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Study on variability assessment and evolutionary relationships of glutamate racemase in Pseudomonas species
Pooja Kaushik1, Chakresh Kumar Jain, Reema Gabrani
1Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, India.
Abstract:
Pseudomonas species is known to cause multiple nosocomial infections in patients and results in high morbidity and mortality rates (10%). The greatest obstacle in treating patients infected with the Pseudomonas species is the widespread emergence of antibiotic resistance. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop new compounds which can be effective against Pseudomonas species and possibly remain tolerant to drug resistance. The enzyme glutamate racemase plays an important role in cell wall synthesis of bacteria and as a rate limiting step, thus it is an excellent target for the designing of new class of antibacterial agents. The objective of this study is to investigate the variations in sequences of glutamate racemase, a potential drug target across the all 31 species of Pseudomonas. Sequence variability and conservation for functional motif identification is helpful for identifying evolutionarily important residues with functional significance; subsequently these results of variable sites were supported by entropy profile obtained from protein variability server using Shannon entropy. Phylogenetic profile among the different Pseudomonas sp. having fully/highly conserved residues was observed, suggesting possible functional similarities between them. The variation analysis in conserved and non-conserved region of the sequence can be used to predict the binding site for target specific drug discovery.
Insights
This study analyzes glutamate racemase variations in Pseudomonas species to combat antibiotic resistance. Identifying conserved regions aids in developing new antibacterial drugs targeting this essential enzyme.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- Pseudomonas species cause significant nosocomial infections with high mortality.
- Antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas poses a major treatment challenge.
- Novel antibacterial agents are urgently needed to overcome resistance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sequence variations in glutamate racemase across 31 Pseudomonas species.
- To identify conserved and variable regions for functional motif analysis.
- To explore glutamate racemase as a potential drug target for new antibacterial agents.
Main Methods:
- Comparative sequence analysis of glutamate racemase across Pseudomonas species.
- Identification of conserved residues and functional motifs.
- Entropy profiling using Shannon entropy to assess sequence variability.
- Phylogenetic analysis to understand evolutionary relationships.
Main Results:
- Variations and conserved regions in glutamate racemase sequences were identified across 31 Pseudomonas species.
- Conserved residues suggest potential functional similarities and evolutionary importance.
- Entropy profiling highlighted variable sites crucial for drug target prediction.
- Phylogenetic analysis revealed conserved residues indicating functional similarities.
Conclusions:
- Glutamate racemase is a promising drug target for developing new antibacterial agents against Pseudomonas.
- Analysis of sequence variations aids in predicting drug binding sites for targeted drug discovery.
- Understanding enzyme variability is key to overcoming antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas infections.
