A continuous fluorometric assay for the assessment of MazF ribonuclease activity.

ABSTRACT: Plasmids maintain themselves in their bacterial host through several different mechanisms, one of which involves the synthesis of plasmid-encoded toxin and antitoxin proteins. When the plasmid is present, the antitoxin binds to and neutralizes the toxin. If a plasmid-free daughter cell arises, however, the labile antitoxin is degraded (and not replenished) and the toxin kills the cell from within. These toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems thereby function as postsegregational killing systems, and the disruption of the TA interaction represents an intriguing antibacterial strategy. It was recently discovered that the genes for one particular TA system, MazEF, are ubiquitous on plasmids isolated from clinical vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) strains. Thus, it appears that small molecule disru

SUBMITTER: Wang NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2443740 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature