5'-methylthioadenosine nucleosidase is implicated in playing a key role in a modified futalosine pathway for menaquinone biosynthesis in Campylobacter jejuni.

ABSTRACT: Menaquinone (vitamin K(2)) serves as an electron carrier in the electron transport chain required for respiration in many pathogenic bacteria. Most bacteria utilize a common menaquinone biosynthetic pathway as exemplified by Escherichia coli. Recently, a novel biosynthetic pathway, the futalosine pathway, was discovered in Streptomyces. Bioinformatic analysis strongly suggests that this pathway is also operative in the human pathogens Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori. Here, we provide compelling evidence that a modified futalosine pathway is operative in C. jejuni and that it utilizes 6-amino-6-deoxyfutalosine instead of futalosine. A key step in the Streptomyces pathway involves a nucleosidase called futalosine hydrolase. The closest homolog in C. jejuni has been annotated as

SUBMITTER: Li X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3103317 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature