility of tRNA(Tyr) on acid urea gels and two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography of the modified nucleosides, expression of QueC from a

SUBMITTER: Gaur R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1251624 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature