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The PIN-domain toxin-antitoxin array in mycobacteria

Vickery L Arcus1, Paul B Rainey, Susan J Turner

  • 1AgResearch Structural Biology Laboratory, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92-019, Auckland, New Zealand. v.arcus@auckland.ac.nz

Trends in Microbiology
|July 5, 2005
PubMed

Insights

PIN-domains are toxic protein components of toxin-antitoxin operons in prokaryotes. These operons, abundant in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, likely originated from mobile genes and aid in cell growth retardation and persistence.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • PIN-domains are small protein domains found in diverse organisms.
  • Prokaryotic PIN-domain proteins are primarily toxic components of toxin-antitoxin (TA) operons.
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis possesses a significant number of PIN-domain encoding TA operons.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary origins of mycobacterial PIN-domain TA operons.
  • To understand the contemporary functional significance of these operons.
  • To explore the roles of PIN-domain TA operons in bacterial cell growth and stress response.

Main Methods:

  • Bioinformatics analysis to identify and categorize PIN-domain proteins.
  • Biochemical and structural biology studies to characterize protein interactions.
  • Microbiological investigations to assess functional roles in vivo.

Main Results:

  • The majority of prokaryotic PIN-domain proteins function within TA systems.
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis encodes 48 PIN-domain proteins, with 38 implicated in TA interactions.
  • Evidence suggests a link between the mobile gene pool and the origin of these operons.

Conclusions:

  • PIN-domain TA operons likely evolved from mobile genetic elements.
  • These operons can integrate into host chromosomes and contribute to cell growth regulation.
  • They play a role in bacterial persistence under stressful environmental conditions.

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