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MHYT, a new integral membrane sensor domain.
M Y Galperin1, T A Gaidenko, A Y Mulkidjanian
1National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA. galperin@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
FEMS Microbiology Letters
|December 1, 2001
Summary
A novel MHYT protein domain, likely involved in cell signaling, has been identified. Its structure suggests a role in sensing environmental cues like oxygen or CO.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Conserved protein domains play crucial roles in cellular signaling pathways.
- The MHYT domain is a newly identified domain with a probable signaling function.
- GGDEF and EAL domains are known to be involved in signal transduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the novel MHYT protein domain and its structural characteristics.
- To investigate the role of the MHYT domain in bacterial signaling pathways.
- To elucidate the potential function of the MHYT domain in sensing environmental molecules.
Main Methods:
- Bioinformatic analysis to identify and characterize the MHYT domain.
- Analysis of protein domain organization in various bacterial species (Synechocystis, Pseudomonas, Bacillus).
- Construction and analysis of a ykoW null mutant in Bacillus subtilis.
- Computational modeling of MHYT domain membrane topology.
Main Results:
- The MHYT domain comprises six transmembrane segments, with conserved residues near the cytoplasmic membrane's outer face.
- In Synechocystis, MHYT is part of a sensor histidine kinase; in Pseudomonas and others, it's N-terminal to GGDEF/EAL domains.
- A Bacillus subtilis ykoW null mutant showed no growth defects, indicating a non-essential signaling role.
- MHYT domain modeling suggests conserved residues may coordinate copper ions for sensing oxygen, CO, or NO.
Conclusions:
- The MHYT domain is a novel, conserved signaling module found in diverse bacteria.
- Its association with known signaling domains (GGDEF, EAL) and sensor kinaseSlr2098 supports its signaling role.
- The MHYT domain likely functions in sensing small molecules like oxygen, CO, or NO, contributing to cellular signal transduction.