Much of the microcin J25 leader peptide is dispensable

The antimicrobial peptide microcin J25 (MccJ25) is matured by two enzymes, McjB and McjC, from a 58 amino acid (aa) preprotein, McjA, into its final 21 aa lasso topology. Herein we have investigated the role of the leader peptide of McjA and found that only the eight C-terminal amino acids of this leader peptide are required for maturation of MccJ25. There is a high content of lysine residues in the McjA leader peptide, but herein we also demonstrate that these charged amino acids do not play a major role in the maturation of MccJ25. Alanine scanning mutagenesis studies revealed that the Thr-35 residue in the leader peptide is critical for correct processing of McjA into mature MccJ25. In the absence of detailed structural and biochemical data about McjB and McjC, these studies allow us to propose a putative role for the leader peptide as a simple motif for docking of the McjA preprotein in the maturation enzymes.