Predicting protein function from structure--the roles of short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase enzymes in Bordetella O-antigen biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: The pathogenic bacteria Bordetella parapertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica express a lipopolysaccharide O antigen containing a polymer of 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxy-l-galacturonic acid. The O-antigen cluster contains three neighbouring genes that encode proteins belonging to the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family, wbmF, wbmG and wbmH, and we aimed to elucidate their individual functions. Mutation and complementation implicate each gene in O-antigen expression but, as their putative sugar nucleotide substrates are not currently available, biochemical characterisation of WbmF, WbmG and WbmH is impractical at the present time. SDR family members catalyse a wide range of chemical reactions including oxidation, reduction and epimerisation. Because they typically share low seq

SUBMITTER: King JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2279256 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature