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Functional Analysis of the Minimal Twin-Arginine Translocation System Components from Streptococcus thermophilus CGMCC 7.179 in Escherichia coli DE3

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Abstract

The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system, which is used for folded protein secretion, is rare in lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Previously, a Tat system composed of TatAS and TatCS subunits (the subscript S denotes a Streptococcus thermophilus origin) was identified in S. thermophilus CGMCC 7.179. In the present study, the tatA S and tatC S genes were cloned and functionally analyzed in Escherichia coli DE3 tat-deficient mutants. The E. coli tatABCDE-deficient mutant complemented with tatC S A S exhibited shortened cellular chains, but its ability to grow in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was not restored, suggesting that the S. thermophilus Tat system could partially replace that of E. coli. Surprisingly, the E. coli tatABE-deficient mutant complemented with tatA S and the E. coli tatC-deficient mutant complemented with tatC S displayed relatively normal cellular morphology and enhanced tolerance to SDS. These results suggest that TatAS and TatCS could serve as active protein translocases in E. coli DE3 tat-deficient mutants. Moreover, TatAS acted as a bifunctional subunit to fulfill the roles of both TatA and TatB of E. coli DE3. Thus, this minimal Tat system would be a promising candidate to translocate recombinant proteins in LAB.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank N. Galleron for kindly providing the plasmid pSec:leiss:Nuc. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31471715), Public Service Sectors (Agriculture) Special and Scientific Research Projects (No. 201503134) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31571855).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, 27 Shanda Nanlu, Jinan, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Chenchen Zhang, Tingting Guo, Yongping Xin, Susu Zhang, Xudong Ouyang & Jian Kong

  2. College of Food Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Chenchen Zhang & Ruixia Gu

  3. Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Safety Control, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Chenchen Zhang & Ruixia Gu

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  1. Chenchen Zhang
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  2. Tingting Guo
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Correspondence to Jian Kong.

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Zhang, C., Guo, T., Xin, Y. et al. Functional Analysis of the Minimal Twin-Arginine Translocation System Components from Streptococcus thermophilus CGMCC 7.179 in Escherichia coli DE3. Curr Microbiol 74, 678–684 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-017-1234-x

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