Sequencing, characterization and transcriptional analysis of the histidine decarboxylase operon of Lactobacillus buchneri

• Published in: Microbiology (Society for General Microbiology) Vol. 151; no. 4; pp. 1219 - 1228
• Main Authors: Martin, M. Cruz, Fernandez, Maria, Linares, Daniel M, Alvarez, Miguel A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reading Soc General Microbiol 01.04.2005; Society for General Microbiology
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Bacteriology; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes, Bacterial; Genetics; Genome, Bacterial; Histidine Decarboxylase - genetics; Histidine-tRNA Ligase - genetics; Lactobacillus - enzymology; Lactobacillus - genetics; Lactobacillus buchneri; Lactococcus lactis; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Multigene Family; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Operon; Phylogeny; RNA, Bacterial - chemistry; RNA, Bacterial - genetics; RNA, Messenger - chemistry; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Transcription, Genetic; Lactic acid bacteria; Enzyme; Operon; Lyases; Dendogram; Histidine decarboxylase; Characterization; Carbon-carbon lyases; Carboxy-lyases; Bacteria; Lactobacillaceae; Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; Sequencing; Lactobacillus buchneri
• ISSN: 1350-0872; 1465-2080
• DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.27459-0

Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias, Carretera de Infiesto s/n, 33300 Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain Correspondence Miguel A. Alvarez maag{at}ipla.csic.es The amplification of an internal fragment of the hdcA gene for histidine decarboxylase in Lactobacillus buchneri showed the gene to be located on the bacterial chromosome. Reverse PCR was then used to amplify both it and its adjacent genes. The histidine decarboxylase cluster was found to be composed of four genes: hdcC (expressed in Lactococcus lactis , the product of which is located in the membrane, suggesting it to be a histidine/histamine antiporter), hdcA (which encodes histidine decarboxylase), hdcB (of unknown function but co-transcribed as bicistronic mRNA together with hdcA ) and hisS (the only copy of a gene encoding a histidyl-tRNA synthetase in Lb. buchneri ). The expression of hisS depends on the histidine concentration of the growth medium, and it can be transcribed as monocistronic or hdcA–hdcB–hisS polycistronic mRNA. Abbreviations: BA, biogenic amine; LAB, lactic acid bacteria The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the sequences reported in this paper is AJ749838 .