Isolation and characterization of porins from Desulfovibrio piger and Bilophila wadsworthia: Structure and gene sequencing

Ofir Avidan, Elena Kaltageser, Izabella Pechatnikov, Hannah M. Wexler, Alla Shainskaya, Yeshayahu Nitzan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

The outer membrane proteins of Desulfovibrio piger and Bilophila wadsworthia (Omp-DP and Omp-BW, respectively) and the genes encoding them (omp-DP and omp-BW) were isolated and characterized. Native Omp-DP and Omp-BW form a trimeric structure of approximately 120 kDa. These proteins disaggregated into monomers with a molecular weight of approximately 53 kDa after heating at 95°C for 10 min. The pore-forming abilities of these oligomeric proteins demonstrated that they form small nonspecific channels with an exclusion limit of 260-300 Da. The omp-DP and omp-BW genes were cloned and sequenced. Sequence analyses revealed an open reading frame of 1,512 bp for omp-DP and 1,440 bp for omp-BW. The mature Omp-DP protein consisted of 480 amino acids and had a calculated MW of 53,290 Da. The mature Omp-BW protein consisted of 456 amino acids and had a calculated MW of 50.050 Da. Alignment of Omp-DP with Omp-BW revealed 54% homology, whereas alignment with other known porins showed a low level of homology. Analysis of the secondary structures indicated that both proteins span the outer membrane 18 times with amphipathic β-strands. This research presents porins which were isolated and characterized for the first time from bacteria belonging to the Desulfovibrionaceae family.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)641-650
Number of pages10
JournalArchives of Microbiology
Volume190
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2008

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments This research was supported in part by the Rappaport Foundation for Medical Microbiology, Bar-Ilan University, Israel (to Y.N.), in part by the Health Sciences Research Center Fund at the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Israel (to Y.N.) and in part by Merit Review Funds from the Department of Veterans AVairs, USA (to H.M.W.).

Funding

Acknowledgments This research was supported in part by the Rappaport Foundation for Medical Microbiology, Bar-Ilan University, Israel (to Y.N.), in part by the Health Sciences Research Center Fund at the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Israel (to Y.N.) and in part by Merit Review Funds from the Department of Veterans AVairs, USA (to H.M.W.).

FundersFunder number
Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Health Sciences Research Center Fund
Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences
Rappaport Foundation for Medical Microbiology, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

    Keywords

    • Bilophila wadsworthia
    • Desulfovibrio piger
    • Porins

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