Functional Analysis of Bacillus subtilis Genes Involved in the Biosynthesis of 4-Thiouridine in tRNA.

ABSTRACT: ThiI has been identified as an essential enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of thiamine and the tRNA thionucleoside modification, 4-thiouridine. In Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, ThiI acts as a sulfurtransferase, receiving the sulfur donated from the cysteine desulfurase IscS and transferring it to the target molecule or additional sulfur carrier proteins. However, in Bacillus subtilis and most species from the Firmicutes phylum, ThiI lacks the rhodanese domain that contains the site responsible for the sulfurtransferase activity. The lack of the gene encoding for a canonical IscS cysteine desulfurase and the presence of a short sequence of ThiI in these bacteria pointed to mechanistic differences involving sulfur trafficking reactions in both biosynthetic pathways. Here, we ha

SUBMITTER: Rajakovich LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3430334 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature